F1 legend Mika Hakkinen to mentor Indian driver Kush Maini, says Formula 1 main objective

Former Formula One driver and 2x World Champion Mika Hakkinen will be mentoring Indian racing driver Kush Maini, who is currently participating in Formula 2 as one of the two drivers from India along with Jehan Daruvala. The 23-year old is currently in his first season in F2, racing for Campos Racing. Maini is currently on 12th in the 2023 Formula 2 Championship race with 56 points to his name.

The last time an Indian driver participated in Formula 1 was in 2012, with Narain Karthikeyan racing for HRT that season. The only other India driver to have ever raced in F1 was Karun Chandhok who raced for HRT in 2010 and participated in the 2011 German Grand Prix for Lotus. Narain Karthikeyan has 48 Grand Prix races under his belt while Chandhok has taken part in 11 GPs.




"F1 is our objective. I want all Indians to know Kush Maini, I want everybody in India cheering him. I want them to feel that he's going to be a winner in Formula 1. I’ve been following Kush, understanding his abilities, his talent for driving," said Hakkinen. Moreover, Guillaume le Goff, who also manages Pierre Gasly & Nyck De Vries, will be Kush’s manager hereon.

"I think from next year, my approach and that of my team is going to be a lot more structured thanks to Mika, said Maini. "Having a trainer who's looking after your nutrition at the track, a mind coach looking after anything you're going through on a race weekend. Basically the way Mika works is you narrow down everything to the point where the driver just has one job."
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