Maini cherishes "dream come true" win in Monaco after tough start to 2025

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

It hasn't been the ideal start for Kush Maini and DAMS since the duo joined forces for 2025. But, seldom do opportunities to take a special victory around the history-laden streets of Monaco arise, and the Indian racer duly took it with both hands, converting reverse-grid pole to victory.

Maini during the Monaco GP weekend | Credit: Formula 2

Despite immense pressure from PREMA's Gabriele Minì, the gap continually hovering between three and four tenths of a second, Maini opened up the gap to over two seconds, with the gap eventually climbing to just under four seconds at the flag.

It was an emotional moment for Maini, who had netted a singular point until the Monaco weekend, as the Indian radioed how several factors beyond his control had denied him points.

In a gesture typical to his home country, Maini stood atop his pink Alpine-liveried DAMS, doing the traditional namaste gesture, before celebrating the victory and soaking in the celebrations, and the proud moment of listening to the Indian national anthem played on the famous Monaco podium.

The Monaco sprint marked Maini's first win on the racetrack, and second of his Formula 2 career, adding to his sprint win in Hungary inherited after race winner Richard Verschoor's disqualification hours after the race had concluded.

This was also his first podium appearance since the Hungarian weekend in 2024, and his first multiple-point score since the same weekend. Maini didn't add to his 2024 tally after the Hungarian weekend, marking a torrid end to a season that began with plenty of promise for Invicta Racing.

Maini took his maiden F2 win in Hungary in 2024 | Credit: Invicta Racing

It was indeed the case, with a red flag and an ill-timed safety car denying him a shot at a points finish in Imola. Maini had put in the ninth quickest time before a spin at the Tamburello chicane brought out the red flag, with the DAMS racer losing the time that fetched him ninth on the grid. He was relegated to 13th on the grid for both races.

Maini had remained in contention for a good qualifying result even in Jeddah, a session which saw teammate Jak Crawford grab pole in the dying moments of the session.

All the events leading up to Monaco had led to a crescendo, let out after the sprint, and visible in Maini's post-race radio message: "The season for us starts now."

"I would say it's obviously been a a very tough uh start to the year in the championship," Maini said, as he reflected on his struggles in the opening weekends of 2025.

"Not pace wise, but just my mistakes (on the track). Obviously, we had pace to fight for pole in Jeddah. We had pace to fight for pole but something out of mine and the team's control (has always cost us)."

Maini's weekends in 2025 had been let down in one facet, either due to poor qualifying, a stroke of poor luck, a grid penalty, or a safety car period putting paid to his strategy, or a general lack of pace across the race. However, it all came together on Saturday, and in Maini's words, "Pieces of the jigsaw puzzle."

"So it's just the pieces that haven't really been put together, so I'm glad we've had a normal day today," Maini concluded, summing up his sprint win in Monaco.

On a day when he nailed the start, around a track not known for overtaking, fended off a charging Minì for several laps, and timed the safety car restart to perfection, the pieces certainly fell together to form the big picture, a victory around the streets of Monaco.

The win lifted Maini up into 13th in the standings, with the Indian racer and Crawford's fourth position finish helping DAMS close the gap in the constructors' standings to fifth-placed Invicta Racing.

Maini reflects on becoming first Indian winner in Monaco

Maini became the first Indian to win in Monaco | Credit: Formula One

Throughout its storied history, the Monaco street circuit has seen several drivers take victories, including one of their own a year ago. But, no Indian racer had triumphed around the fabled street circuit in the past. The closest an Indian driver had gotten was Jehan Daruvala in the Monaco sprint in 2023, finishing second on the day.

Only three Indians have raced in F2 since its inception in 2017, with Kush's elder brother Arjun Maini not stepping on the podium during his difficult 2018 season with Trident.

Daruvala became the first Indian to win an F2 race, when he took victory at Bahrain in his inaugural campaign in the championship in 2020. The former Red Bull junior also remains the only Indian to win a feature race, having emerged on top in a chaotic Monza feature race for PREMA Racing, two years on.

The younger Maini now has two F2 wins to his name, both sprint events in Hungary and Monaco for Invicta Racing and DAMS.

In a country where the craze for cricket is evidently visible across every household, and cricket played within the bylanes and gullies, motorsport has gained a strong following over the past few years, with drivers like Maini and Daruvala a major factor in building the following.

Maini, a kid "who once used to play the F1 game" in his childhood, echoed the sentiments of motorsport in India sparsely popular, as compared to the likes of cricket or football.

A special moment for Maini on the Monaco podium | Credit: Formula 2

"It's a big moment for our country (India) as well," Maini expressed. "Obviously, racing is very scarce in India and it's very tough to get to this point. So yeah, as a kid, I dreamt about this, but,

I've had my fair share of obstacles getting here," the Indian continued.

"I hope this win inspires Indians to come up the ranks, and then I want to see more Indians in the lower championships and racing, and a pathway being created. Still a long way to go," Maini expressed, pressing for more Indians to take to the ranks of single-seater racing.

With the likes of Akshay Bohra racing in regional Formula 4 championships, and the likes of Dion Gowda, Kai Daryayani and Divy Nandan racing in the GB3 series in the United Kingdom in 2025, there's no doubt the upper echelons of motor racing could witness more Indians in the future.

Initiatives within the country have seen the likes of Indian F4 and the Indian Racing League (IRL) staged successfully for multiple seasons, providing a pathway for nurturing young drivers stepping up from karting into single-seaters.

As Maini stood atop the podium, he relived every Indian's fever dream. The tricolour atop his step of the podium, his heart swelled with pride, the Indian national anthem playing in the background. As Maini sung along, the montage too captured the moment, the Indian flag and Maini's name visible on the halo of the pink DAMS machine, the P1 board in the background.

"I would say it is a dream come true, really, just to stand there with the (Indian) flag behind me, and the national anthem. It's a big day for my country as well, so it makes me very proud," Maini concluded, summing up the golden moments he had always envisioned during his racing career.

While Maini will certainly be soaking in the high of a rare Monaco victory, he will quickly turn his attention towards Sunday's 42-lap feature race. Starting tenth on the road, the DAMS racer will be looking to maintain his position, at the very least, and make it two races in the points around Monaco.

The F2 feature race in Monaco kicks off at 09:40 local time (07:40 GMT, 13:10 IST), and do tune in to see how Maini and the rest fare during the second race of the outing.