Indian driver Kush Maini of Campos Racing fought off a robust problem from Arthur Leclerc of DAMS in a rain-interrupted race to say his first-ever Formulation 2 podium with a third-place end within the Dash Race at Albert Park, in Melbourne on Saturday.

Maini began from P3 on the grid on prime tyres and held on to his place for a number of laps whereas Arthur Leclerc was proper behind him placing stress on the softer tyres.

Leclerc received previous Maini on Lap 7, however the Indian fought again and made a final second dive onto the within and reclaimed his spot.

The race occurred in damp situations, with the drivers battling it out in an attritional race.

Leclerc saved the stress on by the protection automobile restarts as properly however Maini held on to a well-deserved maiden podium in F2.

Leclerc previous Maini… Maini previous Leclerc! ��

We beloved this duel for the ultimate podium place ��#AusGP #F2 pic.twitter.com/dL9EANEYGz

– Formulation 2 (@Formula2) April 1, 2023

“I’ve been ready on the doorstep of getting onto a podium and narrowly missed it at Bahrain,” the 22-year-old stated.

That is Maini’s first season as a rookie within the Formulation 2 collection, after ending 14th general in Formulation 3 final 12 months.

“It was nice to get my first podium on a brand new observe as a rookie. It’s most necessary to maintain constant as it is a very lengthy collection. We’ve got had an excellent begin to the season to date with consistency in qualifying – all the time within the prime 8.”

Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport) and Jak Crawford (Hitech Pulse-Eight) took the top-two finishes.

The opposite Indian within the fray, Jehan Daruvala driving MP Motorsport had a disappointing seventeenth place end, after consecutive podium finishes within the earlier spherical in Saudi Arabia. A twelfth place begin was additional compounded by a late pit-stop that noticed him drop down the order.

The 2 Indian racers will probably be in motion throughout the characteristic race, with Maini ranging from eighth place.