More action on the Indian motorsport front! After the news of 3 new race tracks and an Indian entry into the Asian Le Mans with an eye on the Le Mans 24 Hours comes news of an Indian team in the Asian Formula 3 Championship. We can confirm that Mumbai Racing Falcons Limited, the team that finished runners-up in the 2019 X1 Racing League, will be entering the F3 Asian Championship. MFRL (Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited) will have Armaan Ebrahim as team principal and will be mentored by Kapil Dev! The two confirmed drivers are Jehan Daruvala and Kush Maini.
Where do we even begin? This is among the first all-Indian efforts in racing events of the scale and importance of the Asian Formula 3 Championship. Team principal Armaan Ebrahim is one of the co-founders of the X1 Racing League and he was also the only Asian driver competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2009, where he was awarded the ‘Driver With the Best Race Form’. He was also the Formula LGB Champion and was runner up in the Formula V6 Asia.
The team’s first driver, Jehan Daruvala, has already been flying the country’s flag high in the FIA Formula 2 series while racing for Red Bull-backed Carlin Motorsport. After a slew of solid results, he managed to finish 12th in the 2020 driver’s standings. Jehan should be a solid candidate for Formula 1 in the near future, especially considering his teammate Yuki Tsonoda has just got a seat in F1 2021.
Kush Maini is another up and coming Indian talent and has shown what he’s capable of by finishing third in the BRDC FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2018. He bettered that by finishing runner up in the 2020 BRDC FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Kapil Dev will be the team mentor and an icon in the lineup who will not only bring the years of experience of captaining the Indian team, but also a massive amount of followers to the sport because of his name.
MFRL will be racing a Tatuus chassis, with a carbon monocoque homologated for the F3. It is powered by a 1742cc four-cylinder turbocharged Alfa Romeo engine, producing 266bhp and 350Nm of torque. The engine is linked up to a Sadev SL-R 82 six-speed gearbox with Magneti Marelli ESA paddle shifters and a limited-slip differential.
The 2021 Asian Formula 3 kicks off at the Dubai Autodrome on January 29, before which there will be pre-season testing held on January 27. There will be a total of 5 rounds held, with 15 races in total, all of which will alternate between the Dubai Autodrome and the Yas Marina Circuit. The last round will be held on February 19 and 20.
We can’t wait to see MFRL battle it out at the Asian F3 on January 29! If the 2020 season is anything to go by, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a livestream considering it was shown on YouTube and Facebook at no cost. We wish the team best of luck!