“The dream is F1,” says Jaden Pariat, currently racing in British F4

Jaden Pariat hails from Shillong, Meghalaya—a place not often associated with producing India’s next motorsport sensation. However, inspired by his father, a former rally enthusiast, Jaden is determined to make his mark in the world of track racing, aiming for the pinnacle of motorsport: Formula 1. Together, father and son have devoted themselves entirely to turning this dream into reality. But it’s not just wishful thinking; their journey is marked by relentless preparation, rigorous training, meticulous planning, and countless hours of practice. I sat down with this dedicated duo to delve into their approach and the immense effort required to break into what is arguably the most challenging sport in the world to enter.

What started this dream?

In his day, Atikur himself was a rally driver, which led to Jaden travelling to a lot of competitions himself at an early age and falling in love with cars and motorsports. Atikur got Jaden an ATV when he was just four years old. It wasn’t long before Jaden showed promise with the way he would handle the ATV. At five, he got a Polaris and learnt the crucial skill of handling vehicles at speed. While his childhood was spent around modified rally cars, his love for watching F1 led to the desire to drive the fastest cars there are. Jaden hails from Shillong in Meghalaya, which does not have any substantial opportunity to develop racing skills, so they moved to Delhi. 

It was in Delhi that Jaden got his taste for karting and immediately knew what he wanted to do. While he was competing with friends and setting fastest laps, if things were to get professionally serious, a proper plan was warranted. So while the world paused during the Covid pandemic, this father-son duo decided to commit 100 per cent to getting Jaden to race professionally. And that started with the X30 karting championship in which by 2021, he was the vice national champion at Meco Kartopia. Next came Meco Formula junior racing where he finished third in the championship and then the JK Tyre national racing championship within the FLGB1300 category, finishing the season on the podium in almost every race, and ending up P2 in the championship. With some more testing in other racing series in India, it was time to step it up to the next level.

With the big(ger) boys

It is no secret that India lacks infrastructure and maybe even the intention to develop budding racing drivers for an international level. So Atikur and Jaden decided to move to the mecca of motorsports—the UK. At a race in Silverstone, Jaden got his first podium in British F4. And then, the people who really mattered started to notice this young Indian’s talent. His favourite track condition? A wet track. “It was raining and I was enjoying getting the tail out at every corner, while I was singing in the cockpit,” Jaden tells me. He ended up P2 in that race. Since then, more testing and success followed. But as any racer will tell you, time on track is only a small part of the day; it’s the rest of the time used for preparations and training that really matters.

“Getting him the right environment and the right team was crucial. He can get only so far with passion; we needed him to really develop his technique and driving skill,” said Atikur. As of today, Jaden’s driver coach is Alex Yoong, a former F1 driver, and his physical training setup is with PAP (Pioneered Athlete Performance), the same organisation that trains Lando Norris. Apart from that, he also now has a mental coach who also works with current and former F1 drivers, to help him extract the maximum capacity from his brain.

Goals ahead

“The thing that surprised me the most when I moved to the UK was the level of competition and commitment there,” said Jaden. Which is why having a robust setup of a team around Jaden was necessary. “We would either go 100 per cent commitment or none at all. 70 per cent commitment would not cut it in the big leagues,” said Atikur. And their commitment shows. As Atikur spends his time trying to figure out the best way to represent his son, talking to potential sponsors, media, race teams and training partners, Jaden spends his time training physically, mentally, on track and off track.

All this is especially important when their aim currently is to reach Formula 2 by 2027. That’s only three years from now. Jaden is on a steep learning curve with the potential and commitment in place. He is focusing on maximising his learning at British F4 because once he enters F3 and onwards, the testing times will become very limited and he needs to have his skills and techniques in place before that.

Talking to Jaden and Atikur, what stood out to me was the sheer self-belief Jaden had within himself. The calmness in his voice as he spoke of his approaches gave me the sense that this is a boy who only needs to impart this same belief to his family and the world for people to look at him as a serious contender; in his mind, he already is. Conversely, his father, like any Indian dad, is many times validating his performances by speaking to the team owners, driver coach and performance engineer. I, for one, will be watching Jaden’s progress closely, because not only should F1 have more representation from India, there need to be examples of sons doing more than just the ‘safe professions’ and their fathers whole-heartedly supporting them.