Just two races into his sportscar racing career, it’s clear that Arjun Maini has his smile back.
The 21-year-old Indian racer, a former GP3 race winner, has made a fresh start to his motorsport career in 2019, by turning to sportscars after years spent rising the single-seater ranks.
Like many young up-and-comers who climb as high as F2 before switching to sportscars, Maini has had a long-term goal of F1. Instead, though, he now finds himself in a completely different area of the sport after a season spent as a Haas F1 development driver, competing in in Formula 2 with Trident in 2018.
What’s separates him from most, is that this change in career path came in the 11th hour. He hasn’t had much time to sit and think about it. And it has left him at the base of a new and somewhat unfamiliar mountain, with no clear idea yet of what he hopes to find at the top.
His programme in 2019 is in the European Le Mans Series with RLR Msport, which has stepped back into LMP2 after years spent racing (very successfully) in LMP3. It’s a different world to competing in a championship on the Formula One support bill for Maini and it’s presented him with the challenge of learning about sportscar racing, on the job.
“I knew last year the opportunities to race in competitive F2 seats were running out,” he told DSC. “We looked around, and my driver coach told me a seat was available to race alongside Bruno Senna, so that’s how it started.
“The first time I thought about LMP2 was when I heard that seat was available. As soon as I signed I went through so many races over the past few years to start learning. It’s opened up my eyes to a new world, and there’s a lot to learn from this type of racing. I was closed minded before, I wasn’t into long distance stuff, but since I’ve come here my mind has completely changed.”
At this stage of his career, you can’t write a feature about Maini without mentioning the goings on in 2018, you just can’t. When you Google his name, you’re immediately greeted with the events during last F2 season which ultimately led him to try something new.
But don’t let the actions of those around him shape your view too much, there’s so much more to Maini than his radio rant at Paul Ricard or the aftermath to the races at Silverstone. He’s a gentleman, whose news value centred (in some cases unfairly) around controversy rather than his raw talent last year.
Make no mistake, he’s fast and RLR Msport’s Mike Smith couldn’t be more complimentary of his work ethic, even at this early stage.
He’s adapted to racing in LMP2 quickly and he will turn heads as the ELMS season wears on. In his LMP2 debut at Paul Ricard, he ended second in the ‘B Pillar’ table, which ranks drivers on a combination of the fastest lap, and average lap times over the course of a race. And it wasn’t a fluke, as, in Monza, he ended up seventh
Here are just a handful of the names he was above in Italy: Norman Nato, Andrea Pizzitola, Filipe Albuquerque and Nicolas Lapierre. He also featured higher on the list than his teammate Bruno Senna, who has years of LMP2 experience under his belt.
“The actual car isn’t that hard to adapt to, it’s more the traffic and managing that is what I’ve had to work on,” he admitted to DSC. “My first test was in Barcelona, and even though there was only a few cars I had work to do. That’s my biggest area of opportunity.
“The ORECA is really enjoyable, it’s well balanced and it’s in a good window straight away usually. It just needs fine tuning it seems, it’s never undrivable, and it’s nice to set up.”
Next up on his schedule is the small matter of the Le Mans 24 Hours, where he will race alongside ELMS teammate John Farano and Norman Nato (in place of Rebellion-tied Senna) in RLR’s ORECA.
Then comes the rest of the ELMS season, and Maini is eager to impress. He feels at home and in this new environment, so as far as he is concerned, the only way is up. It won’t be easy to score big results, as he’s racing in one of only a handful of ELMS LMP2 cars featuring a Bronze driver in its line-up.
I’ve never had a situation where I’ve been in a team with other drivers willing to help each other
Individually though, he can create opportunities for himself in the future, by big performances. Who knows where his debut ELMS campaign will take him?
“It’s a great atmosphere, really enjoyable,” he told DSC. “It’s far more relaxed than single-seaters, where it’s always intense. It’s a fun way to go racing and a good chance to improve. I’ve never had a situation where I’ve been in a team with other drivers willing to help each other. It’s nice, I’ve learned a lot from Bruno.
“The ELMS is super competitive, there are so many big names, factory drivers, former F1 drivers, it’s a crazy field with strong teams. 19 cars in a P2 field is super competitive. You have to be on top of your game.
“We had a decent first race, we just need to clean up driving in traffic and in the pits. It all needs to be a bit smoother. Expectations shouldn’t be too high.
“Hopefully I can show that I am a driver that can be quite quick. This move has opened a few more doors than another season in F2 would have. I haven’t got a plan, because before it was all F1, F1, F1.
“And that’s still the ultimate dream, but I’m more open to other areas of motorsport now after this experience.”
