Jehan Daruvala, has taken his very first race win this season in Monza, and his first FIA Formula 2 Feature Race win.

After two Safety Cars and a Red Flag, the man from Mumbai capitalised on the final reshuffle; Being in the right place at the right time secured the victory at the historic Monza Circuit in Italy.

The PREMA driver spoke exclusively to insideF2 about how the win has made a difference to his outlook before the final round in Abu Dhabi:

“It’s a big relief, especially after the last few weeks. [I] was beginning to feel bad in both driving and mentally, so to bounce back like this this weekend is a big confidence boost.”

Candidly admitting that he himself, and the team, share responsibility for his results this season, the Indian driver said, “I don’t like to say it a lot but Zandvoort was the only weekend I didn’t drive well. Let’s say we have been lacking a lot of speed in other places and the last two weekends it’s kind of clicked, and we’ve made steps forward.”

Those steps meant a good overall performance in Qualifying, securing a P6 on the starting grid in Sunday’s Feature Race, that gave him the opportunity for the victory:

“I was in the fight for Pole which I haven’t been all year and (Saturday) I was moving forward [with a third place podium finish], and today I had a lot of pace as well.

“It feels nice. It’s better late than never, and I’m happy with the result. It’s a good way to go into a big break.”

With multiple incidents happening to Daruvala, from being hit from behind on Lap 1 and losing part of his bargeboard, to losing radio comms between driver and pit wall in the final laps, PREMA will no doubt have enjoyed this sought after boost:

“I think they’re happy. They’re a Championship winning team. I wasn’t afraid they wouldn’t bounce back, [and] this is definitely the best way to bounce back.

“Hopefully in Abu Dhabi we can finish off the same way.”

Image Credit: @F1Joan/Formula Motorsport limited