In the past, he has participated in Formula 4, Formula Renault Eurocup, FIA World Endurance Championship, BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, and most recently, FIA Formula 3.
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Indian racing driver Kush Maini, who was born on September 22, 2000, will represent Campos Racing in the 2023 Formula 2 Championship. In the past, he has participated in Formula 4, Formula Renault Eurocup, FIA World Endurance Championship, BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, and most recently, FIA Formula 3. He is the nephew of Indian business tycoon Chetan Maini and the younger brother of Arjun Maini, a racing driver who competed in GP3 and Formula 2. In the 2016 Italian F4 Championship, Maini raced for BVM Racing to begin his single-seater career. His campaign got off to a strong start, earning points in the year’s first six races. The Indian finished third in the final race in Vallelunga, achieving his first podium finish in auto racing after a challenging middle of the year. He placed fifth in the rookies’ championship and 16th overall at the end of the season.
In Italian F4 for 2017, Maini switched teams and competed with Giorgio Carrara, Federico Malvestiti, Giacomo Bianchi, and Job van Uitert. With two podiums at Imola and Monza, as well as numerous top-five finishes, Maini’s sophomore season would prove to be more successful, helping him place eighth overall. The Indian driver joined Lanan Racing in 2018 and advanced to the British Formula 3 Championship. With the reversed-grid race victory at Rockingham and seven additional podium finishes, the season turned out to be a breakthrough one for Maini, who finished third in the standings.
The following year, Maini and M2 Competition switched to the Formula Renault Eurocup. His first race at Monza saw him finish on the podium, but he was unable to repeat that performance the rest of the season. However, he was a reliable scorer, and as the second-highest rookie, he finished sixth in the standings with 102 points. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian changed his plans and joined Hitech Grand Prix in the British F3 series instead of continuing in the Eurocup with three-time champions R-ace GP. After winning three races all year, Maini placed second in the standings.
In the F3 Asian Championship in the winter of 2021, Maini debuted for the brand-new Indian team Mumbai Falcons alongside Formula 2 driver Jehan Daruvala. After a challenging start to the season, he moved up to 11th place in the standings after a run of seven points finishes in the last nine races, including a podium finish at the final round in Abu Dhabi. His only other race of the year was at the 6 Hours of Bahrain of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship as a last-minute replacement in ARC Bratislava’s LMP2 team because he was unable to secure a full-time drive for the main season.
At MP Motorsport, Maini advanced to the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2022, sharing the wheel with Caio Collet and Alexander Smolyar. According to quotes from Maini, the team’s performance the year before demonstrated “their ability to coach rookie drivers on their way to immediately performing well in the series,” and he was excited to join MP Motorsport for his first year in FIA F3. In Bahrain, where his season began, Maini qualified third, but he was forced to start both races from the back of the field because he missed the weighbridge during the practise.
With a fifth-place finish at the following race in Imola, Maini earned his first points of the year. More points were scored at Silverstone, where Reece Ushijima beat Maini to the podium in the sprint race. In Hungary, Maini would achieve his best performance of the year, placing third on Saturday to earn his lone podium of the year and seventh on Sunday. However, as Maini finished 14th in the drivers’ standings, this would turn out to be his final season-ending points finish.
