Formula 2: Jehan Daruvala finishes seventh in feature race of French Grand Prix after second spot in sprint race

Le Castellet: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala started the 'feature race' from 10th on the grid but fought his way up to the seventh spot in Formula 2 French Grand Prix on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, Jehan secured his sixth podium of the season, finishing second in the French round of the Formula 2 championship here. It was his fifth second-place finish this season.

The 23-year-old, who races for Italian team Prema, was robbed of a potential fourth F2 victory by a post-race penalty in the last round in Austria.

"It's good to be back on the podium what happened in Silverstone and Austria. We were struggling with pace down the straights but had some good battles to finish second," Jehan said.

"We would have finished even higher in the feature race with our strategy to run a long first stint but we gambled on a safety car and stayed out a bit longer than ideal. Other than that, it was a solid weekend for us. We still have some areas to work on and I'm confident we'll come back stronger next weekend in Hungary," the 23-year-old added.

Jehan started Saturday's 'sprint race' from the pole position and after a lightning start led into the first corner. He comfortably held on to his own at the front when an incident involving three cars brought out the safety car.

The 23-year-old Mumbai-based driver timed the restart to perfection, that allowed him to open up a small gap with second-placed Liam Lawson but the latter's superior straight-line speed allowed him to close in.

Lawson used his car's superior speed down the straights to get past Jehan and the former swept around the outside into turn one. Jehan held his line but the pair touched, which opened up a tear on his front tyre, but he didn't suffer a puncture.

A few laps later, Marcus Armstrong attempted to pass Jehan for second at the same corner but on the inside. They made contact but Jehan, forced wide across the chicane, and kept his position.

Armstrong was handed a five-second penalty for forcing Jehan off the track. The Red Bull-backed racer, who earlier this week completed a second Formula One test with McLaren, will now go to Hungary.

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