| Kush Maini | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Kush Maini.png | ||
| Driver Details | ||
| Nationality |  Indian
| |
| Date of Birth | 2 September 2000 | |
| Experience | FIA Formula 3 Championship FIA Formula 2 Championship | |
| Formula E Career | ||
| Tests | 2 | |
| Début |  2024 Rookie Test
| |
| Current Season | ||
| Team | Mahindra Racing
| |
| Role | Test/Reserve Driver | |
Kush Maini (born 2 September 2000 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India) is an Indian racing driver who served as a test/reserve driver for Mahindra Racing during the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.[1] A member of the Alpine Academy and younger brother of fellow racing driver Arjun Maini, Maini made his FE bow at the 2024 Rookie Test, having been signed by Mahindra to be their test/reserve driver for 2023/24.[2]
Background[]
Maini's career began in karting, although it was only in 2016 that his career began on a serious note, the Indian youth moving to Europe in order to compete in his first single-seater series, the Italian F4 Championship.[3] Sixteenth in his first Italian F4 campaign led Maini to complete a second season, improving to eighth, with Maini also getting a cameo appearance in the sister ADAC Formula 4 Championship to increase his experience.[3] 2018 saw Maini base his efforts in the UK with a campaign in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, where Maini would begin to show some his potential, claiming one win and third in the Championship in his rookie season.[3]
Single Steps: 2019 - 2022[]
Maini moved to the Formula Renault Eurocup for the 2019 season, finishing sixth but with the caveat of having only claimed a single podium finish.[3] A return to British F3 would follow for Maini in 2020, and the Indian pilot would go on to challenge for the title, although he was to ultimately finish as runner-up by 50 points having claimed three victories.[3] 2021 saw Maini move to the F3 Asian Championship, finishing eleventh having again only secured a lone podium spot, while the Indian pilot also made his World Endurance Championship debut in the LMP2 class.[3]
The FIA Formula 3 Championship would be Maini's home for the 2022 season, with the Indian pilot ending his rookie season in fourteenth in the series with another solitary trip to the podium the main highlight for the season.[3]
F2 Feature: 2023 - Present[]
In 2023 Maini would graduate the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Campos Racing, finishing eleventh win a single podium finish, although he did draw the eye of the Alpine Academy who subsequently signed the Indian driver.[3] 2024 saw Maini change teams and claim his maiden F2 win, although the Indian racer would slip to thirteenth in the Championship despite his success, prompting another change of teams to partner Jak Crawford in the series for 2025.[3]
Formula E History[]
Ahead of the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Maini would be signed by Mahindra Racing to be their reserve driver for the campaign, partnering with the team's existing development driver Jordan King.[2] Maini would ultimately wait until the 2024 Rookie Test to make his FE debut, piloting the #21 M10Electro in a day of running alongside Frederik Vesti, with the Indian youth emerging ahead with the fifth fastest time.[4] Retained by Mahindra for 2024/25, Maini would return to the cockpit at the 2025 Jeddah E-Prix I, taking part in the pre-race rookie free practice session, where the Indian youth set the fastest time of the rookie focused session.[1]
Full Formula E Record[]
Shown below are a series of tables outlining Kush Maini's career in Formula E in statistical form:
| Kush Maini's Formula E Test Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Role |
| 2023/24 | Mahindra Racing[2]
|
21 | Mahindra M10Electro | Test/Reserve Driver |
| 2024/25 | Mahindra Racing[1]
|
21 | Mahindra M11Electro | Test/Reserve Driver |
See Also[]
|
See related content on the Formula 2 Wiki |
| Kush Maini |
|---|
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'Maini primed for Rookie Free Practice in Jeddah with Mahindra', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 28/01/2025), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/517263, (Accessed 05/03/2025)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 'Mahindra Racing signs Indian Kush Maini as Reserve Driver', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/11/2023), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/483834/mahindra-racing-signs-indian-kush-maini-as-reserve-driver, (Accessed 10/03/2025)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 'Kush Maini', driverdb.com, (DriverDB AB, 2023), https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/kush-maini, (Accessed 09/07/2023)
- ↑ 'Shwartzman doubles up in the DS to top Rookie Test afternoon running in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/498550, (Accessed 23/09/2024)