India’s Kush Maini has been announced as one of Alpine’s test and reserve drivers for the 2025 F1 season. Alongside his new F1 duties, he’ll also be competing in F2 (his third campaign in the championship) with DAMS.
The 24-year-old follows in the footsteps of his older brother Arjun Maini, who served as the Haas F1 team’s development driver back in 2017.
- Maini will also continue racing in F2 with DAMS
- Fastest at Formula E’s rookie practice session
Kush Maini F1 reserve driver role
Maini joined Alpine’s young driver programme in 2023 and since then, he’s completed four test sessions with an older-spec F1 car. As Alpine’s test and reserve driver, he’ll work on car development and set-up on the simulator at Alpine’s Enstone factory. He’ll also have more on-track F1 test sessions lined up this year as part of the team’s TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) programme.
“Being a reserve driver for the BWT Alpine F1 Team is an incredible opportunity, and a moment of immense pride for me and my family as it’s been my dream to represent the Tricolor in F1. This is a once in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m deeply grateful for the trust the team has placed in me. I’m excited to kickstart 2025 and continue this remarkable journey,” said Maini.
Alpine Academy Director Julian Rose added, “We are very happy to announce the expansion of Kush’s role in the Alpine Academy to include Test and Reserve Driver duties for the team this season. Kush has impressed the team across his TPC performances and Formula 2 results whilst we have been working with him and we expect he will continue to do so in 2025. His wider role allows us to further expand our pool of driving talent who can provide support and resource to the whole team during the busy season.”
Kush Maini F2 2025, Formula E duties
2024 F2 was a season of ups and downs for Maini. He secured five podium finishes, including a race win in Hungary, but ended up 13th in the standings.
Speaking to Autocar India earlier this year, Maini said he feels better prepared for his upcoming third campaign, though. “Mentally, I feel like I’m a lot more ready for anything,” he said.
“After the first four rounds last year, I thought everything would be smooth sailing and then it really fell down. And I don’t think I was ready for that mentally. But this year F2 is just so unpredictable that I’m glad I have another chance. I know what I’m capable of and if I keep that form like I did for the first four races [last year], we’ll be fighting for the championship for sure.”
The Indian has already kicked off 2025 on the strong note. Driving for Mahindra Racing, he topped the Formula E rookie Free Practice session in Jeddah. With a fastest time of 1 min 17.184 secs, he outperformed the likes of 2023 F2 champion Theo Pourchaire, former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat and three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick.
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