Indian racer Kush Maini secured his maiden podium in the FIA F3 championship after finishing third in the Hungarian GP sprint race. The round saw him secure his largest points haul since making his debut earlier this year.

After previously competing in British F3 (where he finished second overall in 2020) and F3 Asia, Maini stepped up to FIA F3 in 2022.

· Maini 12th in championship

· Goes from P7 to P3 in sprint race

Kush Maini third in Hungarian GP sprint race

Maini was unable to convert his MP Motorsport car’s front-running pace into a top three in qualifying, after a late red flag hampered his final run. But he still secured his best qualifying result since the 2022 opening round in Sakhir, with P6 for the feature race and P7 for the reverse grid sprint race.

The tricky wet to drying conditions in the sprint race caught out several title contenders. Maini had quickly made his way up to fifth, and then dived down the inside of Victor Martins. Isack Hadjar running wide on to the run-off at Turn 13 gave him the chance to pounce.

Determined to clinch his maiden podium, Maini then went side-by-side with Jak Crawford on the penultimate lap, attempting to break the tow. The move paid off for him and the American driver dropped back, allowing Maini to secure the final spot on the podium.

Speaking after the race, the Indian said he was “relieved to finally get the result we deserve”.

P7 in feature race

The feature race once again served up mixed conditions, which this time around played against Maini. Despite running fifth for most of the race, he was passed by two drivers on the last lap as their gamble on the slicks paid off.

This left Maini in seventh place. But he still walks away from Hungary with his biggest points haul all season. After a tough start to the season, he picked up his first points with a fifth-place finish in the Imola feature race. He followed that up with fourth place in the Silverstone sprint race, but was unable to score any points in Austria.

His Hungarian GP results have helped him gain three places in the championship standings and he’s currently 12th overall.