Maini comes from a family of racers. His brother Kush is also a racer competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Invicta Virtuosi Racing, and his father, Gautam, raced in the National Racing Championship in the late 1990s, at the Formula India Single Seater Maruti Engine.[5][6] The teenager first fell in love with motorsport when his father gave him an electric car. Maini received his first go-kart, an 80cc Comer Kart at the age of 5.
Maini's uncle Chetan Maini is an Indian business magnate best known for building India's first electric car, REVA,[7] and as the Founder of Reva Electric Car Company Ltd, now Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited, where he served as an advisor.[8]
He idolises Sebastian Vettel and in his free time enjoys wrestling, cycling, fitness activities and video editing.[9]
Career
Karting
Maini received his first go-kart, an 80cc Comer Kart, at the age of 5. At the young age of 8, Maini won his first two championships, the MRF Mini Max Championship in both the Rotax class and the 4-stroke Cadet class in his first year of racing. After his first titles, Maini raced on foreign soil for the first time in the Asia Max championship, which led to immediate success.[10] In 2008, Maini became the youngest Indian to win a kart race abroad by winning the Malaysian Royal Kelatan Kart Prix held in 2008.[5]
Maini was the youngest driver to take part in the J.K. Tyre Rotax Max Junior Max National championship at the age of 11. He was selected by the Red Rooster Racing Team in 2009.[10] He then took part in the Rotax Max Challenge India - Junior in 2010 and finished in 2nd place, with the highest number of fastest laps.[11] Maini's major breakthrough came in 2011 where he won the J.K.Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship title in the Junior Max category and followed this up by becoming the Sahara Force India team's One from a Billion winner. He was also the winner of AKOC race in Macau as well as the Ask KF3 Race in Elite, Malaysia. He finished second overall in the AKS Malaysian Championship 2011.[10][11]
In his penultimate year of karting, Maini finished a creditable fifth in the ROK Cup International Final in Junior ROK category. Maini was awarded the best rookie at Rowrah while racing in the MSA British Karting Championship. He also finished in second place in Junior category in the Indonesia Kart Prix 2012 along with first place in the Junior max category in Rotax Invitational Karting Race held at Kuala Lumpur.[10]
Lower formulas
Maini then stepped up into cars in 2013. He finished runner up in the J.K.Tyre Racing Series championship, winning two races at the Buddh International Circuit as well as winning the Malaysian Super 6 Series. He also competed in the WSK Euro and Master karting in the KF category.[10]
In 2014, he then went on to compete in the BRDC Formula 4 championship; finishing second overall and missing out on the championship by 3 points to teammate George Russell. He finished the championship with 8 wins and 9 podium finishes. He was also the highest ranked Indian driver in the Driver Database [9]
Maini at the GP3 race at the 2017 Belgian GP
At the beginning of 2015 Maini showed remarkable pace in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand en route to a 4th overall in the championship with two wins, five podiums and 3 poles. He also finished 4th overall in Race 2 of the Pau Grand Prix. However, a learning year in the FIA European Formula 3 series meant he could only manage 18th overall and 9th in the rookie class. Maini did manage to end the season on a high, finishing 10th at the Macau Grand Prix.[12]
GP3 Series
2016
Maini with the Russian Time team at the Abu Dhabi F2 post season test
In 2016, Maini raced for Jenzer Motorsport in the GP3 series, he finished the season in 10th position in the championship despite missing the first 4 races. He also became the first Indian to secure a podium in the GP3 series at Hungaroring, after finishing 2nd.[13] Maini also raced in the Macau GP for Team Motopark.
2017
Maini signed for Jenzer again in 2017, for his second stint in the GP3 Series. He scored two podiums, including a victory in the sprint race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and ended up 9th in the championship, two positions behind teammate Alessio Lorandi.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
At the end of 2017 he took part in a post season test in Abu Dhabi with F2 teams Trident and Russian Time.[14]
While driving in a race at Circuit Paul Ricard, Maini said over the radio that the car lacked power and tearfully claimed people didn't believe him and didn't support him, and that Formula 2 was not providing good equipment.[15][16] The Trident team analyzed data and agreed and approached F2, and Maini was given a new engine shortly after.[17]
Later that season, teammate Ferrucci ran Maini off the track in a race at Silverstone Circuit and then crashed into the back of Maini's car later in the same race after the checkered flag had been waved, both of which were found to be deliberate actions, and Trident apologized to Maini.[18] Ferrucci also "appeared to mock" Maini on Twitter over Maini's rant about the car's power.[19]
Ferrucci was banned for several races and was fired by Trident shortly thereafter, due to these incidents and others.[20][21]
In 2021 Maini joined the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters driving for Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed. He picked up his first podium finish in the series at the Norisring. This was also the first podium finish by an Indian in the history of the series. He switched to Mercedes-AMG Haupt Racing Team for the 2022 season, achieving two 4th-place finishes. He stayed with the team for 2023.
Karting record
Karting career summary
Season
Series
Team
Position
2010
Rotax Max Challenge India — Junior
2nd
2011
ROK Cup International Final — Junior ROK
19th
National Rotax Max Championship India — Junior
1st
Asian Karting Open Championship — Formula 125 Junior Open
