Indian racing car driver Arjun Maini has been hitting the social media trends after a video clip of an exasperated him during an F2 Sprint Race in France, in 2018, went viral. Maini, who was recently promoted as AMG’s Performance Driver, is currently entering his third year in the DTM series with the Mercedes AMG HRT team. So, why has the video clip gone viral? But wait, who is Arjun Maini?

Who is Arjun Maini?

Born on 10 December, 1997, Arjun Maini comes from a car racing family background. Arjun’s brother Kush Maini is currently competing in the Formula 2 Championship with Invicta Virtuosi Racing. Arjun’s father Gautam had taken part in the National Racing Championships in the 1990s.

At the age of five, Maini received an 80cc Comer Kart, which was his first Go-Kart. When he was just eight years old, Maini won two championships, his first taste of victory after he won the MRF Mini Max Championship in the Rotax class and the 4-stroke Cadet class.

Following his success on Indian soil, Arjun then set foot on foreign soil with the Asia Max championship.

In 2013, Maini competed in the JK Tyre Racing Series championship, clinching two victories at the Buddh International Circuit. He also went onto win the Malaysia Super 6 Series and also took part in the WSK Euro series. In 2014, Maini participated in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship. He finished in second place overall and lost out on the championship by just three points to his then teammate George Russell.

Seven years later, Maini made his DTM Racing Series debut. He became the first Indian driver to race in the DTM series and raced for Mercedes AMG team GetSpeed. He claimed his first podium finish at thew Norisring circuit in Germany. In 2022, Arjun made a switch to the Mercedes AMG’s Haupt Racing Team (HRT) and has been racing for the team ever since.

Why is he in the news now and what happened?

In the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championships, Maini had been signed by Trident Racing, where he had partnered with the Haas F1 team development driver Santino Ferrucci. During a race at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France, Maini had said over the radio that his car engine lacked enough power and that people did not believe him.

He also claimed that Formula 2 were not providing enough equipment for the race. He qualified in 17th place in the Sprint Race and finished in 13th place, while ending the Feature Race in 10th place.

The heartbreaking radio message from the Indian F2 driver Arjun Maini. pic.twitter.com/bJsDJqsEJD

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) April 7, 2024

“I swear you guys don’t support me at all. I do everything every ****ing session!”, Maini could be heard saying over the radio.

“You can’t do this to me, mate! I have no ****ing power out of the corner, why doesn’t anybody ****ing believe me?”

“F*** It. I don’t want to race in this championship anymore,” added the youngster.

Shortly after, the Trident team then analysed the data and after approaching the F2 authorities, Maini was given a new engine.