The climb
Kush Maini, born in Bangalore on 22 September 2000, is the standard-bearer for Indian single-seater racing in his generation and the younger brother of fellow racer Arjun Maini. His path ran through karting and into the Italian F4 Championship in 2016 (16th with BVM Racing), improving to eighth the following year. The breakthrough came in BRDC British F3: third in 2018 with a win at Rockingham, then a title charge in 2020 that yielded three victories — at Brands Hatch, Donington Park and Snetterton — and runner-up in the standings.
Formula 3
Maini contested the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship with MP Motorsport alongside Caio Collet and Alexander Smolyar, taking a podium on his way to a points-scoring rookie campaign that opened the door to Formula 2.
Formula 2
He stepped up to F2 in 2023 with Campos Racing, finishing 11th — his career-best — with a podium. October 2023 brought the defining call of his career: a place in the Alpine Academy. For 2024 he moved to Invicta Racing and scored his maiden F2 win in the Budapest Sprint at the Hungaroring, also racing with DAMS Lucas Oil; with DAMS in 2025 he added a second Sprint victory at Monaco.
2026 season
For 2026 Maini embarked on his fourth F2 season — now with ART Grand Prix, one of the grid's elder statesmen at just 25. The aggregated 'Invicta/DAMS/Campos' tag belongs to earlier years; ART is his current team, partnered with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak. He delivered early, taking pole at Barcelona and converting the Sprint into his third career F2 win by a commanding 7.269 seconds, before coming home ninth in the Feature. That haul left him ninth in the championship on 41 points as the season continued. Alongside the racing, his Alpine Academy role makes him an F1 test and reserve driver — he has completed his first F1 test for the team — and a Formula E reserve for Mahindra Racing, keeping India firmly on the modern junior map. The season remains in progress.