The 2024 Sakhir FIA Formula 2 round was a motor race held between 29 February and 2 March 2024 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the first race of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship and was being held in support of the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Rodin Motorsport driver Zane Maloney got off to a perfect start into the 2024 season as he won both races of the weekend, to become the third driver in the series' history after Felipe Drugovich and Oliver Bearman to do so.
Report Background The round saw the competitive début of the new Dallara F2 2024 chassis. The F2 2024 was introduced to replace the Dallara F2 2018 chassis which had been used since 2018.
Team changes New Zealand automotive manufacturer Rodin Cars took over Carlin and renamed the team Rodin Motorsport, after previously becoming majority shareholder in 2023.
Virtuosi Racing was entered under the moniker Invicta Racing after watchmaker Invicta deepened its involvement with the team, having been its title sponsor in 2023.
Driver changes Reigning driver's champion Théo Pourchaire left ART Grand Prix and the series, as the category's sporting regulations disallow such title defenses. The previous year's top four finishers – Pourchaire, Frederik Vesti, Jack Doohan, and Ayumu Iwasa – would all exit the series. Reigning FIA Formula 3 Championship champion Gabriel Bortoleto entered the championship with Invicta Racing, with Formula Regional European Championship champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli making his debut in the series for Prema Racing, and reigning Super Formula champion Ritomo Miyata joining Rodin Motorsport for his international motorsport debut with the support of Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Classification Qualifying Qualifying was held on 29 February 2024, at 16:55 local time (UTC+3). Driver Entrant Time/Gap 110 Gabriel BortoletoInvicta Racing 1:41.915101220 Isack HadjarCampos Racing +0.0239235 Zane MaloneyRodin Motorsport +0.06783411 Dennis HaugerMP Motorsport +0.0757456 Ritomo MiyataRodin Motorsport +0.0886562 Zak O'SullivanART Grand Prix +0.09956714 Enzo FittipaldiVan Amersfoort Racing +0.1554781 Victor MartinsART Grand Prix +0.24338925 Taylor BarnardPHM AIX Racing +0.29229107 Jak CrawfordDAMS Lucas Oil +0.3721101121 Pepe MartíCampos Racing +0.41811111217 Paul AronHitech Pulse-Eight +0.4251212138 Juan Manuel CorreaDAMS Lucas Oil +0.45413131415 Rafael VillagómezVan Amersfoort Racing +0.47714141512 Franco ColapintoMP Motorsport +0.47715151622 Richard VerschoorTrident +0.7291616174 Andrea Kimi AntonelliPrema Racing +0.7781717183 Oliver BearmanPrema Racing +0.79518181916 Amaury CordeelHitech Pulse-Eight +1.03019192023 Roman StaněkTrident +1.15320202124 Joshua DürksenPHM AIX Racing +1.2382121107% time: 1:49.049 (+7.134)9 Kush MainiInvicta Racing1:41.6962222Source: Notes – Rafael Villagómez and Franco Colapinto set identical times in qualifying; Villagómez was classified ahead as he set his lap time earlier. – Kush Maini originally qualified first and claimed pole position for the feature race, but was subsequently disqualified after his car's undertray was found to be in violation of series regulations. He was allowed to compete in the races at the stewards' discretion.
Sprint race The sprint race was held on 1 March 2024, at 17:15 local time (UTC+3).
Driver Entrant Laps Time/Retired Points15 Zane MaloneyRodin Motorsport23 42:13.726810 (1)27 Jak CrawfordDAMS Lucas Oil23 +5.49018321 Pepe MartíCampos Racing23 +7.057116420 Isack HadjarCampos Racing23 +9.78395517 Paul AronHitech Pulse-Eight23 +18.188124610 Gabriel BortoletoInvicta Racing23 +18.32010372 Zak O'SullivanART Grand Prix23 +20.13552811 Dennis HaugerMP Motorsport23 +21.0327196 Ritomo MiyataRodin Motorsport23 +21.49061022 Richard VerschoorTrident23 +21.83916111 Victor MartinsART Grand Prix23 +23.8403128 Juan Manuel CorreaDAMS Lucas Oil23 +26.83313139 Kush MainiInvicta Racing23 +27.24622144 Andrea Kimi AntonelliPrema Racing23 +30.260171524 Joshua DürksenPHM AIX Racing23 +35.25721163 Oliver BearmanPrema Racing23 +36.247181714 Enzo FittipaldiVan Amersfoort Racing23 +56.18341812 Franco ColapintoMP Motorsport23 +1:04.819151915 Rafael VillagómezVan Amersfoort Racing23 +1:31.55814DNF23 Roman StaněkTrident19 Retired20DNF25 Taylor BarnardPHM AIX Racing16 Brakes2DNF16 Amaury CordeelHitech Pulse-Eight0 Collision damage19Fastest lap set by Enzo Fittipaldi: 1:45.833 (lap 23)Source:
Notes – Rafael Villagómez received a ten-second penalty post-race for causing a collision with Amaury Cordeel. His final position was not affected by the penalty.
Feature race The feature race was held on 2 March 2024, at 13:30 local time (UTC+3).
Driver Entrant Laps Time/Retired Points15 Zane MaloneyRodin Motorsport32 1:02:46.435325221 Pepe MartíCampos Racing32 +4.6211118317 Paul AronHitech Pulse-Eight32 +11.781121542 Zak O'SullivanART Grand Prix32 +12.523612510 Gabriel BortoletoInvicta Racing32 +12.591110 (2)612 Franco ColapintoMP Motorsport32 +13.60915879 Kush MainiInvicta Racing32 +14.719226811 Dennis HaugerMP Motorsport32 +16.00244 (1)96 Ritomo MiyataRodin Motorsport32 +16.27252104 Andrea Kimi AntonelliPrema Racing32 +20.4051711124 Joshua DürksenPHM AIX Racing32 +24.035211215 Rafael VillagómezVan Amersfoort Racing32 +29.532141323 Roman StaněkTrident32 +31.193201422 Richard VerschoorTrident32 +33.70217153 Oliver BearmanPrema Racing32 +51.135181625 Taylor BarnardPHM AIX Racing32 +58.9999DNF1 Victor MartinsART Grand Prix17 Engine8DNF7 Jak CrawfordDAMS Lucas Oil16 Stalled10DNF16 Amaury CordeelHitech Pulse-Eight14 Collision damage19DNF8 Juan Manuel CorreaDAMS Lucas Oil6 Transmission13DNF20 Isack HadjarCampos Racing0 Collision2DNF14 Enzo FittipaldiVan Amersfoort Racing0 Collision7Fastest lap set by Dennis Hauger: 1:46.743 (lap 17)Source:
Notes: – Paul Aron and Rafael Villagómez both received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. However, their final positions were not affected by their penalties. – Richard Verschoor originally finished thirteenth, but received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him down to fourteenth in the final classification.
Standings after the event
Drivers' Championship standings Driver Points 1 Zane Maloney 36 2 Pepe Martí 24 3 Paul Aron 19 4 Gabriel Bortoleto 15 5 Zak O'Sullivan 14 Teams' Championship standings Team Points 1 Rodin Motorsport 38 2 Campos Racing 29 3 Invicta Racing 21 4 Hitech Pulse-Eight 19 5 ART Grand Prix 14
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix 2024 Sakhir Formula 3 round
References
External links
Official website