On his first Formula 3 race for Prema in Bahrain, Arvid Lindblad, a driver from the Red Bull Academy, surpassed both ART drivers and comfortably took the top spot on the podium. Starting off strongly, Laurens Van Hoepen, who had secured pole position, led the pack into Turn 1 before his teammate Nikola Tsolov overtook him to claim the leading position, resulting in an ART 1-2. In a chaotic start, Van Hoepen briefly regained the first place from Tsolov, but Tsolov’s daring maneuver on the inside allowed him to snatch the lead once again. Dino Beganovic, a Ferrari junior, had a smoky start and received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision on the first lap, which led to a puncture and a necessary tire change.
Throughout the first half of the race, Max Esterson from Jenzer Motorsport held on to third place, taking advantage of the battle between the ART drivers when the DRS (Drag Reduction System) was enabled, allowing him to close the gap to the race leader. However, Lindblad and Leonardo Fornaroli from Trident managed to overtake him for track position on Lap 9. The top five drivers broke away from the rest of the pack, all vying for their first race win of the season. This broke the DRS train that had formed and posed a challenge to the ART pairing.
Van Hoepen once again reclaimed the lead on Lap 11, only to have Tsolov steal it back after a side-by-side scuffle. Meanwhile, Luke Browning received a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage by overtaking Christian Mansell on the outside. Lindblad reappeared on the inside, racing side by side with Van Hoepen to hold onto second place until a lockup caused him to lose his advantage. The ART drivers exchanged positions on the track for one lap until Van Hoepen made a brief lockup in Turn 11, dropping him to third place.
Tsolov managed to gain a half-second lead going into Lap 14, but Lindblad made a daring move down the inside on Lap 15 to snatch the lead before Tsolov reclaimed it by finding a gap at Turn 4. In the crucial final three laps, Lindblad took the lead ahead of Tsolov before the first braking zone, establishing a gap of almost two seconds and forcing the ART drivers to battle for second place. Breaking away from the DRS train, Lindblad led into the final lap, while Fornaroli secured the second podium position, overtaking Tsolov. Gabriele Mini showcased impressive driving skills as he powered through the field, overtaking other drivers to finish in seventh place.
With a comfortable five-second lead, Lindblad secured his first win of the season on his debut race, while Tsolov relinquished his race lead to finish in fourth place after being overtaken by his teammate and Fornaroli.