Sauber Academy Driver Zane Maloney achieved an impressive performance in the Bahrain Sprint race for Rodin Motorsport, securing his first Formula 2 victory after starting from eighth on the grid. Jake Crawford, starting from pole position in the reverse grid, managed to maintain a podium finish in second place for DAMS. Red Bull Junior driver Josep María Marti, a rookie, showcased his talent by securing a commendable third place for Campos Racing.
Crawford made a strong start, taking the lead at the beginning of the race. Zak O’Sullivan attempted to overtake his ART GP teammate Victor Martins for second place but was unsuccessful. The top three positions remained unchanged after the first 23 laps, with Enzo Fittipaldi and Zane Maloney completing the top 10. However, a Virtual Safety Car period occurred when Amaury Cordeel’s car was removed from the track at Turn 4, causing the pack to bunch up.
Taylor Barnard, who started on the front row, had a challenging start and fell back to 10th place in his PHM AIX Racing car. The race resumed on Lap 3, and Martins, the 2023 rookie of the year, put pressure on Crawford at the front. The leading group of five drivers aimed to create a gap between themselves and the rest of the field, with Isack Hadjar, another Red Bull Junior driver, not far behind in sixth place.
A thrilling battle between Maloney and Fittipaldi ensued, with Maloney overtaking Fittipaldi for fourth place and then setting his sights on O’Sullivan. On Lap 4, Maloney successfully passed O’Sullivan for third place at Turn 1. Demonstrating his pace, Maloney recorded the fastest lap and closed in on second-place Martins.
By the fifth lap, the race became a three-way fight for the lead between Crawford, Martins, and Maloney, while Fittipaldi, Hadjar, and O’Sullivan battled for fourth place. O’Sullivan, who started on harder tires, struggled as the laps went by and dropped further down the order. Maloney continued his charge and overtook Crawford on Lap 7, securing the lead on the exit of Turn 4.
Questions arose about whether Crawford had pushed his soft tires too hard in the opening laps, as Martins closely followed him. PREMA drivers Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman, considered strong contenders for the championship, faced balance issues throughout the weekend. Despite not being required to pit in the Sprint race, both drivers decided to change their tires, resulting in them rejoining the race in 18th and 19th positions respectively.
After falling to the outskirts of the top-10, O’Sullivan, equipped with hard tires, began to make progress on Lap 14, overtaking Fittipaldi for eighth place, who was on soft tires.
In the meantime, Martins, who was in third place, encountered trouble on Lap 15 in the sequence of corners at Turn 5, 6, and 7. As the French driver completed his fifteenth lap, Hadjar was right behind him and successfully overtook him in the DRS zone on the way to Turn 4 on Lap 16.
At the front of the race, Maloney had a comfortable lead of approximately 3 seconds over Crawford, who was in second place. Crawford, in turn, had a six-second gap to third-placed Hadjar.
Unfortunately, Martins’ problems continued, and he was overtaken by another Red Bull junior driver, Martí from Campos Racing, on Lap 18.
Martí then found himself in a battle for the final podium position with Hadjar, who was also a driver for Campos and a Red Bull Junior. Hadjar was struggling with wear on his front tires. Martí managed to take third place at Turn 1 on Lap 20, but Hadjar put up a valiant fight in the first sector. However, he ultimately had to settle for fourth place.
Martins’ situation worsened as he fell back into the midfield, losing fifth place with several competitors close behind as they started Lap 21.
Maloney comfortably secured his first-ever victory, crossing the finish line with a lead of over five seconds ahead of Crawford. Martí finished a second and a half behind Crawford, turning his 11th-place starting position into a podium finish.
Hadjar held on to fourth place, and rookie Paul Aron from Hitech took fifth place, successfully fending off fellow rookie Gabriel Bortoleto from Invicta Racing.
McLaren Junior driver Bortoleto fought his way through a group of cars and managed to pass O’Sullivan, who was in seventh place, with a 1.8-second lead.
Dennis Hauger from MP Motorsport claimed the final points-paying position in eighth place, while reigning Super Formula Champion Ritomo Miyata finished ninth for Rodin.
Trident’s Richard Verschoor completed the top-10 positions.
PREMA had a challenging day, with Antonelli finishing in 14th place and Bearman in 16th place.
The Formula 2 action will continue with the Feature Race on Saturday, starting at 13:30 local time (10:30 GMT).