Zane Maloney of BRB’s Rodin Motorsport had an impressive weekend in Bahrain. After winning the Sprint race, he followed it up with a dominant victory in the Feature race, earning almost maximum points.
Maloney had a fantastic start on the Soft tire, overtaking Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar after the polesitter had a slow start and collided with the Campos car. Unfortunately, Enzo Fittipaldi was caught up in the chaos and crashed into Hadjar, leading to both drivers retiring from the race. Bortoleto also suffered front-wing damage and received a 10-second penalty for his involvement in the incident.
Zak O’Sullivan took advantage of the chaos and secured second place, with Dennis Hauger close behind in his MP Motorsport car. The safety car was deployed promptly after the collision, and drivers were instructed to use a shortcut at Turn 1 while Hadjar and Fittipaldi’s cars were removed from the track. This was the first Feature Race of the season with the new cars for both drivers.
Continuing Prema’s disappointing weekend, Oliver Bearman encountered a mechanical issue and had to pit before the pit stops officially opened. Meanwhile, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the reigning FRECA champion and a Mercedes prodigy, had a steady race in the midfield.
When the safety car returned to the pits, Maloney made a quick start, while Jak Crawford made a bold move to overtake Bortoleto and aim for a podium position. Hauger faced pressure from Crawford, who had softer tires and used the DRS zone to his advantage, ultimately overtaking Hauger.
Maloney set the fastest lap on Lap 5 and established a 1.7-second lead. O’Sullivan, who was tailing behind, gradually lost the slipstream to Maloney, making him vulnerable to Pepe Marti from Campos, who overtook him on the straight with softer tires.
Juan Manuel Correa retired from the race due to a mechanical issue, while O’Sullivan remained in contention for a podium finish. Richard Verschoor made a successful overtaking maneuver on Japanese rookie Ritomo Miyata, securing 7th place. Bortoleto also managed to pass Hauger and regain a place on the podium.
On Lap 11, many drivers pitted as the window opened. Martins switched to softer tires, but Taylor Barnard’s pit stop was slow and resulted in an ill-fitted right rear tire, forcing him to return to the pits later. Miyata overtook Hauger on the outside of Turn 1 and maintained his position until Turn 6, securing 6th place.
Pit lane chaos continued as Bearman collided with Amaury Cordeel while both aimed for the pits on Lap 16. O’Sullivan and Hauger also pitted for soft tires. By Lap 16, Maloney had a 4.9-second lead, but Crawford experienced a power loss during his pit stop and had to retire from the race.
Verschoor and Aron received 5-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane. Additionally, Victor Martins from ART lost power, resulting in yellow flags in sector 2 just as the race leader was heading into the pits. Maloney rejoined the race in the lead, and Antonelli managed to climb up into the points positions by Lap 20 on his debut weekend.
The safety car was deployed on Lap 19, leading the pack until Maloney made a swift exit down the straight when green flags were waved on Lap 21. The pack behind Maloney was closely contested. Kush Maini, who had been disqualified from qualifying but worked his way up the field, found himself in contention for points after the safety car restart.
DRS was enabled, and the two Prema drivers, Antonelli and Bearman, raced side by side. Antonelli managed to overtake Bearman on the outside, securing eighth place. However, he faced pressure from multiple drivers going into Turn 10. Miyata lost position to Bortoleto, leaving him stuck between Antonelli in 8th and a train of cars behind him.
Indian driver Kush Maini closely followed Antonelli and overtook him alongside Bortoleto at Turn 4. Marti made a move on the inside of Turn 1, securing second place in the final few laps. Aron also made a successful overtaking maneuver on O’Sullivan, taking third place as O’Sullivan struggled with his degrading tires.
Hauger lost 5th place to his teammate Franco Colapinto, while Maini and Bortoleto battled for position, with Bortoleto eventually overtaking Maini at Turn 6 on Lap 30. Bortoleto made an impressive recovery after a difficult start to the Feature race. However, Maloney was the standout performer, securing a 4.6-second lead over Marti in second place.
Marti finished as the runner-up after an impressive drive from 12th on the grid, while Aron claimed the final spot on the podium after starting 13th. O’Sullivan held onto fourth place, and Bortoleto made a strong recovery to finish in fifth despite the penalty. MP Motorsport had two drivers in the top ten, with Colapinto in sixth and Hauger in eighth.
Miyata finished in ninth place for Rodin, and Antonelli, the Mercedes junior driver, earned his first points finish in 10th place on his debut F2 weekend. This was a much-needed result for Prema after a disappointing start to the season.