2018 Sakhir Formula 2 round

The 2018 Bahrain FIA Formula 2 round was a pair of motor races for Formula 2 cars that took place on 7 and 8 April 2018 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain as part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It was the first round of the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship and ran in support of the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix.[1]

Bahrain  2018 Bahrain Formula 2 round
Round details
Round 1 of 12 in the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Layout of the Bahrain International Circuit
LocationBahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain
CoursePermanent racing facility
5.406 km (3.359 mi)
Feature race
Date 7 April 2018
Laps 31[N 1]
Pole position
Driver United Kingdom Lando Norris Carlin
Time 1:41.761
Podium
First United Kingdom Lando Norris Carlin
Second Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Carlin
Third Russia Artem Markelov Russian Time
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom Lando Norris Carlin
Time 1:48.072 (on lap 19)
Sprint race
Date 8 April 2018
Laps 23
Podium
First Russia Artem Markelov Russian Time
Second Germany Maximilian Günther BWT Arden
Third Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Carlin
Fastest lap
Driver Netherlands Nyck de Vries Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing
Time 1:47.711 (on lap 11)

The round saw the competitive début of the new Dallara F2 2018 chassis and its turbocharged Mecachrome engine. The F2 2018 was introduced as a replacement for the aging Dallara GP2/11 chassis and its naturally-aspirated engine, which had been used by the championship and its predecessor, the GP2 Series since 2011.[2][3]

Report

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Background

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The race saw the introduction of a brand new chassis to replace the Dallara GP2/11 which had been used since 2011 when the series was known as the GP2 Series. The new car, the Dallara F2 2018, features substantial technical revisions to its design, making it similar to the current Formula One cars. It features the "halo" cockpit protection device for driver head protection and is also powered by a brand new engine, a 3.4 litre (207 cu in) single-turbocharged V6 engine developed by Mecachrome. This was brought in as a replacement for the 4.0 litre (244 cu in) naturally aspirated V8 engine which was used since the GP2 Series began back in 2005.

Driver changes for this season saw reigning champion Charles Leclerc join Formula One with the Alfa Romeo Sauber team, replacing Pascal Wehrlein. His teammate from Prema Racing last year, Antonio Fuoco, joined the new Charouz Racing System team, joining Louis Delétraz, who joined the team after racing with Racing Engineering and Rapax in 2017. Reigning teams' champions Russian Time signed Japanese driver Tadasuke Makino to partner Artem Markelov. Luca Ghiotto, who raced for Russian Time in 2017, joined Campos Racing. DAMS signed Alexander Albon to replace Oliver Rowland, Prema Racing brought in Sean Gelael and Nyck de Vries, and MP Motorsport signed Roberto Merhi and Ralph Boschung, who were also teammates at Campos at the Catalunya round in 2017.

Other débutants this season were Roy Nissany, son of Chanoch Nissany, who joined Campos, Maximilian Günther and Nirei Fukuzumi, who both moved up from the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and GP3 Series respectively with BWT Arden, Arjun Maini, who also graduated from the GP3 Series, joined Trident, partnering Santino Ferrucci. ART Grand Prix promoted Jack Aitken and reigning GP3 Series champion George Russell to their F2 team, and Lando Norris began his first full season with Carlin.

Qualifying

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Two Formula 2 full-time rookies Lando Norris and George Russell occupied the front row of the grid.[4] While the second row was locked by more experienced Alexander Albon and Nyck de Vries.

Feature race

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After starting from pole Lando Norris dominated the race, finishing ahead of his teammate Sérgio Sette Câmara with almost seven second margin.[5] Sette Câmara defended his runner-up spot on the podium after pressure in the final laps from Russian Time driver Artem Markelov, who was forced to start from pitlane after stalling on the grid. Alexander Albon finished ahead of Russell, who was the highest-placed driver without previous Formula 2 starts. The Prema pairing of Nyck de Vries and Sean Gelael finished behind Russell. Rookie Maximilian Günther finished eighth and subsequently started from pole in the sprint race. Russell's teammate and another rookie driver Jack Aitken finished ninth. Ralph Boschung completed the top-ten. Nicholas Latifi, Luca Ghiotto, Louis Delétraz and Santino Ferrucci were unable to use their experience to score points. Arjun Maini and Roy Nissany finished 15th and 16th on their F2 race debut. Antonio Fuoco finished ahead of the pair of the Japanese rookies Nirei Fukuzumi and Tadasuke Makino, who were the last finished drivers. Like Markelov, Roberto Merhi stalled on the grid, but was unable to start the race from pit lane.

Sprint race

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Artem Markelov took his first victory of the season with Maximilian Günther second, Sérgio Sette Câmara rounding out the podium in third and Lando Norris fourth. The final points places went to Nyck de Vries, who also set the fastest lap, Luca Ghiotto, Ralph Boschung, and Nirei Fukuzumi scored his first points with 8th. All drivers finished in this race, with Santino Ferrucci the last finisher in 20th place.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos. No. Driver Team Time Gap Grid
1 19   Lando Norris Carlin 1:41.761 1
2 8   George Russell ART Grand Prix 1:41.823 +0.062 2
3 5   Alexander Albon DAMS 1:41.850 +0.089 3
4 4   Nyck de Vries Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing 1:41.880 +0.119 4
5 20   Louis Delétraz Charouz Racing System 1:42.174 +0.413 5
6 18   Sérgio Sette Câmara Carlin 1:42.221 +0.460 6
7 12   Nirei Fukuzumi BWT Arden 1:42.246 +0.485 7
8 2   Tadasuke Makino Russian Time 1:42.264 +0.503 8
9 7   Jack Aitken ART Grand Prix 1:42.282 +0.521 9
10 11   Maximilian Günther BWT Arden 1:42.336 +0.575 10
11 21   Antonio Fuoco Charouz Racing System 1:42.342 +0.581 11
12 14   Luca Ghiotto Campos Vexatec Racing 1:42.414 +0.653 12
13 9   Roberto Merhi MP Motorsport 1:42.423 +0.662 13
14 16   Arjun Maini Trident 1:42.437 +0.676 14
15 6   Nicholas Latifi DAMS 1:42.447 +0.686 15
16 10   Ralph Boschung MP Motorsport 1:42.460 +0.699 16
17 1   Artem Markelov Russian Time 1:42.816 +1.055 17
18 17   Santino Ferrucci Trident 1:42.818 +1.057 18
19 3   Sean Gelael Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing 1:43.016 +1.255 19
20 15   Roy Nissany Campos Vexatec Racing 1:43.350 +1.589 20
Source:[6]

Feature race

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Pos. No. Driver Entrant Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 19   Lando Norris Carlin 31 57:46.206 1 25 (6)
2 18   Sérgio Sette Câmara Carlin 31 +8.321 6 18
3 1   Artem Markelov Russian Time 31 +8.532 PL1 15
4 5   Alexander Albon DAMS 31 +9.349 3 12
5 8   George Russell ART Grand Prix 31 +13.947 2 10
6 4   Nyck de Vries Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing 31 +14.661 4 8
7 3   Sean Gelael Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing 31 +19.326 19 6
8 11   Maximilian Günther BWT Arden 31 +22.573 10 4
9 7   Jack Aitken ART Grand Prix 31 +28.559 9 2
10 10   Ralph Boschung MP Motorsport 31 +31.585 16 1
11 6   Nicholas Latifi DAMS 31 +35.514 15
12 14   Luca Ghiotto Campos Vexatec Racing 31 +44.273 12
13 20   Louis Delétraz Charouz Racing System 31 +49.429 5
14 17   Santino Ferrucci Trident 31 +55.424 18
15 16   Arjun Maini Trident 31 +57.453 14
16 15   Roy Nissany Campos Vexatec Racing 31 +1:27.436 20
17 21   Antonio Fuoco Charouz Racing System 31 +1:47.169 11
18 12   Nirei Fukuzumi BWT Arden 31 +1:50.462 7
19 2   Tadasuke Makino Russian Time 30 +1 lap 8
DNS 9   Roberto Merhi MP Motorsport 0 Hydraulics PL2
Fastest Lap:   Lando Norris (Carlin) — 1:48.072 (on lap 19)
Source:[5]
Notes
  • ^1  – Artem Markelov started from pit lane after stalling on the grid.
  • ^2  – Roberto Merhi stalled on the grid and was due to start the race from pit lane, but was unable to restart the car.

Sprint race

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Pos. No. Driver Entrant Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Artem Markelov Russian Time 23 42:42.161 6 15
2 11   Maximilian Günther BWT Arden 23 +2.106 1 12
3 18   Sérgio Sette Câmara Carlin 23 +3.803 7 10
4 19   Lando Norris Carlin 23 +5.043 8 8
5 4   Nyck de Vries  Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing 23 +10.265 3 6 (2)
6 14   Luca Ghiotto Campos Vexatec Racing 23 +15.696 12 4
7 10   Ralph Boschung MP Motorsport 23 +23.511 10 2
8 12   Nirei Fukuzumi BWT Arden 23 +24.582 18 1
9 20   Louis Delétraz  Charouz Racing System 23 +25.194 13
10 6   Nicholas Latifi DAMS 23 +25.687 11
11 9   Roberto Merhi  MP Motorsport 23 +25.804 20
12 21   Antonio Fuoco Charouz Racing System 23 +26.638 17
13 5   Alexander Albon DAMS 23 +31.759 5
14 16   Arjun Maini  Trident 23 +36.793 15
15 15   Roy Nissany  Campos Vexatec Racing 23 +43.989 16
16 3   Sean Gelael  Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing 23 +57.845 2
17 2   Tadasuke Makino Russian Time 23 +1:03.819 19
18 7   Jack Aitken  ART Grand Prix 23 +1:39.757 9
19 8   George Russell  ART Grand Prix 22 +1 lap 4
20 17   Santino Ferrucci  Trident 22 +1 lap 14
Fastest lap:   Nyck de Vries (Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing) — 1:47.711 (on lap 11)
Source:[7]

Championship standings after the round

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Notes

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  1. ^ The feature race was scheduled to be run over 32 laps. Artem Markelov and Roberto Merhi stalled on the grid, requiring a second formation lap. The race distance was subsequently adjusted to 31 laps.

References

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  1. ^ Di Zinno, Tony (6 November 2017). "F2, GP3 2018 schedules released". motorsports.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  2. ^ "F2 reveals new car, confirms halo from 2018". speedcafe.com. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. ^ Khorounzhiy, Valentin (16 December 2016). "GP2 aiming for V6 switch, but not wider tyres for 2018 car". Motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. ^ Esler, William (6 April 2018). "Lando Norris takes pole on his F2 debut with Carlin in Bahrain". skysports.com. Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b Esler, William (7 April 2018). "Lando Norris takes dominant victory in the F2 Feature Race in Bahrain". skysports.com. Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  6. ^ "2018 FIA Formula 2 Bahrain results". FIA Formula 2 Championship. FIA Formula 2. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Markelov clinches victory in Bahrain sprint race". fiaformula2.com. FIA Formula 2 Championship. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
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Previous round:
2017 Yas Island Formula 2 round
FIA Formula 2 Championship
2018 season
Next round:
2018 Baku Formula 2 round
Previous round:
2017 Sakhir Formula 2 round
Sakhir Formula 2 round Next round:
2019 Sakhir Formula 2 round