Bahrain F2 weekend at a glance

Man of the weekend: Liam Lawson (Hitech)

For his big debut in Formula 2, the New Zealander from the Hitech Grand Prix team was the most prominent driver of the weekend. Winner of sprint race 1 on Saturday morning thanks to a superb start, Lawson also scored a fine podium in the main race, despite the discovery of pit stops and tire degradation. Very fast and capable of rough but fair defenses, the Kiwi proved that he had adapted perfectly to F2. The protégé of Red Bull was the best rookie of the weekend. He already holds second place in the championship behind Guanyu-Zhou.

Disappointment of the weekend: Robert Shwartzman (Prema)

By his own admission, the Russian had an extremely difficult weekend. First, a technical problem in qualifying forced him to start from afar in Race 1 (11th). After a superb start and an intelligent race, the member of the Ferrari Driver Academy achieved a respectable fourth place. What followed, however, was more painful. At the start of Race 2, the Russian went to spear Dan Ticktum (Carlin) who was not free from any reproaches either. Then he hit Nissany (DAMS) on the first lap of the main race, failing to brake at turn 4. Despite a drive through, the Prema driver managed to limit the damage by finishing 7th with the fastest lap in the race. Shwartzman will bounce back, no doubt about it, but he will have to temper his enthusiasm in the first laps and focus on consistency.

The picture :

Winner of the first main Formula 2 race of his career (here in photo), the Chinese was the most consistent during this inaugural round. On pole for 0, he also scored an important podium in Race 003. Here he is first leader of the championship, eleven points ahead of his runner-up Liam Lawson.

The fact of the weekend: the collision Piastres / Ticktum in the main race 

The moment Oscar Piastri's fortunes were turned around 

The Aussie retired from the Feature Race following this collision with Dan Ticktum #BahrainGP  #F2 pic.twitter.com/x0jUwD1NFh

- Formula 2 (@ Formula2) March 28, 2021

After winning the second race of the weekend after a thrilling end to the race, Oscar Piastri almost scored a podium in the main race. Fighting with Dan Ticktum to defend his 3rd place, the Australian and the Briton collided two laps from the end, at turn 2. The stewards considered that it was a racing incident. 

The number : 

18: The number of places gained by Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) in Race 2. Starting from 22nd and last position, the Dutchman finished 4th. 

The weekend of Theo Pourchaire : 

Qualification: 10th 
C1: Abandonment 
C2: 6th
C3: 8th

The Frenchman had a frustrating start. After an error in qualifying which still allowed him to start on pole in race 1 thanks to the reverse grid rule, the Habs seemed well on their way to getting second place. But a turbo failure deprived him of a first podium. After a good comeback from P19 to P6 in race 2 with superb overtaking, Pourchaire then took 8th place in the main race, after seeing his strategy come to naught following the appearance of a Safety Car .

The statement of the weekend:

Lirim Zendeli (MP Motorsport) speaking to Christian Lundgaard on Twitter after the Dane sent him crashing in Race 2 by pushing him from behind: “Christian, it seems you are particularly interested in my behind. Next time, just admire it, don’t touch it!”

Seems like you're pretty into my butt? Next time just look, don't touch  @lundgaardoff

— Lirim Zendeli (@lirim_zendeli) March 27, 2021

Classification : 

 @ gyzhou_33 leads the way in the championship

But what a weekend from the rookies! #BahrainGP  #F2 pic.twitter.com/falYYV7Hxr

- Formula 2 (@ Formula2) March 28, 2021

Discover the full report and analysis of the Formula 2 meeting in Bahrain in issue 2305 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version, and Wednesday on newsstands.