Shwartzman excited for “NASCAR" style layout at Sakhir in Round 12

The Formula 2 grid may be staying put in Bahrain for another week, but that doesn’t mean they can expect more of the same, with the action set to take place on the “NASCAR” style outer layout of the Bahrain circuit and Round 11 race winner Robert Shwartzman is expecting a “very interesting race.”

Shwartzman took the Sprint Race win on Sunday, beating out title rival Nikita Mazepin for his fourth victory of the season and first since Spa. The Russian dominated the race, crossing the line with a margin of more than 14s, but is expecting a different type of race in the season finale.

“The track is going to be very interesting because it's very short and it's like a NASCAR track. It's like an oval,” said Shwarztman. “There will be a lot of overtaking, and everybody is going to be very close to each other.

“It's going to be very interesting races. I just hope that I can do a much better Qualifying, and to get some really good results just to finish the Championship on a good spot.”

Shwartzman will be entering the final round of the season with added confidence, ending a poor run of form which saw him finish out of the points in both Rounds 9 and 10.

The Russian praised his PREMA team for improving the car and getting over their issues, saying that the changes were “significant.”

“We had some unfortunate races before, and to be honest also at the beginning of this weekend we were struggling quite a lot. I wasn't really entirely sure that I could manage to get a win this weekend, but I'm very happy with how the team worked.

“We actually managed to improve the car significantly, and that's what actually helped us today in the race. It feels really good. I'm very happy.

“The main thing is the experience and the understanding of how exactly this car works, and what you have to so, so that in the future it will help to prevent some mistakes and issues.”