Round 1 Rewind: Pourchaire and ART lay down a marker for 2023

27 February 2024

We are just days away from the lights turning green on the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season, with Round one set to take place once again at the Bahrain International Circuit.

But before the drivers do battle around the Sakhir venue, we thought it would be a good time to look back at last year’s event in detail where Théo Pourchaire and ART Grand Prix laid down a marker for the season ahead.

QUALIFYING

Pourchaire and his ART teammate Victor Martins made a fast start to the weekend by topping the timesheets during the afternoon’s practice session.

They picked up where they left off in the evening as Pourchaire set the pace on the first set of laps. He eclipsed Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung’s initial pace-setting time by nearly half a second, as Martins tucked into third place ahead of Arthur Leclerc and Dennis Hauger.

The drivers then ducked into the pitlane for a fresh set of tyres and came out again before Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor joined Pourchaire on the front row.

There were plenty of improvements to follow as the rest of the field crossed the line, with many setting personal best times, however, none could quite match ART driver's provisional pole lap.

Pourchaire, Martins and Verschoor were the top three qualifiers in Bahrain last year

The Frenchman then improved as he crossed the line with a time of 1:40.908, with Martins following him across to go second, albeit 0.751s off his teammates pace.

Verschoor remained in third, while Dennis Hauger was fourth for MP Motorsport ahead of Frederik Vesti in fifth for PREMA Racing. Boschung rounded out the top-10 leaving him on reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race.

SPRINT RACE

Boschung made a nice getaway from pole position and kept the lead heading into Turn 1. However, a slow start from Trident rookie Roman Stanek, who lined up alongside the Campos driver on the front row, meant he dropped down the order.

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He was quickly swallowed up by the DAMS pair of Leclerc and Ayumu Iwasa, who were going toe-to-toe in the early exchanges before the latter got ahead and cemented second place.

Martins and Pourchaire were continuing their fine form and were quickly in fourth and sixth respectively after starting in ninth and 10th. Hauger was sandwiched between the pair in fifth, as Stanek continued to lose places.

After being overtaken by Martins, Leclerc was handed a 10-second stop/go penalty for a starting procedure infringement dropping him down the order, all but ending his hopes of a podium.

At the halfway stage of the race, ART’s pace was beginning to drop off as Martins, now in second after overtaking Iwasa, and Pourchaire, in fourth ahead of Hauger, started to struggle with their tyres.

Boschung took his maiden victory in Formula 2 in the Sakhir Sprint Race

As Boschung sailed off into the distance, Hauger was now the fastest driver in the quartet fighting for a spot on the podium, as he overtook Pourchaire and Iwasa, before going past Martins to take second place.

Martins wound up third ahead of Iwasa while his teammate did just enough to hold off the second MP Motorsport car of Jehan Daruvala for fifth. Campos’ rookie Kush Maini was seventh, as Enzo Fittipaldi took the final points paying position for Rodin Carlin.

Boschung’s win saw him achieve his maiden F2 victory giving him and Campos a nice start to the season.

FEATURE RACE

Pourchaire made a supremely confident start from the lead and was quickly clear of his squabbling rivals by the time the drivers got to Turn 1.

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However, he was brought back to the pack after a Safety Car intervention was needed following an incident involving his teammate Martins, his eventual title rival Vesti, as well as Stanek and Verschoor.

The Dutchman was able to continue on but the other three were ruled out of the race. Upon resumption, Pourchaire moved clear once again, and he was being followed by the Campos pair of Maini and Boschung with PREMA rookie Oliver Bearman in fourth ahead of Iwasa.

With the race now well over halfway gone, Pourchaire was close to 12 seconds ahead of the chasing Boschung. Elsewhere rookie Zane Maloney was showing eye catching pace as he made his way through the field after starting 18th.

Pourchaire raced away from his competition before taking the victory in the Feature Race

On Lap 27 of 32, he overtook Bearman for fourth, with the British driver now struggling with his tyres. He fought hard to keep five cars behind him until a late lockup on the last lap knocked him out of the points.

Maloney was still going strong and overtook Maini late on to take a place on the podium, with the Bajan driver joining Pourchaire and Boschung on the rostrum.

Maini ended up fourth, ahead of Verschoor and Leclerc, while Isack Hadjar’s late surge saw him place seventh for Hitech. Iwasa ended up eighth ahead of Fittipaldi, as Juan Manuel Correa rounded out the top-10.

Boschung left the weekend with the lead in the Championship after his double podium efforts.

Let us see who will leave the Bahrain International Circuit this year top of the Standings as we prepare for Round 1 of in Sakhir on February 29 – March 2.