Rookies make their mark: Sakhir, What We Learned

One weekend down, 13 to go. There was plenty of action across the opening weekend of the 2024 Formula 2 season, but is it too early to read into what we saw?

While some were enthusiastic about their performances in Sakhir, others will be hoping that the results were a one off and things go differently in Jeddah.

Still, here are a few of the takeaways from Round 1 in 2024.

NEW CAR, FAMILIAR RESULTS

All the talk in the build-up focused on how teams would fair with the new 2024 Formula 2 car. Well, after the opening weekend in Sakhir, it was a familiar story as in 2023.

For starters, Campos Racing came flying out of the blocks thanks to their impressive pace. Isack Hadjar went quickest of all in the opening Practice session of the season and followed that up with a front row start for the Spanish team, 0.023s off Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto.

In the Sprint Race, Josep María Martí made a splash in his F2 race debut, climbing up the order from P11 on the grid to P3, and then went one better in the Feature Race to secure back-to-back podiums in Bahrain.

The team also enjoyed a strong Round 1 last year too, as Ralph Boschung took victory in the Sprint and a podium in the Feature.

Over at Invicta, they showed they were back in form as they briefly held a front row lockout in Qualifying before a technical infringement resulted in Kush Maini’s disqualification from the session. The Norfolk-based team have been on pole in Sakhir in five of the last six years, missing out only in 2023.

Rodin Motorsport and Zane Maloney starred, with incredible speed in both the Sprint and Feature Races meaning he led 47 of 55 racing laps in Bahrain across the opening weekend. In 2023, he was arguably the standout performer too, climbing from P18 to P3 in the Feature event.

READ MORE: Maini aiming for Jeddah rebound after bittersweet Sakhir experience

And, unfortunately for the Italian outfit, PREMA Racing were once again off the pace in Sakhir, as both Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli endured a torrid Qualifying session. The latter fought back to score a maiden F2 point on Saturday, but it was a feeling of familiarity after leaving Bahrain last year rooted to the bottom of the Teams’ Standings.

It will be interesting to see if the trend changes in Jeddah or follows a familiar tune.

BORTOLETO BRINGS IT IN BAHRAIN

The reigning Formula 3 Champion did not disappoint on his F2 debut in Bahrain last weekend. The Brazilian was at his fighting best, putting himself in position to capitalise on others’ mistakes. Magnanimous as teammate Kush Maini was stripped of pole on Thursday night, Bortoleto was well-deserving of his prime grid slot, but wasn’t done yet.

In Friday’s Sprint Race, the Invicta man was on the move, climbing up the order from 10th to sixth by the chequered flag, showing his racing intelligence to pick his fights and profit from the errors of others.

Seemingly able to find speed where rivals couldn’t, the McLaren Driver Development Programme talent was patient and adaptable, two qualities that helped him to the F3 title last season.

Bortoleto ran 10th with four laps to go before making his move, passing Ritomo Miyata, Victor Martins, Zak O’Sullivan and Dennis Hauger for a haul of points in his F2 race debut.

READ MORE: O’Sullivan happy with Feature Race points in early stages of 2024 season

The Feature Race presented a different story, as Bortoleto misjudged Turn 1 and sustained damage to his front wing in a collision with Isack Hadjar. He was handed a 10-second time penalty for the contact, but it was a minor inconvenience for him as he just seemed to drive around the problem and went quicker.

He initially dropped down the order in the early laps but after understanding the changes in the grip and downforce of the car underneath him, he reloaded and recovered in some style.

He saved his best to last and maximised his advantage when it counted most, able to coax laptime out of the Hard compound Pirelli tyres better than those around him. It resulted in another impressive late climb through the order.

P5 with a damaged car was a solid result considering, and reminiscent of the form that took him to the title in F3 last year as he maximised the package on days where wins and podiums were out of the question.

What does he have in store for us in Jeddah, a circuit he’s never visited before?

HITECH TOUGH IT OUT

Things looked bleak during pre-season testing for Hitech Pulse-Eight. As rivals grabbed headlines setting fastest laps and made a big impression with strong and consistent race runs, there were some long faces in the British team’s garage.

That is a distant memory now though after the evidence of Sakhir and the opening weekend of the 2024 campaign. Rookie Paul Aron piloted his Hitech to P5 on his race debut and was beaming after he returned to the paddock on Friday night.

He sung the team’s praises for the work they undertook to transform their car following the test, able to find crucial laptime thanks to setup tweaks that made them a much more competitive proposition.

Likewise, Team Principal Oliver Oakes was complimentary of the Estonian, who has been an important figure in his early days with the team so far, driving and encouraging everyone around him.

READ MORE: Hitech Pulse-Eight: Hard work paid off after promising opening weekend in Sakhir

Aron then went even better in the Feature Race, delivering a podium in his second race with the team, putting in a measured performance that built on the promise from the day before.

Overcoming a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane, Aron pulled out a laptime when a podium was on the line and the pressure was at its highest. He escaped up the road and out of reach of Zak O’Sullivan in fourth, pulling a second on the final tour to ensure he finished on the rostrum by 0.7s.

It was a better start than in 2023 when Hitech scored points just once across the opening weekend of the year, a P7 courtesy of Hadjar in the Feature Race.

It’s very early days still, but the mood in the Hitech camp was an incredible juxtaposition from the one that pulled the shutters down to end Day 3 of pre-season testing in Sakhir.

The big question now is can they keep it up?