Talking points from Sakhir

With the dust settled at the end of a thrilling first FIA Formula 2 race weekend, at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, we take a look at six talking points from the track.

IT'S LONELY AT THE TOP

By the chequered flag in both the Feature Race and the Sprint Race, the battle for P1 was maybe not as tight as the racing had suggested. Nicholas Latifi’s 9s advantage over Luca Ghiotto on Saturday was hugely impressive, especially with Sérgio Sette Câmara a further 6s back.

This perhaps served as an incentive for Ghiotto, who produced a phenomenal drive to finish on the other side of Sette Câmara in the Sprint Race, with a healthy 5.4s gap of his own. Not that this tells the story of two incredibly well-fought races…

DISAPPOINTMENT FOR DE VRIES

An early season favourite, much of the pre-season excitement was focused upon ART Grand Prix’s Nyck De Vries, who is now into his third F2 season. The Dutchman had dominated pre-season testing and topped the timesheet on the final day in Barcelona, at the beginning of March.

However, he couldn’t translate his pre-season form into race pace, missing out on a podium finish in both the Feature Race and the Sprint Race in Bahrain, with sixth and seventh places.

The Dutchman will want to quickly get back on top in Round 2 of the Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan.

__DEJA VU __

There was a strong sense of Déjà Vu come the end of the Sprint Race on Sunday, as the same three drivers lined up on the podium in Bahrain, as had done in the Feature Race on Saturday.

Albeit in an alternate order, there is no doubting that Ghiotto, Latifi and Sette Câmara enjoyed successful weekends across the board. Although too early to call, could we perhaps be looking at three Championship contenders this campaign?

__A FAMILIAR NAME ON REVERSE POLE __

The sight of a Schumacher on pole was one we haven’t had the luxury of in a while, with Mick finishing in eighth place, in his first Formula 2 outing.

The PREMA ace drove a pragmatic Sprint Race, as he continued to adapt to his new car in his maiden F2 campaign. His retention of first place at the race start was impressive, as he ducked in front of Jack Aitken and remained ahead of more experienced challengers.

His stay at the front was only brief, but the 20-year-old should be more than satisfied with a strong sixth place finish though.

__THE REMARKABLE RISE OF HUBERT __

While many eyes may have been fixed on the Schumacher starting in reverse pole, it was rookie Anthoine Hubert who enjoyed the most successful F2 debut. A double Carlin overtake was the tip of the iceberg for the cool Frenchman, who started as far back as P11 in Bahrain.

The 22-year-old refused to let the occasion get to him and charged through the grid to within one place of the podium, finishing in P4, as the highest-placed debutant in the Feature Race.

__CATCH US IF YOU CAN __

DAMS and UNI-Virtuosi Racing threw down an early gauntlet in the Teams’ Championship title fight, as they dominated proceedings in Bahrain. There was an early indication of what was to come, as between them, they held the quickest times in both Free Practice and Qualifying, with Sette Câmara (DAMS) and Ghiotto (UNI-Virtuosi Racing) coming out on top.

The two teams translated this into race pace and went on to hog the podium on both days, with Ghiotto, Latifi and Sette Câmara showing superb form to finish in the top three in the Feature Race and the Sprint Race.

Meanwhile, UNI-Virtuosi’s rookie driver Guanyu Zhou ensured that his team joined DAMS as the only other car to have both drivers finish within the points, in both races. An admirable 10th place finish in the Feature Race was bettered by a storming drive to finish fourth in the Sprint race.