After an opening weekend in Melbourne, and an intense in-season test programme in Bahrain, the drivers are all set for Round 2 of the 2025 Formula 2 campaign at the same Sakhir venue.
The Bahrain International Circuit action will give the teams a chance to make a fast start to the first back-to-back of the year, with a trip to Jeddah just around the corner.
So, before we get going, here is everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming weekend…
WHAT TO EXPECT
After three busy days of testing in Sakhir for both the teams and the drivers, the paddock is set to reconvene at the same venue for Round 2.
It all starts with what is set to be a scorching hot 45-minute Free Practice session on Friday afternoon at 12:05 local time.
The drivers will be back in their cars for Qualifying later in the day. The green light is scheduled to go off at 16:55.
That will decide the order for both races, the first of which is a 23-lap Sprint, where we will reverse the top 10 from Friday’s Qualifying results. Lights out is set to be at 17:15 local time on Saturday evening.
The drivers will have another chance on Sunday afternoon, for the longer Feature Race, which is set to start at 14:25.
STAT PACK
- AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen currently leads the Drivers’ Championship with 10 points after his victory in the Melbourne Sprint Race.
- The last two Feature Race pole-sitters in Bahrain, Théo Pourchaire and Gabriel Bortoleto, and their teams, ART Grand Prix and Invicta Racing, have gone on to be crowned Formula 2 Champions.
- Rodin Motorsport and Zane Maloney completed a historic double last year in Bahrain, winning both the Sprint and Feature Races.
- Richard Verschoor is currently the only driver on the grid to have won in Bahrain, having claimed the Sprint Race victory in 2022.
- Verschoor is also one of four drivers on the grid to have achieved at least one podium in Sakhir alongside Jak Crawford, Victor Martins, and Josep María Martí.
- This weekend’s Sakhir Feature Race is set to be the 200th race in Formula 2’s history.
FROM THE GRID – Luke Browning, Hitech TGR
“Best place to overtake is T1. It’s a great place to race because the temperature is very high, overheating is very high, and degradation is massive. So, that’s probably the most challenging part about the circuit. The fastest place is the third sector, there are some big braking zones there and a lot of combined entries, which can make it quite tough. It’s all about late braking in Bahrain.”
“The last time I was here I won, so coming back this time in Formula 2, hopefully we can do the same.”
TECHNICAL PREVIEW
Pierre-Alain Michot, FIA Formula 2 Technical Director
“The Bahrain international circuit is a track that puts a big emphasis on tyre management. So, it’s a good training ground for the drivers to make sure they learn how to make their tyres last for the entire race distance.
“The strategy for the Sprint Race will also be interesting as last year we saw a mix of both the Soft and Hard tyre compounds on the grid, but with warmer temperatures expected this year, what the teams choose to do will be key.
“Also, Bahrain is a track where the overtaking possibilities are quite high with three DRS zones, especially the 700-metre DRS zone on the main straight, so there will be a lot of wheel-to-wheel action this weekend.”
PIRELLI PREVIEW
The FIA Formula 2 championship is back in Bahrain, just two weeks on from the three-day test session at this same Arabian track. Hard and Soft are the compounds nominated by Pirelli, the same choice as last year. Skipping the middle compound allows for a greater performance and degradation difference between the two, accentuating the role of strategy in the race. In the Sprint, the Soft should be the preferred choice, even if high temperatures could increase the need to manage the compound to avoid thermal degradation. In the Feature Race, starting on Softs could help a driver make up some places in the opening laps, making the most of the ease of overtaking at the Sakhir track. As for those starting on the Hard, they will try to delay the pit stop as long as possible in order to then make the most of the extra grip from the Soft in the closing stages.
Formula 2 Media | Photo: Formula 2
