Lawson fends off Daruvala for maiden F2 win in Bahrain

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri opened the 2021 Formula 2 season with fantastic victories in the two Sprint Races today at Bahrain International Circuit, held in support of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. Lawson of Hitech Grand Prix won the first race under daylight conditions, while Piastri clinched the second Sprint in a dramatic finish under the lights. Following both of today’s Sprints, F2 now heads to its third and final race of the weekend today, the 32-lap Feature, starting at 1.50 pm.

In race one, Lawson started from third on the grid behind pole-sitter Theo Pourchaire of ART Grand Prix, but Lawson was able to make a lightning start and leap into the lead ahead of the first turn. Lawson held on to the lead until the end, while fending off a strong challenge from Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala. He took the chequered flag in 44 minutes 11.624 seconds after 23 laps, with a 0.925s gap ahead of his closest rival. David Beckmann of Charouz Racing System completed the podium places in third a distant 14.382s behind.

Robert Shwartzman was fourth, Oscar Piastri fifth, Christian Lundgaard sixth, Guanyu Zhou seventh and Dan Ticktum eighth. Four cars from the 22-car grid did not finish the race, including Pourchaire, who stopped after 11 laps.

Pourchaire started on pole after teammate Juri Vips was disqualified from Friday’s Qualifying. Following the new rules for the 2021 season, Pourchaire inherited pole from Beckmann. In race two, Piastri claimed a dramatic late victory. Trailing Zhou, who led for much of the event, Piastri found an opening on lap 22 and lunged into the lead. Just a lap earlier, he overtook pole-sitter Vips as he made a fantastic push to the finish. Piastri eventually clinched the win in a total time of 46:19.610. Following a few penalties to some of the top finishers, Lundgaard was the runner-up 0.774s behind.

Zhou completed the podium in third place 2.076s back. Fourth through eighth, respectively, were Jehan Daruvala, Richard Verschoor, Theo Pourchaire, David Beckmann, and Marino Sato.