Kush Maini achieved his first pole position in an exciting qualifying session for the Formula 2 feature race in Bahrain, leading a dominant Invicta Racing 1-2. The newly-introduced Formula 2 cars took to the Sakhir circuit, with ten rookie drivers seeking a strong start to the season. Jak Crawford’s initial round resulted in him losing his place among the top 10, causing a temporary yellow flag. While all eyes were on Mercedes junior driver Crawford, rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli impressively secured fourth place in his first qualifying session as an F2 driver. Concerns about track limits at turn 8 and the final corner led to the exclusion of Paul Aron’s lap time, pushing him out of the top 10. Campos Racing initially led the qualifying session with a 1-2, with Isack Hadjar claiming provisional pole position with a time of 1:42:418s. Aware of the dropping track temperature and new regulations penalizing drivers for causing red flags, the intensity of the session increased in the second half after Crawford’s round had set the tone. Enzo Fittipaldi of Van Amersfoort Racing made an almost perfect lap in the final five minutes, securing pole position until Zane Maloney quickly stole it. Rookie Ritomo Miyata made an impressive debut, securing provisional third place by outperforming the Prema driver in certain sectors. ART’s Zak O’Sullivan overtook his teammate Victor Martins to claim fourth place, while Gabriel Bortoleto snatched provisional pole position from Fittipaldi. Maini, an Indian driver mentored by two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen, secured pole position with a time of 1.41.696s, marking his first pole position in Sakhir. Martins and Maloney attempted to improve their lap times but couldn’t surpass Maini’s impressive performance. Bortoleto secured second place with a time of 1:42:207s, completing a one-two for Invicta Racing in the season opener in Bahrain. Surprisingly, Prema drivers Antonelli and Oliver Bearman finished in 18th and 19th places, respectively, despite the preseason hype surrounding the duo. The qualifying session ended with Crawford stopped at turn 8, his engine shutting off and leaving him in 11th place, with the team coming to his aid.
