Bahrain F2 Grand Prix: Qualifying – Théo Pourchaire delivers a masterful pole position!
At the end of the thirty minutes of the first qualifying session of the season, the young French driver clinched, and in a fantastic way, a superb pole position. His teammate, also French, Victor Martins, secures a one-two for the French ART Grand Prix team. Dutch driver Richard Verschoor completes the top 3.
Pourchaire is present
This weekend, it’s not just Formula 1 that is returning. The antechamber of the top category is also on the schedule for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
With a highly competitive field this year, the first qualification was eagerly awaited. And it’s safe to say that Théo Pourchaire, Sauber’s protege, rose to the occasion by masterfully dominating the session.
From his first attempt, he sticks a half-second to his closest pursuer, with a time of 1.41.530 min.
Sufficient? No! While the Dutch driver, Richard Verschoor (VAR), narrows the gap by achieving the second fastest time, trailing by 273 milliseconds, the driver supported by FFSA, in a track-hugging single-seater, continues and further cements his dominance by lighting up all three sectors in purple. As he crosses the finish line, he sets a time of 1.40.903. No one will dispute this time.
THEO POURCHAIRE PUTS IT ON POLE!!!! 🙌
A dream way to kick off his 2023 season 🤩
And, it’s an @ARTGP 1-2 to make it even better! 💪#BahrainGP #F2 @TPourchaire pic.twitter.com/lVNbJk4qjo
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) March 3, 2023
Martins in first position, Hadjar in fourteenth.
His teammate, also French, the 2022 F3 champion Victor Martins, also showed up for his debut by securing a very impressive second place, just over seven tenths of a second behind the pole position. A very promising start for the Alpine driver. Richard Vershoor completes the top 3.
“I’m still a little disappointed with my race because I made a mistake that cost me 5 tenths, but even without it, I would still be behind Théo,” Victor Martins confided after the qualifying session.
On his side, the highly monitored Isaac Hadjar, also a newcomer in F2, hoped to break into the top ten, but failed to do so, falling just eight hundredths behind the Swiss driver Ralph Boschungp (Campos) and as a result will start tomorrow in pole position for the sprint race (reverse grid for the top ten in qualifying).
Note that there is disappointment for F1 Alpine’s reserve driver, Jack Doohan (Invicta Virtuosi), who will only start from the seventeenth position.
This first race will be available to watch tomorrow on Canal+ Sport, starting at 2:15 pm.
