Formula 2 Bahrain Grand Prix – Joseph Maria Marti wins the sprint race after Duerksen’s disqualification
The Bahrain Grand Prix is also an opportunity to see Formula 2 drivers battle it out on track again. In the first race of the weekend, Pepe Marti (real name Joseph Maria) won the sprint race.

Starting from the sixth row on the grid, Josep María Martí emerged in the final laps to claim victory in a dramatic sprint race in Sakhir. The Spaniard from Campos Racing staged a spectacular comeback in a thrilling finish, taking advantage of a battle at the front between Duerksen, Beganovic, and Verschoor to snatch victory in the last lap. Richard Verschoor takes second place, while Dino Beganovic inherits the third step of the podium after the disqualification of Joshua Duerksen, initially classified third. The sprint race was marked by two safety car periods, aggressive maneuvers, and steward decisions that heavily influenced the final outcome.
The start is favorable for Joshua Duerksen, the pole position holder. The AIX Racing driver maintains the advantage as the lights go out, while Victor Martins, well-placed in fifth on the grid, sees his race cut short as he approaches the first corner. Attempting to sneak through, the Frenchman is sent into the polystyrene barriers. He damages his front wing and ends up at the back of the pack. Behind him, Sebastián Montoya is forced to retire on the first lap, his PREMA Racing immobilized on the track after being caught in an incident. The safety car is immediately deployed.
At the restart in the fifth lap, Duerksen keeps the lead ahead of Beganovic and Villagómez. But positions change quickly. Verschoor shows his intentions by challenging Villagómez and takes the third place on the tenth lap, thanks to a nice sequence between turns 4 and 5. In front, Duerksen and Beganovic pull away, creating a three-second gap over the rest of the pack. However, the Swede doesn’t stay behind for long: thanks to DRS, he dives inside of Duerksen on the eleventh lap to take the lead of the race.
Behind them, Alexander Dunne stands out with a determined attack on Villagómez to seize fourth position on the thirteenth lap. But a second incident disrupts the dynamic: Max Esterson drops out, leading to another neutralization on the sixteenth lap. On this occasion, several drivers, including Gabriele Minì, take the opportunity to switch to hard tires. The Italian rejoins in fourteenth position for the restart, which takes place at the beginning of the nineteenth lap.
The resumption of the race is immediately lively. Beganovic makes a slight error at the exit of the last corner, allowing Duerksen to retake the lead in turn 1. Behind them, a fierce battle ensues for third place. Verschoor gains the upper hand, while Martí, then in fifth, passes Dunne a few corners later. The latter makes contact with Luke Browning and loses ground. Following this, he tries to regain his position in turn 8 but is surprised by Arvid Lindblad who snatches seventh place from him.
As the final laps approach, Duerksen resists Beganovic as best as he can, but their struggle opens the door for Verschoor and Martí, who have caught up with them. On the penultimate lap, Beganovic attacks in turn 4 but fails to overtake Duerksen. Verschoor then tries his luck, but Martí emerges in turn 8 with a brilliant double maneuver, taking advantage of the switchback to overtake both men at once. This stroke of genius propels him into second position.
The last lap is decisive: thanks to DRS, Martí overtakes Duerksen on the main straight and takes the lead of the race. Behind, Verschoor takes advantage of a mistake by Duerksen in turn 11 to overtake him as well. Martí crosses the line as the winner, ahead of Verschoor and Duerksen. But the joy is short-lived for the Paraguayan driver.
Duerksen disqualified
After the race, the stewards announced the disqualification of Joshua Duerksen for a technical infringement. The « Diffuser strake 1 » on his car was 2 mm below the regulatory limit. This detail, minor in appearance, constitutes a violation of articles 3.4.1a and 3.4.2 of the F2 technical regulations, leading to his outright exclusion. Beganovic thus moves up to the podium, third, while all the drivers are promoted by one position.
In another case, Alexander Dunne receives two five-second penalties. The first is related to a collision with Ritomo Miyata, deemed his fault. The second is for not respecting the delta imposed under the safety car regime. These ten seconds of penalties drop the Rodin Motorsport driver from 18th to the final 19th place, allowing Cian Shields to gain a position.
In retreat during the first half of the race, Oliver Goethe played the strategy brilliantly. Starting fifteenth, the MP Motorsport driver put on the soft tires during the neutralization and climbed up to fifth place in the final laps. Arvid Lindblad finishes sixth, Villagómez seventh, and Minì snatches the last point with eighth place. Martí, thanks to a perfect reading of the events and aggressive but controlled management, clinches a resounding victory, his first of the season.
Results of the F2 Bahrain Grand Prix sprint race
Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | J. Marti #3 | Campos Racing | 46:24.663 | 23 | |
2 | R. Verschoor #6 | MP Motorsport | 46:25.585 | +0.922 | 23 |
3 | D. Beganovic #8 | Hitech TGR | 46:26.533 | +1.870 | 23 |
4 | O. Goethe #5 | MP Motorsport | 46:26.647 | +1.984 | 23 |
5 | A. Lindblad #4 | Campos Racing | 46:27.691 | +3.028 | 23 |
6 | R. Villagomez #25 | Van Amersfoort Racing | 46:27.797 | +3.134 | 23 |
7 | G. Mini #10 | PREMA Racing | 46:27.984 | +3.321 | 23 |
8 | L. Fornaroli #1 | Invicta Racing | 46:28.635 | +3.972 | 23 |
9 | R. Miyata #15 | ART Grand Prix | 46:28.868 | +4.205 | 23 |
10 | L. Browning #7 | Hitech TGR | 46:29.161 | +4.498 | 23 |
11 | A. Cordeel #16 | Rodin Motorsport | 46:29.320 | +4.657 | 23 |
12 | J. Crawford #11 | DAMS Lucas Oil | 46:31.794 | +7.131 | 23 |
13 | S. Meguetounif #22 | TRIDENT | 46:32.619 | +7.956 | 23 |
14 | V. Martins #14 | ART Grand Prix | 46:33.839 | +9.176 | 23 |
15 | R. Stanek #2 | Invicta Racing | 46:33.993 | +9.330 | 23 |
16 | K. Maini #12 | DAMS Lucas Oil | 46:34.102 | +9.439 | 23 |
17 | J. Bennett #24 | Van Amersfoort Racing | 46:35.296 | +10.633 | 23 |
18 | C. Shields #21 | AIX Racing | 46:37.105 | +12.442 | 23 |
19 | A. Dunne #17 | Rodin Motorsport | 46:46.933 | +22.270 | 23 |
20 | S. Montoya #9 | PREMA Racing | DNF | 0 | |
21 | J. Durksen #20 | AIX Racing | + | ||
22 | M. Esterson #23 | TRIDENT | 28:17.808 | DNF | 14 |