Bahrain F2 Grand Prix: rookie Alex Dunne wins first race on 2nd weekend

McLaren development driver Alexander Dunne, a Formula 2 rookie, has just won his first race. The Irish driver benefited from a good tire strategy. Victor Martins didn't finish on the podium, despite qualifying well. Sami Meguetounif, the second French driver, finished 15th.

Logo Mi mini
Rédigé par Par

Alexander Dunne perfectly mastered his Sunday in Sakhir. The Rodin Motorsport driver clinched his first victory in Formula 2, culminating in a main race managed intelligently, both in pace and strategy. Starting from fourth place on the grid, the Irishman took control of the operations before mid-race, never really being threatened. Luke Browning, on an alternate strategy, climbed to second place with flair, while Leonardo Fornaroli completed the podium after an intense battle against Martí and Martins in the final laps.

From the moment the lights went out, Fornaroli executed a perfect start from the front row. In contrast, Victor Martins, who was well-positioned, suffered from wheelspin and lost several positions within the first few meters, finding himself seventh at the exit of the first corner. Dunne took advantage to climb into second position, ahead of Roman Stanek and Rafael Villagómez. However, Villagómez quickly reclaimed third place at turn 10 with an incisive maneuver. Behind, Josep María Martí, who had an excellent getaway from eleventh place on soft tires, rapidly climbed up to fifth position.

The strategy is quickly taking shape. The top eight at the start of the race are all on soft tires. Joshua Duerksen, in ninth, leads the group of drivers on hard tires. But Luke Browning, also on this alternative strategy, overtakes him by the fifth lap and begins his ascent. Up front, Martí overtakes Stanek for fourth place, while Martins starts his comeback by passing the Czech driver in turn 8’s hairpin.

At the opening of the pit window, Dunne returned to the DRS zone behind Fornaroli. Taking advantage of the slipstream, he took the lead at the beginning of the seventh lap in turn 1. Martí, at the same time, overtook Villagómez to gain third place, while Martins used turn 4 to snatch fourth place from the Mexican. Stanek responded a few laps later to reclaim the fifth position.

Martins is the first of the leaders to dive into the pit lane to fit the hard tires. He comes out in seventeenth position. The following lap, Stanek, Browning, and Duerksen imitate him. Browning takes advantage of his good management of the soft tires to overtake Stanek from the fifteenth lap. Fornaroli and Martí stop on the sixteenth lap and rejoin the track behind Martins but ahead of Browning. A lap later, Dunne comes in and retains the lead by coming out ahead of Martins.

The second phase of the race is marked by the surge of Luke Browning. With his soft tires still performing well, he overtakes Martí for fourth place on the eighteenth lap, then Fornaroli three laps later to climb onto the podium. Martins, well positioned but at a less aggressive pace, is overtaken in turn on the main straight on the twenty-third lap, with Browning moving into second position. There are then ten laps left, with a gap of 4.5 seconds to bridge to Dunne.

But the Briton’s attack loses steam. Dunne manages his lead perfectly and even extends it to more than six seconds. Behind, Fornaroli catches up with Martins and manages to retake third place five laps before the checkered flag, taking advantage of his superior speed in the final corner. Martí immediately takes advantage to get past Martins, before closing in on Fornaroli in the final lap. Thanks to DRS on the climb to turn 4, the Spaniard attempts an attack, but the Invicta Racing driver shuts the door and retains his podium position.

Upon arrival, Dunne secured a clear victory, with over eight seconds ahead of Browning, who employed a successful alternative strategy. Fornaroli completed the podium ahead of Martí, while Martins, struggling in the final, had to settle for fifth place. Richard Verschoor and Dino Beganovic, showing opportunism, followed closely. Starting sixteenth, Arvid Lindblad made an impressive comeback to finish eighth. Minì and Duerksen closed the points race.

In the championship, the hierarchy is extremely tight. Fornaroli takes the lead with 26 points, just one point ahead of Dunne and Browning, who are tied at 25. Martí follows with 23 points, and Verschoor remains in the game with 21 points. Among the teams, Hitech TGR leads with 37 points, ahead of Campos Racing (31) and Invicta Racing (30). The pack remains close, and everything could change at the next meeting in Saudi Arabia, on the formidable street circuit of Jeddah.

Results of the main race of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Formula 2

Driver Team Times Gap Laps
1 A. Dunne #17 Rodin Motorsport 59:40.123 32
2 L. Browning #7 Hitech TGR 59:48.367 +8.244 32
3 L. Fornaroli #1 Invicta Racing 59:59.556 +19.433 32
4 J. Marti #3 Campos Racing 59:59.990 +19.867 32
5 V. Martins #14 ART Grand Prix 1:00:03.242 +23.119 32
6 R. Verschoor #6 MP Motorsport 1:00:03.696 +23.573 32
7 D. Beganovic #8 Hitech TGR 1:00:04.260 +24.137 32
8 A. Lindblad #4 Campos Racing 1:00:06.848 +26.725 32
9 G. Mini #10 PREMA Racing 1:00:15.068 +34.945 32
10 J. Durksen #20 AIX Racing 1:00:17.983 +37.860 32
11 O. Goethe #5 MP Motorsport 1:00:21.218 +41.095 32
12 R. Villagomez #25 Van Amersfoort Racing 1:00:23.324 +43.201 32
13 A. Cordeel #16 Rodin Motorsport 1:00:24.592 +44.469 32
14 R. Miyata #15 ART Grand Prix 1:00:26.694 +46.571 32
15 S. Meguetounif #22 TRIDENT 1:00:27.526 +47.403 32
16 J. Crawford #11 DAMS Lucas Oil 1:00:27.828 +47.705 32
17 R. Stanek #2 Invicta Racing 1:00:28.756 +48.633 32
18 K. Maini #12 DAMS Lucas Oil 1:00:33.079 +52.956 32
19 S. Montoya #9 PREMA Racing 1:00:35.790 +55.667 32
20 J. Bennett #24 Van Amersfoort Racing 1:00:36.034 +55.911 32
21 M. Esterson #23 TRIDENT 1:00:38.411 +58.288 32
22 C. Shields #21 AIX Racing 1:00:50.098 +69.975 32
Votre commentaire

Vous recevrez un e-mail de vérification pour publier votre commentaire.

Haut
Motorsinside English
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.