With a bumper season ahead, the Formula 2 circus arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit for the opening round. A predictable mix of pit-stop mayhem, collisions and recovery drives certainly made for a dramatic weekend at Sakhir. Here are the report cards from round 1 of the 2022 F2 Season:
Top of the class:
Théo Pourchaire – Qualifying: 2nd | Sprint: DNF | Feature: 1st
A strong qualifying meant that Théo faced the tricky task to score points in the Sprint Race. Starting 9th he ran up to P5 but retired with mechanical issues on lap 7.
This new format means that the Sprint and Feature Races are somewhat independent of each other (excluding any grid penalties), so Pourchaire was able to return on Sunday to his P2 slot. A slow start meant he dropped down to fifth, although he snatched fourth back from Carlin’s Liam Lawson with a neat move around the outside of turn 4.
Pourchaire then retook third on lap 5, this time down the inside of turn 4 on Campos’ Ralph Boschung. He would later take the lead during the pit stops as race leader Jüri Vips suffered a slow pitstop and Théo undercut then-leader Jack Doohan (Virtuosi).
The Sauber junior would survive being hit by Doohan whilst exiting the pits and the Safety Car restart to take victory in the opening Feature Race of the 2022 season. The redemption meant he left Sakhir P2 in the standings, firmly in title contention as expected.
Liam Lawson – Qualifying: 6th | Sprint: 3rd | Feature: 2nd
The Kiwi (my Championship tip) had a particularly quiet weekend in Bahrain, but a double podium ensured that he would walk away as the leader.
With 3 laps to go in the Sprint Race, Lawson took P3 off Campos’ Ralph Boschung and would finish there. In the Feature Race, Lawson moved up to fifth on the opening lap despite being forced wide at turn 1.
Lawson then took P4 from Boschung at turn 1 on lap 6, and would move up to P2 during the pitstop phase owing to the dramas at the address of both Doohan and Vips. He never quite had the pace to challenge Pourchaire up front, but a comfortable double podium finish kicks off his sophomore campaign well.
Jüri Vips – Qualifying: 3rd | Sprint: 7th | Feature: 3rd (+FL)
Vips had a quiet Sprint Race and finished one place higher than he started, but will remember his send on Doohan at turn 1 on lap 13 to take P6, before falling back to 7th late in the race after being passed by Williams junior Logan Sargeant.
In the Feature Race, Vips determinedly launched into the lead at turn 1, never looking back to hold a comfortable three-second lead – before drama at the pitstop meant that the Estonian plummeted down the order.
After his stop, Vips returned to the track more than 13 seconds behind race leader Pourchaire and down in 12th place. However, the Estonian knuckled down and scythed through the field during the second half of the race, cutting Pourchaire’s lead in half over the next 6 laps and taking P3 off MP Motorsport’s Felipe Drugovich on lap 26.
His progress stalled from there and he couldn’t make a late gain on the Safety Car restart, but I’m sure that Vips would have been quite content with P3 after the pit stop calamity. I would not have wanted to be in that team debrief though, at least there are a further 12 rounds to go to make amends.
Ralph Boschung – Qualifying: 5th | Sprint: 4th | Feature: 4th
The Swiss driver didn’t quite have the pace to hold onto podium positions in both of his races, but Ralph’s experience shone brightly under the lights in Bahrain. A solid qualifying was rewarded with two excellent races; the Sprint race showcased a number of outrageous overtakes around the outside of turn 4, whilst his storming start catapulted him to P2 in the early stages of the Feature race.
Boschung would have to settle for P4 but the consistent points meant that he left round 1 conveniently 4th in the Driver’s standings, the highest he has ever been in F2.
Honourable mentions:
The first honourable mention goes to Richard Verschoor for winning the first Sprint Race of the season and ending Trident’s victory drought in the second-tier of single-seater racing that dates back all the way to September 2016. He also took Fastest Lap, making it a strong start to the season for the Dutchman.
Ayumu Iwasa also makes this list for a brilliant recovery drive in the Sprint race to finish 8th after having started 22nd, and he would have managed to replicate that in the Feature Race if it were not for the reliability gremlins finding their way into his DAMS car. If only he hadn’t spun out in Qualifying then Iwasa had the pace to feature at the front on his debut weekend.
The struggle bus:
Team Mechanics
Leading the struggle bus this week were the mechanics. We can forgive them for being a little rusty, but the spate of slow pitstops that ruined a lot of drivers’ races rather spoilt the weekend. The icing on this foul-tasting cake were the two cars released with loose wheels, something we definitely don’t want to see a repeat of anytime soon.
Hitech driver JĂĽri Vips lost an almost certain race win after losing 15 seconds in his pitstop. This because his car had to be raised not once, but twice, as they still had to fit the front left tyre. At least he was able to recover to third to take home a podium.
Near the end of the Feature Race, both Dennis Hauger (Prema) and Calan Williams (Trident) were left stricken in the pitlane as loose wheels came off their cars. Williams’ was worse than Hauger’s, as he was actually blocking the fast lane due to the unfortunate incident. The teams justifiably received heavy fines, but it overshadowed an entertaining race as it meant that drivers couldn’t gamble on late stops for the restart because the pit lane was closed.
Olli Caldwell – Qualifying: 17th | Sprint: 19th | Feature: 17th
In only his third weekend in an F2 car, you can forgive the British driver for not being at the front of the pack, but he received four penalties in the Feature Race, three of which were for track limits, which is quite embarrassing.
Don’t get me wrong, the issue of track limits is frustrating, but Race Control are taking a zero-tolerance approach and there is only really one corner (turn 4) where this was being monitored. So he could have (and should have) known. Certainly, a steep learning curve this weekend for Olli.
Dishonourable mention:
This belongs to Jack Doohan, he gets credit for taking pole position in only his second weekend in the series, but the Aussie threw away the race win by clumsily tagging the rear of Pourchaire at turn 1 after making his pit stop. Forcing a second pit stop for a new wing, Jack did recover from the back of the pack to take 10th, but the costly error at turn 1 potentially cost him a large haul of points.
We don’t have to wait long for the action to resume as the F2 circus joins Formula 1 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia on the weekend of the 26th and 27th of March.
