# 2024 Sakhir Formula 2 round

The 2024 Sakhir FIA Formula 2 round was a motor race held between 29 February and 2 March 2024 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the first race of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship and was being held in support of the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Rodin Motorsport driver Zane Maloney got off to a perfect start into the 2024 season as he won both races of the weekend, to become the third driver in the series' history after Felipe Drugovich and Oliver Bearman to do so.

## Report
### Background

The round saw the competitive début of the new Dallara F2 2024 chassis. The F2 2024 was introduced to replace the Dallara F2 2018 chassis which had been used since 2018.

### Team changes

New Zealand automotive manufacturer Rodin Cars took over Carlin and renamed the team Rodin Motorsport, after previously becoming majority shareholder in 2023.
Virtuosi Racing was entered under the moniker Invicta Racing after watchmaker Invicta deepened its involvement with the team, having been its title sponsor in 2023.

### Driver changes

Reigning driver's champion Théo Pourchaire left ART Grand Prix and the series, as the category's sporting regulations disallow such title defenses. The previous year's top four finishers – Pourchaire, Frederik Vesti, Jack Doohan, and Ayumu Iwasa – would all exit the series. Reigning FIA Formula 3 Championship champion Gabriel Bortoleto entered the championship with Invicta Racing, with Formula Regional European Championship champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli making his debut in the series for Prema Racing, and reigning Super Formula champion Ritomo Miyata joining Rodin Motorsport for his international motorsport debut with the support of Toyota Gazoo Racing.

## Classification
### Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 29 February 2024, at 16:55 local time (UTC+3).
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Entrant | Time/Gap | Grid SR | Grid FR |
| 1 | 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta Racing | 1:41.915 | 10 | 1 |
| 2 | 20 | Isack Hadjar | Campos Racing | +0.023 | 9 | 2 |
| 3 | 5 | Zane Maloney | Rodin Motorsport | +0.067 | 8 | 3 |
| 4 | 11 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | +0.075 | 7 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin Motorsport | +0.088 | 6 | 5 |
| 6 | 2 | Zak O'Sullivan | ART Grand Prix | +0.099 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | 14 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Van Amersfoort Racing | +0.155 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 | 1 | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | +0.243 | 3 | 8 |
| 9 | 25 | Taylor Barnard | PHM AIX Racing | +0.292 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 | 7 | Jak Crawford | DAMS Lucas Oil | +0.372 | 1 | 10 |
| 11 | 21 | Pepe Martí | Campos Racing | +0.418 | 11 | 11 |
| 12 | 17 | Paul Aron | Hitech Pulse-Eight | +0.425 | 12 | 12 |
| 13 | 8 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS Lucas Oil | +0.454 | 13 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | Rafael Villagómez | Van Amersfoort Racing | +0.477 | 14 | 14 |
| 15 | 12 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | +0.477 | 15 | 15 |
| 16 | 22 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | +0.729 | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | 4 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Prema Racing | +0.778 | 17 | 17 |
| 18 | 3 | Oliver Bearman | Prema Racing | +0.795 | 18 | 18 |
| 19 | 16 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech Pulse-Eight | +1.030 | 19 | 19 |
| 20 | 23 | Roman Staněk | Trident | +1.153 | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | 24 | Joshua Dürksen | PHM AIX Racing | +1.238 | 21 | 21 |
| 107% time: 1:49.049 (+7.134) |||||||
| DSQ | 9 | Kush Maini | Invicta Racing | 1:41.696 | 22 | 22 |
| Source: |||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – Rafael Villagómez and Franco Colapinto set identical times in qualifying; Villagómez was classified ahead as he set his lap time earlier.
* ^2 – Kush Maini originally qualified first and claimed pole position for the feature race, but was subsequently disqualified after his car's undertray was found to be in violation of series regulations. He was allowed to compete in the races at the stewards' discretion.

### Sprint race

The sprint race was held on 1 March 2024, at 17:15 local time (UTC+3).
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Entrant | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 5 | Zane Maloney | Rodin Motorsport | 23 | 42:13.726 | 8 | 10 (1) |
| 2 | 7 | Jak Crawford | DAMS Lucas Oil | 23 | +5.490 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | 21 | Pepe Martí | Campos Racing | 23 | +7.057 | 11 | 6 |
| 4 | 20 | Isack Hadjar | Campos Racing | 23 | +9.783 | 9 | 5 |
| 5 | 17 | Paul Aron | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 23 | +18.188 | 12 | 4 |
| 6 | 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta Racing | 23 | +18.320 | 10 | 3 |
| 7 | 2 | Zak O'Sullivan | ART Grand Prix | 23 | +20.135 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | 11 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 23 | +21.032 | 7 | 1 |
| 9 | 6 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin Motorsport | 23 | +21.490 | 6 | |
| 10 | 22 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 23 | +21.839 | 16 | |
| 11 | 1 | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | 23 | +23.840 | 3 | |
| 12 | 8 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS Lucas Oil | 23 | +26.833 | 13 | |
| 13 | 9 | Kush Maini | Invicta Racing | 23 | +27.246 | 22 | |
| 14 | 4 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Prema Racing | 23 | +30.260 | 17 | |
| 15 | 24 | Joshua Dürksen | PHM AIX Racing | 23 | +35.257 | 21 | |
| 16 | 3 | Oliver Bearman | Prema Racing | 23 | +36.247 | 18 | |
| 17 | 14 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Van Amersfoort Racing | 23 | +56.183 | 4 | |
| 18 | 12 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 23 | +1:04.819 | 15 | |
| 19 | 15 | Rafael Villagómez | Van Amersfoort Racing | 23 | +1:31.558 | 14 | |
| DNF | 23 | Roman Staněk | Trident | 19 | Retired | 20 | |
| DNF | 25 | Taylor Barnard | PHM AIX Racing | 16 | Brakes | 2 | |
| DNF | 16 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 0 | Collision damage | 19 | |
| Fastest lap set by Enzo Fittipaldi: 1:45.833 (lap 23) ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||
Notes
* ^1 – Rafael Villagómez received a ten-second penalty post-race for causing a collision with Amaury Cordeel. His final position was not affected by the penalty.

### Feature race

The feature race was held on 2 March 2024, at 13:30 local time (UTC+3).
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Entrant | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 5 | Zane Maloney | Rodin Motorsport | 32 | 1:02:46.435 | 3 | 25 |
| 2 | 21 | Pepe Martí | Campos Racing | 32 | +4.621 | 11 | 18 |
| 3 | 17 | Paul Aron | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 32 | +11.781 | 12 | 15 |
| 4 | 2 | Zak O'Sullivan | ART Grand Prix | 32 | +12.523 | 6 | 12 |
| 5 | 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta Racing | 32 | +12.591 | 1 | 10 (2) |
| 6 | 12 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 32 | +13.609 | 15 | 8 |
| 7 | 9 | Kush Maini | Invicta Racing | 32 | +14.719 | 22 | 6 |
| 8 | 11 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 32 | +16.002 | 4 | 4 (1) |
| 9 | 6 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin Motorsport | 32 | +16.272 | 5 | 2 |
| 10 | 4 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Prema Racing | 32 | +20.405 | 17 | 1 |
| 11 | 24 | Joshua Dürksen | PHM AIX Racing | 32 | +24.035 | 21 | |
| 12 | 15 | Rafael Villagómez | Van Amersfoort Racing | 32 | +29.532 | 14 | |
| 13 | 23 | Roman Staněk | Trident | 32 | +31.193 | 20 | |
| 14 | 22 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 32 | +33.702 | 17 | |
| 15 | 3 | Oliver Bearman | Prema Racing | 32 | +51.135 | 18 | |
| 16 | 25 | Taylor Barnard | PHM AIX Racing | 32 | +58.999 | 9 | |
| DNF | 1 | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | 17 | Engine | 8 | |
| DNF | 7 | Jak Crawford | DAMS Lucas Oil | 16 | Stalled | 10 | |
| DNF | 16 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 14 | Collision damage | 19 | |
| DNF | 8 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS Lucas Oil | 6 | Transmission | 13 | |
| DNF | 20 | Isack Hadjar | Campos Racing | 0 | Collision | 2 | |
| DNF | 14 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Van Amersfoort Racing | 0 | Collision | 7 | |
| Fastest lap set by Dennis Hauger: 1:46.743 (lap 17) ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Paul Aron and Rafael Villagómez both received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. However, their final positions were not affected by their penalties.
* ^2 – Richard Verschoor originally finished thirteenth, but received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him down to fourteenth in the final classification.

## Standings after the event

| Pos. | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Zane Maloney | 36 |
| 2 | Pepe Martí | 24 |
| 3 | Paul Aron | 19 |
| 4 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 15 |
| 5 | Zak O'Sullivan | 14 |
| Pos. | Team | Points |
| 1 | Rodin Motorsport | 38 |
| 2 | Campos Racing | 29 |
| 3 | Invicta Racing | 21 |
| 4 | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 19 |
| 5 | ART Grand Prix | 14 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.