Formula 2: Dunne reigns supreme in Sakhir Feature Race

Written by Jasmin Low

Dunne drove a commanding race, claiming his first victory in Formula 2 | Image Credit: Formula 2

FIA Formula 2 made its way to the deserts of Sakhir for the first Feature Race of the season, following a rain-cancelled event in Australia. 2024 Formula 3 Champion Leonardo Fornaroli occupied pole position, followed by Victor Martins who hoped to bounce back after a dire Sprint Race, and Luke Browning just behind in third. However, tyre strategies were split across the field, with the rookie drivers undertaking their first mandatory pit stops in an F2 race, playing an integral part in deciding the finishing order. 

Alexander Dunne won from fourth on the grid, followed by Browning and Martins. His ability to manage his tyres and the pace of his Rodin Motorsport machine ultimately allowed him to create a convincing gap to the cars behind, whilst his rivals battled for position all throughout the 32-lap race. 

The Race

As the five red lights went out over Bahrain International Circuit, Fornaroli executed a perfect start, whilst the Williams Academy duo of Martins and Browning dropped back through the field. Alexander Dunne found himself promoted on the second on the option tyre, followed by Rafael Villagómez, who gained five positions during the first lap. Sprint Race Winner Josep Maria Martí moved from eleventh to sixth throughout the course of lap one, charging through the field on his soft-compound tyres. Sprint runner-up Richard Verschoor dropped from sixth to thirteenth after suffering a poor race start. 

Fornaroli led the field into the second lap, pulling a gap of over 1-second to Dunne behind as DRS was enabled. By lap 5, Dunne closed-in on Fornaroli, using the help of DRS to eventually take the race lead on lap 7. Villagómez lost places to both Martí and Martins, dropping to fifth. The top two escaped nearly three seconds up the road, leaving the rest of the field to battle it out behind, with the top eight all on the soft tyres. 

Jak Crawford moved his DAMS into seventh, overtaking Sami Meguetounif and setting off after Roman Staněk in the Invicta ahead. On lap 10, Beganovic, Verschoor and Montoya were locked in a three-way battle, before John Bennett became the first driver to make his mandatory pit stop, looking to charge through the field with softer tyres and a lesser fuel load. Verschoor finally overtook Beganovic for eleventh on lap 12, charging after Joshua Dürksen for the final points-paying position. 

The first of the soft-tyre runners in Victor Martins came into the pit on lap 13, followed by Verschoor and Beganovic. Out front, Dunne’s lead extended to over four seconds to Fornaroli behind, taking full advantage of his tyre-management skills. Martí and Fornaroli made their way to the pits from third, both re-entering the track behind Martins in the ART. 

Alex Dunne pitted from the lead on lap 17, re-joining just ahead of Martins who was on warmer tyres. Luke Browning overtook Martí for fourth place on his option tyres, the alternate strategy proving to work in his favour as he set the fastest lap of the race. 

Dunne managed to pull away from Martins by over 2 seconds by lap 20, whilst Browning continued his advance toward the podium positions, challenging the Invicta of Fornaroli for third, before completing an overtake on the Italian driver into the first turn. 

Browning breezed by Martins on lap 23, setting similar lap times to Dunne despite being on different tyres. 

A scrap for the final points-paying positions between Staněk, Bennett, and Dürksen played out through the final stages of the race, going three-wide into turn four, as Oliver Goethe joined the fight at the next corner. Arvid Lindblad’s Red Bull-liveried Campos entered into battle with the quartet, utilising his stronger pace to move past Bennett, Goethe, and Staněk. 

Fornaroli moved his Invicta back up into the podium positions on lap 28, however Martins did not go down without a fight. Their scrap allowed Martí to enter into the picture, and the Spaniard charged past Martins the next lap, chasing down a second podium for the weekend. 

Heading into the final lap, Martí went wheel-to-wheel with Fornaroli, trying everything to move past the Italian, however Fornaroli’s firm defence managed to keep Martí behind. 

Dunne was first to the flag with a convincing lead over Browning in second and Fornaroli in third. Martí narrowly missed out on taking home another trophy in fourth, and Martins managed to hold on to fifth position. The Irishman celebrates his first win in Formula 2 after being handed two post-race penalties following the Sprint Race, an uplifting end to his weekend. 

The Championship

Just one point covers the top three drivers in the standings. Fornaroli leads on 26 points, with Dunne and Browning both on 25. Martí sits in fourth with 23 points, with Verschoor just behind on 21 points. 

Hitech now leads the Constructors’ Championship with a combined total of 37 points. Campos Racing in second sits just one point ahead of Invicta Racing, whilst MP Motorsport and Rodin Motorsport round out the top 5 with 27 and 25 points respectively. 

FIA Formula 2 faces its first double-header of the season, supporting Formula 1 yet again in Jeddah from the 18th to the 20th of April.