2020 Sakhir Sprint Race

The 2020 Sakhir Formula 2 Race 2, otherwise known as the 2020 Sakhir Sprint Race, was the twenty-fourth and final race of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship, staged on the Outer Circuit at the Bahrain International Circuit on 6 December 2020. The race would see Mick Schumacher start as the Champion-elect, holding a fourteen point lead over Callum Ilott before the start of the season finale.

Furthermore, Schumacher would start the race ahead of Ilott on the grid, the German and the Brit sharing the second row with Schumacher in third and Ilott fourth. Pole position, meanwhile, would be occupied by Dan Ticktum after he was promoted to eighth in the Feature Race following a double penalty for Nikita Mazepin for dangerous driving.

The start of the race saw Schumacher throw caution to the wind, with the German racer scything between Ticktum and Jehan Daruvala to challenge for the lead. The German racer duly seized second around the outside of Daruvala as Ticktum held on to secure the lead down the inside, with Ilott watching on in fourth.

There was to be an early twist, however, with Schumacher locking up at turn four and putting a flat-spot on his front-left tyre. Daruvala briefly sneaked past Schumacher before he could recover and reclaim second, although it soon became clear that Schumacher had a huge vibration on that tyre.

Indeed, the #20 Prema was shaking along the straights due to the vibration, with Daruvala able to claim second on lap four. Ilott then moved onto the tail of his hobbled title rival, although before he could begin his assault for third, a Virtual Safety Car was thrown to allow the circuit to be cleared of debris.

When the race resumed Daruvala moved clear to engage Ticktum for the lead, while Schumacher made a desperate attempt to hold Ilott at bay. Ultimately the German racer would hang on to the position for ten laps, long enough to drag their teammates Guanyu Zhou and Robert Shwartzman onto Ilott's tail, before the British racer finally moved past the Championship leader.

Shwartzman and Zhou duly followed their way past the #20 Prema, prompting Schumacher to pit for fresh tyres just so he could make it to the finish. Ilott, meanwhile, was left five seconds off of the victory he required to claim the Championship, albeit with the knowledge that Daruvala was harassing Ticktum for the lead.

Daruvala duly seized the lead with an impressive lunge around the outside of the final corner, before sprinting away from the #2 DAMS which had also damaged its tyres. However, Ilott was too far back to take advantage, and his drawn-out fight with Schumacher had left him with tyre worries of his own as the race entered its final phase.

Ultimately, with ten laps to go, the title fight was over, with Ilott's pace collapsing as Shwartzman, Zhou and Yuki Tsunoda fired past in quick succession. With that attention switched to the fight for the podium with Tsunoda the man to watch as he elbowed his way past Zhou for fourth.

Indeed, a thrilling end to the race saw Tsunoda storm past Shwartzman, before charging onto the back of Ticktum and passing the #2 DAMS at the end of the penultimate tour. Ticktum then used DRS to retaliate and reclaim second, setting up a last-lap duel for second that would rumble on until the final corner.

As Tsunoda fired around the outside of Ticktum for second on the brakes for turn nine, Daruvala swept across the line to secure victory, the first of his F2 career. Tsunoda duly claimed second in a sprint to the chequered flag with Ticktum, while Zhou secured fourth ahead of Shwartzman. Giuliano Alesi claimed a stealthy sixth ahead of Luca Ghiotto, while Felipe Drugovich secured the final point of the season in eighth.

However, the ultimate prize would be handed to Schumacher, who ultimately secured the F2 crown by fourteen points over Ilott after both failed to score. Tsunoda ended the season in third, just a point behind Ilott, with the Japanese racer also claiming the Anthoine Hubert Award for best rookie.

Background
There were no modifications made to the ferociously fast Outer Circuit at the Bahrain International Circuit, with just the two DRS zones implemented for the Sprint. There would, however, be a change to the starting grid, as a post-race penalty was applied to Nikita Mazepin after the Russian racer was found to have committed multiple instances of dangerous driving during the Feature Race. That meant that Dan Ticktum would start the final race of the condensed 2020 season from pole position, while Feature winner Yuki Tsunoda was to start from eighth.

Sakhir Stalemate
In spite of the dramatic difference in starting position between the two title protagonists, come the end of the Feature Race it was status quo atop the table. Indeed, Mick Schumacher would hold his fourteen point lead over Callum Ilott into the final race, meaning he would claim the title if he finished in sixth in the finale. Ilott, meanwhile, could only win the title if he claimed victory with Schumacher in eighth, or second with fastest lap with Schumacher out of the points.

The Teams' Championship, meanwhile, was over for the 2020 season, as Prema Racing established an unassailable tally of 386 with a race to spare. UNI-Virtuosi would hence have to settle for second, while Hitech Grand Prix had almost secured third, before Nikita Mazepin had his penalties from the Feature Race applied. That meant that the British squad would head into the final with the potential to slip behind compatriots Carlin, although the latter squad would likely need a perfect score just to overhaul their rivals.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:
 * * Placeholder liveries are show for the second drivers in each team.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Schumacher set the fastest lap of the race (1:04.383) but was ineligible to claim the bonus point as he finished outside of the top ten.

Milestones

 * Mick Schumacher declared as the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship Champion.
 * Schumacher became the third German driver to win the GP2/F2 title.
 * Yuki Tsunoda declared as the 2020 Anthoine Hubert Award winner.
 * 47th and final race for Nikita Mazepin and Schumacher.
 * Maiden victory for Jehan Daruvala.
 * Seventh win for Carlin as an entrant in F2.

Standings
With that the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship was over, with Mick Schumacher ending the campaign as the Champion with 215 points and two race victories. Callum Ilott ended the season fourteen behind the German racer in second, while Yuki Tsunoda finished a point behind the Brit in third, and collected the Anthoine Hubert Award for best rookie. Robert Shwartzman and Nikita Mazepin then completed the top five, with 22 of the 26 drivers to have competed in 2020 having scored during the campaign.

Prema Racing had already claimed the Teams' Championship in the Feature Race, with the Italian team ending the campaign with 392 points. UNI-Virtuosi were second, 39.5 points off the lead in second, while Carlin secured third on the final day on 272. Hitech Grand Prix and ART Grand Prix rounded out the top five, with all eleven teams having scored in 2020.