2018 Bahrain Sprint Race

The 2018 Bahrain Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2018 Sakhir Race 2, was the second round of the 2018 FIA Formula Two Championship, staged at the Bahrain International Circuit on the 8 April 2018. The race, which was staged in the build-up to the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix, would see Artem Markelov produce another battling performance en-route to victory.

Having finished eighth in the Feature Race, Maximilian Günther would start the Sprint Race from pole, as per the rules of F2. He would ultimately start the race on his own on the front row, with Sean Gelael stalling on the formation lap, the latest victim of the new Dallara F2 2018's tricky clutch.

Further stalls came at the start of the race, with George Russell, Jack Aitken and Santino Ferrucci all left standing on the grid. The former two, being higher up on the grid, were particularly dangerous, but the rest of the field miraculously managed to avoid them in the sprint to turn one.

At the front, meanwhile, Nyck de Vries hooked up his start beautifully to charge past Günther into the first corner, with Markelov sprinting up into third. The rest of the field were led by Sérgio Sette Câmara and Feature Race winner Lando Norris, although at the end of the lap de Vries already looked out of touch.

Markelov would find his own way past Günther on the fourth lap, before going charging off after de Vries out front. Their impending scrap ultimately came around on lap ten, although with de Vries struggling with his "medium" Pirelli tyres, Markelov met almost no resistance. Indeed, de Vries would pull into the pits before the Russian made his move, with the Dutchman rejoining with a set of "softs" down in thirteenth.

Markelov would keep the chasing pack at bay for the rest of the race, with Günther briefly challenging before falling back towards Norris and Câmara. Markelov would go on to claim victory from the German racer, with Câmara inheriting third when teammate Norris hit mechanical trouble. de Vries, meanwhile, would fight his way up into fifth at the chequered flag with fastest lap.

Background
There were no changes overnight ahead of the second Formula Two race of 2018, although there were murmurs of discontent about the new Dallara F2 2018. Indeed, many of the drivers were concerned about the new car's clutch, which had caused Artem Markelov, Roberto Merhi and Antonio Fuoco to all stall at the start of the Feature Race. However, many were reluctant to voice their concerns publicly, and would refrain from making comments until the end of the weekend.

Into the Championship and victory in the Feature Race, combined with fastest lap and pole position, meant that Lando Norris held a thirteen point advantage over the rest of the field after the opening round, with teammate Sérgio Sette Câmara the man behind. Next up was Artem Markelov after his stirring drive through the field, while Alexander Albon completed the top four ahead of George Russell.

In the Teams Championship Carlin held a commanding lead over the rest of the field, being one of only three teams to get both their drivers in the points. Indeed, their one-two finish ensured that they were 34 points clear of second placed Russian Time, with the rest of the field strong out behind the Russian effort. Indeed, only Campos Racing, Charouz and Trident had failed to score at the first race.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Grid
The grid for the second race of the 2018 campaign was formed from the finishing positions of the Feature Race, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA Formula Two rules.


 * * Gelael would start the race from the pitlane after stalling on the formation lap.

Race
It was another hot afternoon in Sakhir ahead of the first Sprint Race of the season, prompting the majority of the field to choose Pirelli's "medium" compound tyres. The exception to this would be Roberto Merhi, forced to gamble on a set of "softs" after a miserable Feature Race on Saturday left him at the back of the field. He would, however, immediately gain a position ahead of the start, with Sean Gelael stalling on the formation lap.

Report
Gelael's stall was a sign of things to come at the start proper, with George Russell, Jack Aitken and Santino Ferrucci left standing on the grid when the lights went out. Indeed, only some very quick reactions from Artem Markelov kept him from ramming the stranded Russell, with thirteen cars weaving around the stuck drivers. Miraculously there would be no accidents, with those three all getting into the race after being pushed into the pits to restart their cars.

In the middle of that melee Alexander Albon would limp away from the grid, getting swamped in the back, forcing Antonio Fuoco onto the grass as he went around his outside. On the opposite side of the track, Ralph Boschung almost inadvertently put Luca Ghiotto into the pitwall, the young Swiss having to suddenly dart to the right to avoid the stalled Russell. Almost unnoticed, Sérgio Sette Câmara made an amazing start to dodge around the slow starting Albon, only to get his nose chopped off by Markelov's charging Russian Time.

At the front of the field, meanwhile, Nyck de Vries took advantage of the empty piece of tarmac in front him to sprint past pole occupier Maximilian Günther into turn one. Markelov followed them through, having been on the wrong side to challenge the young German into the first corner, with Câmara next in the queue. Behind him came his Carlin teammate Lando Norris while, at the back of the field, Gelael joined the fray from the pit lane.

The stalled cars were cleared and back on track well before the opening lap was completed by de Vries, who charged across the line with a small lead over Günther and Markelov. Câmara and Norris were next ahead of Ghiotto, who was on his own before Boschung crossed the line with the rest of the field on his tail. At the back, meanwhile, Russell and Aitken were half a lap behind, with Ferrucci chasing hard after them a further ten seconds back.

de Vries began to pull away in the early stages, while Markelov was unable to deal with Günther as they opted to preserve their tyres. Câmara, meanwhile, would run in a solid fourth ahead of teammate Norris, although the Brit's race looked to be over at the start of lap three when his engine lost power. That allowed Ghiotto to breeze past on the start/finish straight while, just behind, Louis Delétraz pulled off a decisive dive inside Boschung into turn one.

Norris' race was not over, however, and he duly sent his Carlin back past Ghiotto's Campos at the start of lap four. Out front, meanwhile, Markelov pulled off an excellent dive on Günther into turn three on lap five, before charging off the catch de Vries, some three seconds clear. He duly began to catch the Dutchman's Prema as the race wore on, with de Vries thought to be struggling with his tyres.

Ultimately, there would be no duel for the lead, for de Vries was forced to stop at the end of lap ten having burned through his "mediums". Markelov duly inherited the lead, having just closed to DRS range of the Dutchman, with Günther a further two seconds back. Câmara had been promoted to third, while Norris' race was continuing on, his glitch in the early stages seeming to have disappeared.

With the top four breaking away attention would focus further down the order, with de Vries carving his way back up the order on his new "softs". Indeed, having slipped to thirteenth, the Dutchman was soon carving past the lower end of the top ten, taking Boschung with ease for sixth on lap fourteen, just four laps after his stop. A couple of laps later and the Prema was sent diving past Ghiotto for fifth into turn eleven, with attention returning to the front of the field in the closing stages.

Indeed, as series of lock-ups for Günther had allowed Câmara and Norris to pull right onto his tail, with the Brazilian trying a lunge into turn one with three laps to go. However, the move was too ambitious and caused Câmara to run wide, allowing teammate Norris to attack him on the exit. The Brit duly got a good run out of the corner to challenge around the outside of turn three, although Câmara was able to run his teammate out wide and hold third.

With that the race was run, with Markelov managing his tyres beautifully to claim victory ahead of Günther, whom had been left untouched after the Carlin's attacked one another. Câmara came home fourth safely ahead of teammate Norris, who lost power just before the line, while de Vries was a distant fifth after his stop. Ghiotto was next ahead of an all-out scrap for the remaining points, with Delétraz elbowed out wide at the final corner by Nicholas Latifi, only to rejoin ahead of the Canadian to claim ninth at the line. They had followed Boschung and Nirei Fukuzumi past the chequered flag, with the Swiss racer fending off the young Japanese racer's late lunge into turn fourteen at the end of the race.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

 * Artem Markelov claimed his sixth victory in Formula Two.
 * It was also his seventh in either F2 or GP2.
 * Seventh victory for Russian Time as an F2 entrant.
 * Also their seventeenth victory at F2/GP2 level.
 * First podium finish for Maximilian Günther.
 * Maiden points finish for Nirei Fukuzumi.

Standings
Victory in the sprint race ensured that Artem Markelov closed the gap to Lando Norris at the head of the field, although the Brit still held a nine point advantage over the Russian. Sérgio Sette Câmara, meanwhile, dropped to third on 28 points, two behind Markelov, with the rest of the field on sixteen points or fewer. Maximilian Günther was the first of those after his maiden podium finish, level on points with Nyck de Vries.

Carlin continued to hold sway over the Teams' Championship after the opening round, with more than double the points of second placed Russian Time. The Pertamina Prema effort were next ahead of BWT Arden, while DAMS completed the top five level on points with compatriots ART Grand Prix. At the bottom of the table, meanwhile, Campos Racing had moved ahead of MP Motorsport, leaving Trident and Charouz as the only teams yet to score.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.