Round 2 of the 2025 F2 season took the grid to Bahrain. The weekend was full of impressive performances and ended with an unexpected outcome.
What Happened When F2 Stopped in Bahrain
F2 visited Bahrain for Round 2 of its 2025 championship. The series experienced a weekend of impressive performances, each highlighting the drivers’ skills.
The high temperatures of Sakhir were accompanied by moments of high tension on the track that rewarded the drivers who made the most of the car even in conditions of degradation or pressure from the opponents. Among them are winners Pepe Martì and Alexander Dunne, who highlighted this season’s competition.
Payback for Pepe Martì
After the difficulties of the first F2 round in Australia, Pepe Martì and Campos Racing wanted to show their real strength in Bahrain.
Despite a disappointing qualifying, the Spaniard wanted to turn things around. Pepe Martì made an impressive comeback during the Sprint Race, starting from eleventh place and finishing first.
The Bahrain circuit seems to fit well with the skills of Martì, who also last year was behind an incredible performance in Sakhir, finishing twice on the podium.
In the final laps of a chaotic Sprint Race, the Spaniard overtook several cars one after another and reached the finish line in first position.
Also, in the Feature Race, he came close to the podium, losing the fight with Leonardo Fornaroli at the last corner, despite the pressure he put on the Italian. This was an excellent response, given the performance in Melbourne, where neither of the two Campos Racing drivers had a good weekend.
Sprint Race podium 🏆
🥇 Marti 🇪🇸
🥈 Verschoor 🇳🇱
🥉 Duerksen 🇵🇾#F2 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/tb8ncuShRl— Formula 2 (@Formula2) April 12, 2025
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Difficulties Remain for Prema Racing
Prema Racing continued to struggle at the Sakhir circuit. While the outcome this year was not wholly negative, it was still a far cry from the performance fans have come to expect from the Italian team.
For instance, Sebastian Montoya did not earn any points in the races. In the Sprint Race, he was the victim of contact at the beginning, which damaged his race. On Sunday, he never managed to find speed and finished in nineteenth position.
However, the weekend was not all bad. Gabriele Minì finished in the points in both races for the team. While he did not earn the win he was looking for, the team and drivers are aiming to recover in Jeddah before their home race at Imola.
Two Different Strategies in Bahrain
Tire degradation is known to be critical for races in Bahrain. So, it is no surprise that high temperatures and degradation burdened drivers and teams to find the right balance that minimised performance losses.
During the Sprint Race, where pit stops are not mandatory, many cars at the bottom of the grid stopped to change tires and try a different strategy to recover points.
For some, this choice paid off, as is the case of Gabriele Minì and Leonardo Fornaroli. The Italians sat at the bottom of the classification until their fresher tires saw them overtake drivers experiencing more tire degradation. Both finished in the points.
Strategy made the difference in the Feature Race, where the soft compound performed better than expected. Alexander Dunne, who had chosen the soft-hard strategy, exploited this with a victory 8 seconds ahead of P2.
HISTORY MADE IN OUR 200TH RACE!!!!! 🎉
A FIRST #F2 VICTORY FOR IRELAND!!! 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
ALEX DUNNE, TAKE A BOW!!! 🙌🙌#BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/fXITfpTbnc
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) April 13, 2025
Luke Browning, who chose a hard-soft strategy, recovered in the final laps and ended in second position.
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Changes in Drivers’ Standings
After this round, there have been several changes in the drivers’ standings.
Joshua Durksen, leader of the F2 championship until Bahrain, lost his placing due to his disqualification in the Sprint Race and a lack of points scored in the Feature Race.
The Paraguayan fell into fifth place while Alex Dunne, Luke Browning, and Leonardo Fornaroli now occupy the top 3 of the drivers’ standings.
F2 leaves Bahrain and will return at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix next week, from 18th to 20th April.
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ
Recording Date: 13.04.2025
