Preview ROUND 1 SAKHIR BAHRAIN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Bahrain International Circuit SPRINT RACE 1 & 2 23 LAPS // 124.230 KM 45 min. Start/Finish Offset 5.412 KM 0.246 km FEATURE RACE 32 LAPS // 172.938 KM 60 min. AVERAGE TEMP. 30°/22° LAP RECORD WHEN TO WATCH AVERAGE RAINFALL 15 mm MAXIMUM SPEED 13 314.8 KM/H 1:38.907 (196.985 KM/H) ALL TIMES LOCAL (GMT +3) 4 Antonio Fuoco Charles Leclerc (PREMA Racing) in 2017 (PREMA Racing) FRIDAY 26 MARCH in 2017 2020 POLE POSITION 13:05 Practice Session . 45 min. 5 6 1:41.479 (191.992 KM/H) 16:30 Qualifying Session . 30 min. SECTOR 3 * Callum Ilott (UNI-Virtuosi) 17:30 Press Conference 12 7 SATURDAY 27 MARCH COUMPOUND ALLOCATION DRS ACTIVATION ZONE DRS SECTOR 1 DETECTION 13:25 Sprint Race 1 . 23 laps • 45 min. 9 ZONE 2 * Press Conference 8 14:45 11 19:40 Sprint Race 2 . 23 laps • 45 min. HARD SOFT 10 SECTOR 2 * 3 21:00 Press Conference DRS DRS ACTIVATION ZONE DETECTION ZONE 3 2020 FEATURE RACE SUNDAY 28 MARCH 2 MICHAEL SPEED TYRE WINNING STRATEGY SCHUMACHER TRAP 14 13:50 Feature Race . 32 laps • 60 min. 15 laps Medium >> 17 laps Hard * 1 Press Conference 15:30 15 F. Drugovich (MP Motorsport) from P2 Grid Position DRS DETECTION DRS ACTIVATION ZONE *Note: You can join the Press Conference via Zoom upon request. ZONE 1 The story so far FROm THE GRID Oscar Piastri PREMA Racing Round 1 of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 changes to their line-up for 2021. An “I think the because of all of the traction zones. Championship officially gets underway astounding six teams will start the season new weekend PREMA were the first team to master this weekend at Sakhir, Bahrain. This with all new driver line-ups, with many format should the pit stop in the sprint race, but I still year marks the fifth exciting season for returning favourites switching outfits be exciting! think that managing the tyres will be the category, which returns to screens and ten rookies lining-up on the starting Qualifying a massively important part of the race. with an exciting new weekend format grid in Bahrain. The build-up to the in the top and a dynamic eight-round calendar. season also saw several teams reveal ten is now “The key action zone is Turn 1; it is the their dazzling new 2021 liveries. No even more longest straight on the track into a very It has been a mere three months since tight hairpin so that is where I think Mick Schumacher clinched the 2020 fewer than eight teams incorporated important blue to their revitalised designs, a colour than it was most overtaking will happen. However, Championship title in a dramatic closing with the amount of tyre degradation round at the Bahrain International Circuit that has never before appeared on a previously to championship-winning car. make sure especially towards the ends of stints and joined Nyck de Vries, George when people’s tyres are dropping Russell and Charles Leclerc in the F2 Hall you are in the reverse grid for the first Pre-season testing earlier this month Sprint Race. Qualifying towards the back off, there could be overtaking almost of Fame. Since then, three F2 graduates saw Pirelli’s updated hard compounds anywhere on the track. have made the move to Formula 1, of the top ten probably isn’t such a bad get their first track-time. The re-designed thing anymore because you will hopefully making way for a whole host of exciting “If we could end all three races in the compound has been introduced to reduce stay out of the mess in Sprint Race 1. The new faces in the 2021 paddock who points, it would be a pretty good start degradation and mark a bigger step format could potentially see some people continue their journey on the Road to F1. to the season. The first objective is between Hard and Medium tyres. A new who do well in Qualifying have some going to be to qualify in the top ten. The start of the year brought about an updated medium compound has also tough rounds because they get caught in It depends on how we perform as a array of driver announcements, with been created for the 2021 season and incidents in the first Sprint Race, but it will team, but we looked strong in pre- all 11 teams in the paddock making has been designed to improve resistance. be exciting, nonetheless. season testing so it is definitely within “Tyre management will be crucial. We’ve our capability to get points in all three The CHALLENGERS seen in the past that Bahrain is very races and hopefully challenge for a tough on tyres, particularly the rear ones podium as well.” With a roster of 22 drivers all determined have links to F1 teams, including Robert to show they have what it takes to make Shwartzman, the highest placed driver STAT PACK it at the top level of junior motorsport returning from 2020. This year’s line-up and a thrilling new three-race weekend also features two F1 Test Drivers, Guanyu format, the fifth year of the FIA Formula 2 Zhou and Roy Nissany, who will continue > In 2020, Formula 2 raced at the > At 5.412 KM long, the circuit is the Championship has the potential to be the their duties for Alpine and Williams Bahrain International Circuit for 2nd shortest track on the 2021 most exciting yet. Just eight rounds stand throughout 2021. the two closing rounds of the season. calendar, surpassed only by Monte between one driver and the crown, but For Round 11, the grid raced on the Carlo which is just 3.337 KM long. The rookies also stood out at pre- with an all-new sprint race added to the traditional ‘Grand Prix’ circuit, while season testing, with F3 race winner schedule, there is no doubt that a season Round 12 featured the ‘Outer Track’ Bent Viscaal finishing second overall just > Just one Feature Race and one Sprint of non-stop action lies ahead. circuit configuration. 0.331s behind title contender Christian Race have been won by the polesitter This year’s line-up merges experience Lundgaard. Meanwhile, Red Bull Junior at the track since the beginning of the > with youth, as a new cohort of rookies Driver and F3 graduate Liam Lawson Robert Shwartzman is the highest- modern era of FIA Formula 2. makes the step-up from Formula 3 consistently finished in the top five, and placed driver returning from last year’s championship having finished fourth in joining returning faces from the 2020 F2 2020 F3 Champion Oscar Piastri made > Felipe Drugovich and Schwartzman the standings in 2020. campaign. Almost half of the 2021 grid the top ten in all but one session. were both race winners at the Bahrain International Circuit in 2020 and are > Just two drivers have completed two the only two drivers on the current grid TYRE TALK MARIO ISOLA (PIRELLI HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING) SAYS: full seasons in F2: Guanyu Zhou and to have stood on the podium at Ralph Boschung. this track under the traditional circuit “The new three-race format for the dark. This nomination is different to last configuration. weekend means that each car now has year, where the hard and the medium > The 2021 grid features six F2 race six sets of slick tyres available for the was chosen for this track, now adding an winners, collectively they have won weekend rather than five: four sets of the extra tactical variable at the start of this a total of 12 races. MEDIA KIT radical new season. The hard F2 tyre is harder compound and two sets of the softer compound. For Bahrain, this is the different in 2021, with a new construction The 2021 FIA Formula 2 > The F2 race lap record at the Bahrain P Zero White hard and P Zero Red soft: and stiffer compound, which should open Championship™ Media Kit is available International Circuit is 1:38.907, set well-suited to the changing conditions up the already considerable performance for download in our Media Zone. expected in Formula 2, with races held gap to the soft.” by Charles Leclerc with PREMA Racing www.fiaformula2.com/About/Media-Zone both during the heat of the day and after in 2017. CONTACT Alexa Quintin - Head of Media and Communications [email protected] +33 (0)6 23 900 777 • Katie McGuinness - Press Officer [email protected] +44 (0) 7929 731 457 For more information please visit www.fiaformula2.com Follow us @Formula2 @formula2 @formula2 ROUND 1 Preview SAKHIR BAHRAIN ON-BOARD 2021 ENTRY LIST CAMERAS SEASOn STATS PREMA Racing 1 Robert Shwartzman SHW RUS 21 y/o Ten rookies will start the 2021 campaign, 2 Oscar Piastri PIA AUS 19 y/o ROOKIE including nine FIA Formula 3 graduates. ZHO 10 UNI-Virtuosi 3 Guanyu Zhou CHN 21 y/o 4 Felipe Drugovich DRU BRA 20 y/o The average age of this year’s drivers. Carlin 5 Dan Ticktum TIC GBR 21 y/o 20.7 6 Jehan Daruvala DAR IND 22 y/o Total number of F2 races starts to Hitech 7 Liam Lawson LAW date among the 2021 grid. Grand Prix NZL 19 y/o ROOKIE 360 8 Jüri Vips VIP EST 20 y/o 2021 CLASSIFICATIONS ART 9 Christian Lundgaard LUN drivers’ standings teams’ standings Grand Prix DNK 19 y/o POS.