PREMA Racing completed the opening race of the FIA Formula 2 season today at Bahrain International Circuit. Starting from the back end of the pack due to a tough qualifying session, Ollie Bearman and Kimi Antonelli were scheduled for the alternative strategy of making a non-mandatory tyre stop.
Antonelli focused on making the most of his maiden start in the series, and used the race to gain experience on different tyre compounds. After pitting, the Italian put up a quick pace on options and climbed up to P14. Ollie Bearman saw his car go into safety mode in the opening laps of the race, which cost him some ground, and finished in P16.
The PREMA Racing pairing will be back on track for the feature race tomorrow.
#3 OLLIE BEARMAN
“It’s been a difficult race. We tried a different strategy for the Sprint Race with the pit stop and I think it would have helped us. However, in the first lap I had a bit of an issue and got safety mode, so I fell to the back so I couldn’t use the strategy. We focused on tomorrow and I’m looking forward to putting that into practice.”
Qualifying: P19
Starting Position Race 1: P18
Fastest lap: 1:42.710
Race 1: P16
#4 KIMI ANTONELLI
“The first race was actually not too bad, and we managed it quite well overall. On Prime the pace was good, we were able to keep it up with the guys out front. Then we boxed, and on Options the pace was strong. To stop for option tyres was a gamble because the drivers at the front were battling, but it didn’t really pay off especially considering that we were starting a bit at the back. With a couple more laps we could have fought for the top 10, but overall it was a good learning experience but we will see for tomorrow.”
Qualifying: P18
Starting Position Race 1: P17
Fastest lap: 1:42.693
Race 1: P14