PREMA Racing claimed a points finish today at Jeddah Corniche Circuit as it lined up with a single car for the opening race of the FIA Formula 2 weekend in Saudi Arabia.
In the hours leading to the race, yesterday’s pole setter Ollie Bearman was called to duty by Scuderia Ferrari as a reserve driver for the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. While the team was delighted for the Briton, who joined a long list of PREMA drivers who graduated to F1, it was forced to withdraw the #3 car from the FIA F2 weekend and line up for the races with the sole Kimi Antonelli.
Unfortunately, a clutch issue sent the Italian’s car into anti-stall mode at the start of the Sprint Race, which cost him several spots. In addition, a race incident in the first corner damaged his front wing. Despite the tough start, Antonelli fought back, moving forward from P12 to finish P7 with consistent pace. He will start tomorrow’s Feature Race from P5.
#4 KIMI ANTONELLI
“Quite a disappointing race, I had a problem with the clutch at the start, and when I released it, the car went into anti-stall. Then, the race was pretty much compromised despite the pace being quite ok. It’s a pity because we could have fought for a better position, but we still have tomorrow to bounce back.”