Arjun Maini set to start F2 campaign at Sakhir; top quality grid promises thrilling action

Bahrain, April 5: India’s Arjun Maini, who moved from GP3 series, will launch his campaign in FIA Formula 2, here at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir this weekend, with Trident team, hoping to build on his fine showing during the pre-season testing at this very venue.

This year’s Formula 2 field is jam-packed with talent and 2017 runner-up Artem Markelov returns for another bite at the cherry along with fellow race-winners Nyck de Vries, Nicholas Latifi, Luca Ghiotto, Sergio Sette Camara and Antonio Fuoco.

Joining them is reigning GP3 Series winner George Russell along with fellow “Class of 2017” graduates Jack Aitken, Nirei Fukuzumi and Arjun Maini, as they all prepare for battle with the goal of becoming the 2018 F2 Champion.

The teams and drivers return to Bahrain, for the first of the 12 rounds, having completed a pre-season test at the venue two weeks ago. Rookie Maximilian Günther ended the test with the quickest time. The BWT Arden driver clocked in a 1:42.756 in the opening session of the final day, beating the benchmark set by Trident’s Arjun Maini in the previous morning.

With hot temperatures, Bahrain promises to deliver a challenging opening round for all the drivers, who will have to contend with plenty of tyre management – Pirelli providing the Soft and Medium compounds – and heavy braking zones. With the field proving to be close in testing, the first round of 2018 should be thrilling.

The 45-minute Free Practice session will be run on Friday, followed by the qualifying session later in the day under lights. Saturday will see the 32-lap feature race with the Sprint race (23 laps) on Sunday bringing the curtains down on the season-opener.

Some interesting Season Stats:

21.2 – The average age of this year’s drivers.
7 – The number of rookie drivers joining the 2018 grid, including last year’s GP3 Series Top 3.
7 – The number of different competition licenses held by this year’s 10 teams.
7,085 – The number of laps completed in both 2018 FIA F2 pre-season tests with the new F2 2018 car.

This will be the first Formula 2 season with the brand new car, the F2 2018, which was conceived with the aim of better preparing drivers for contemporary Formula 1 while still retaining the characteristics required to provide fans with thrilling on-track action and great racing.

Last year’s champion Charles Leclerc underlined F2’s position as the ultimate feeder series to F1 by stepping up to an immediate race seat from which this year’s crop of young talents will draw inspiration as they seek to reach the pinnacle of international motorsport.

Mario Isola, Head of Car Racing at Pirelli, said: “Bahrain is a circuit that’s all about traction, so the drivers will have to manage their rear tyres in particular. Generally speaking, wear is not especially high in Bahrain, but unlike Formula 1, Formula 2 is often running in the heat of the day rather than the cooler conditions of the evening and so thermal degradation will certainly play a part.

“There haven’t been any big changes to the Formula 2 tyres since last year, but we modified the construction slightly to take into account the new turbo engine which generates more torque as well as the increased front downforce of the latest F2 chassis.

“Strategy as always will be very important. Formula 2 drivers don’t have to start the race using the tyres on which they qualify which opens up the possibility of different tactics. Charles Leclerc used an innovative strategy in the sprint race last year by making a pit stop. While it seems an unlikely option again, motorsport is a constant learning process for everyone, so I’m sure that all the teams will have paid close attention to see if they can learn anything from it for this year.”

Source: FIA Formula 2 Press Release