Carlin leaves Bahrain, which was host to the first round of the Formula 2 season, at the top of the Team Championship.
Carlin saw both their drivers up on the podium on a strong weekend in Bahrain. Jehan Daruvala and Dan Ticktum got podiums over the weekend as they showed solid pace.
Both drivers qualified well for the Feature Race and the reverse top ten grid for the first Sprint Race.
The opening Sprint Race saw opposing luck for the Carlin drivers. On the opening lap, Ticktum tried a move down the inside, but it didn’t work out. Instead, a five-second time penalty dropped him down to eighth as he took the flag.
Daruvala made a storming race through the field. The Indian driver carved through the field and found himself fighting for victory.
Fantastic moves had bought him up to the podiums, and Daruvala found himself right behind the race leader. However, he had to settle for second, despite a hard fight for the lead.
Race two saw the top ten from the first race reversed, and Ticktum once again found himself out at Turn 1. Daruvala found himself on another points fighting mission and made his way up to fourth by the end.
The Feature Race saw both drivers off the line well. However, the excitement didn’t come until the mandatory pit stop when Ticktum started to make his move.
The Carlin man had kept his tires and battled his way through to the podium places. Ticktum came close to taking the lead in a tense battle but had to settle for second on the line. Meanwhile, Daruvala pushed through and took sixth for another strong point finish.
The fantastic podiums and strong points finishes mean Carlin leaves Bahrain top of the team championship.
Daruvala was pleased with his overall performance but knows there is still room to improve,
“Well, that’s round one finished in Bahrain. There are places I could have improved, and I had a big flat spot in the Feature Race, so I couldn’t maximise the points, but to be right at the front in all three races shows that we have made a good start and hopefully I can continue this.
“To kick off the season with solid points in the bag and leading the teams’ championship is great.”
His teammate Ticktum was pleased to have come away with a positive result in the end,
“It was an eventful weekend from start to finish! The pace in qualifying was pretty good, but then Saturday was full of drama. It was my mistake in the first race, but then in race two, there was nothing I could do.”
“Sunday’s race somewhat made up for it. The car was great, we had a slightly slow pit stop, but overall, I did some great moves, which I really enjoyed.”
“I’m happy to have a strong package, and I feel confident, which is a nice feeling.”
Carlin leaves Bahrain top of the team championship and will hope to increase that lead in round two in Monaco at the end of May.
