Jehan Daruvala finished Sprint Race one second, another two strong finishes meant Daruvala leaves Bahrain third.
The second Sprint Race saw the Red Bull junior miss out on his second podium of round one. The Feature Race saw a standard race for the Indian driver as he started and finished in sixth.
Daruvala said: “Overall, I think it was a solid start. The first race was pretty good; we finished 2nd after having a really good pace for the full race. Last night’s race was a bit messy, but still, to finish in 4th and get good points was definitely very good.
“Today was actually looking a lot better than it ended up. Unfortunately, I picked up a massive flat spot on my right-front tyre on the safety car restart, so I couldn’t use the advantage of the softer tyres like my teammate and Liam, so it was pretty much damage limitation from then.
“A couple of the guys, Liam and Richard (Verschoor), we’re able to do a free pitstop because of the safety car so came out ahead of me, and that put us on the back foot, then the flat spot.
“So, to finish 6th in the end with some more good points, I’m pretty happy with the overall weekend.
“Yesterday night’s race start was not the best, but I lost a position so that shows that even with a bad start, it is nothing like last year.
“With the new tyres this year, the people that start in the option tyres have a massive advantage in the first three laps or so. It makes racing exciting, but it is difficult to see and judge what everyone is doing.
“There is always work in Formula 2, especially on yourself. The car is there or thereabouts, and it is all about delivering, putting yourself out there and showing what you can do. I think that Carlin showed last year as well that we are strong everywhere we go. So, I have that faith and the trust that the package is good, and I just need to do the best I can on track.”
Meanwhile, Daruvala’s teammate Dan Ticktum also claimed a podium but in the Feature Race as he finished second.
Daruvala will want another good round when he heads to Monaco for round two of the Formula 2 championship.
Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
