Former PREMA driver Oliver Bearman was the only 2025 FIA Formula 2 graduate to score points in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir.
The Haas driver started last of the 20-car grid on Sunday, but an effective drive brought the teenager to the top 10, beating his former PREMA team mate Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes.
It’s Bearman’s third consecutive points finish in 2025, after finishing eighth and 10th in China and Japan.
The 19-year-old said it was a “great” race: “Those last 20 laps after the safety car I was under pressure trying to hold position with the Mercedes behind, and trying to fight ahead as well – so it was a tough one.
“I’m so happy to bring a point home for the team after a really tough qualifying yesterday. ”
The seven-time F2 race winner admitted so some fortune with the timing of the Safety Car deployment in the Grand Prix, but said he was proud of holding back faster cars.
From last place to points scorer ?
What a drive from @OllieBearman ??#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/6ssd1NbL1c
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 13, 2025
“Difficult” race for Antonelli after impressive Japan outing
After leading for a period of laps in last weeks Japanese Grand Prix, and kicking off life in F1 with points in the first three Grand Prix, Andrea Kimi Antonelli endured a difficult evening in Sakhir.
He started fifth, after a one-place grid drop penalty, and made a number of bold early moves, even passing reigning World Champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
LAP 20/57
YES KIMI! ? Our Italian rookie puts in a great move to take P7 from Verstappen.
George remains in P2, splitting the two McLarens pic.twitter.com/ZwWeeuU0hJ
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 13, 2025
But the teenage starlet was using the Pirelli too hard in his Mercedes, meaning the team switched him to a three-stop strategy.
Antonelli said: “We tried to do something different by switching to the three-stop strategy, but the Safety Car came out shortly after and that took the opportunity away.
“We will review the whole race and see if there are things we could have done differently.”
However the 18-year-old, who won twice in F2 in 2024, said there were still some positives to take from the weekend in Bahrain.
“Qualifying was another good step forwards for me and I felt more and more comfortable racing wheel-to-wheel with others today.”
Doohan misses out on first points
Another driver left disappointed in Bahrain was Jack Doohan, as his Alpine team mate Pierre Gasly picked up the Enstone-based teams’ first points of the season.
Doohan eventually finished 14th, after putting on the unfavoured hard compound tyre before the Safety Car was called out.
A challenging end to the race for Jack on the Hard tyre after a strong start.
We'll recap and reset before next week ? pic.twitter.com/QATaa8z2pW
— BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) April 13, 2025
“The result today is disappointing,” the Australian said, adding: “The Soft and Medium tyres felt strong in the race and we were up to ninth place after the first two stints on those compounds and it looked positive for us.”
Doohan also dropped places after the flag thanks to a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits too often.
F2 Champion frustrated
Reigning F2 champ, Gabriel Bortoleto finished 18th despite “some improvements in pace” in his Sauber.
The Brazilian said it was a “tough afternoon”, bemoaning the car’s inability to stay close enough to overtake his rivals.
Bortoleto said: “Overall, it’s crucial to take time to analyse everything and understand how we can improve our performance. In the short term, the goal is to move on from a challenging weekend, take the learnings with us, and focus on Jeddah to finish off this triple header.”
Ready to head out on track for Qualifying in Bahrain ?
Let’s go team! ?#BahrainGP?? pic.twitter.com/l7rJLUTgNZ
— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) April 12, 2025
Poor start undoes Hadjar potential
Frenchman Isack Hadjar said a poor getaway left him “too far away” to challenge for points in his Racing Bulls car.
The former Campos driver fell four places when the lights went out: “I felt like I wasn’t moving from the grid spot. I didn’t really understand why, so we’ll need to review what happened.
“I think procedure-wise was okay, but I was wheel spinning, and this put us in the wrong momentum throughout the first lap,” he said.
He added that a better performance in Qualifying could have given him a better shot at points. He also said that the timing of the Safety Car didn’t help as he restarted the race on used hard tyres.
Parking up for the evening ? #F1 #VCARB #BahrainGP ?? pic.twitter.com/ndkqKNSFLA
— Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team (@visacashapprb) April 13, 2025
Image Credit: Haas F1 Team (via X)
