PREMA Racing’s Oliver Bearman says the team have work to do ahead of Sunday’s Feature Race for Round 4 of the FIA Formula 2 season.

The British driver finished fifth in Saturday’s Sprint Race, which saw Argentine pilot Franco Colapinto pass Estonian Paul Aron late on for victory.

Bearman starts Sunday’s race at the Imola circuit second on the grid, behind Invicta’s Gabriel Bortoleto, whom the Brit finished ahead of on Saturday.

Championship leader Zane Maloney also made a late overtake to snatch third position from Aron’s Hitech team mate Amaury Cordeel.

VAMOS FRANCO! ?#F2 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/q9J1lGsJd9

— Formula 2 (@Formula2) May 18, 2024

Bearman happy with fifth after pace struggles

The 18-year-old said the Sprint Race was ‘difficult’, but was happy to take P5 and four championship points.

“I struggled a little bit to keep a strong pace, but I managed to make a good start and avoid the carnage at the beginning, which was positive,” the Ferrari Academy driver said.

Bearman needs a strong result on Sunday, as he is currently 18th in the Drivers’ Standings.

However, he did miss both races in Saudi Arabia earlier in the season to deputise for Carlos Sainz for Ferrari’s F1 team – the Spaniard sitting out due to appendicitis.

Ahead of the Feature Race, Bearman said: “We’ve got some work to do before tomorrow, but I feel confident because we are quite close.”

Sprint race ends with some points for @OllieBearman with a 5th place.
P11 for Antonelli.#ImolaGP #F2 #Formula2

— PREMA (@PREMA_Team) May 18, 2024

Homecoming to forget for Antonelli

The second PREMA of Andrea Kimi Antonelli endured a terrible race on home soil.

The Italian plummeted from sixth on the grid to an 11th place finish during the Sprint Race.

The Mercedes Junior Driver blamed issues with the steering wheel which caused him to tumble down the order at the start.

“Since the formation lap, I had issues with the steering wheel, then at the start, the second gear was not going in, and I lost a lot of places.

“At that point, the race was pretty much ruined. In Imola it’s really hard to overtake, so I got stuck in the middle of the pack,” the 17-year-old said.

Looking back at that crash on the first lap ?#F2 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/TjXrghdU8s

— Formula 2 (@Formula2) May 18, 2024

It would have been much worse for the Italian without the multiple collisions on the run down to Turn 1 which eliminated five drivers.

He’ll be aiming to bounce back in the Feature Race, which he starts from fourth.

Image: Joan Codina