F2: Maloney charges through to win Bahrain Sprint Race

Zane Maloney scored his first ever Formula 2 victory after the Rodin Motorsport driver came through from eighth on the grid to win the Sprint Race in Bahrain.

The recently-announced Sauber Academy member made a fast start and was quickly up to fourth by the end of Lap 1.

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He showed strong pace and after dispatching rivals Enzo Fittipaldi and Victor Martins, he overtook DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford to take hold of a lead that he would not relinquish on Lap 4.

Aston Martin Development driver Crawford followed Maloney across the line to finish in second place, while Campos Racing rookie Josep María Martí went from 11th on the grid to take the final spot on the podium.

Martí overhauled his fellow Red Bull Academy driver and teammate Isack Hadjar to take third, with the Frenchman finishing fourth ahead of Hitech Pulse-Eight’s rookie Paul Aron.

Saturday’s Feature Race pole-sitter Gabriel Bortoleto saved his tyres to come through the field late on to finish sixth following a pre-race pep talk from his McLaren boss Zak Brown.

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He was followed by the Williams-backed ART Grand Prix driver Zak O’Sullivan who lost places to the soft tyre runners throughout the race after opting for the hards.

However, he also recovered late on to finish seventh ahead of MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger who took the final point of the evening.

For a full in-depth report of the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race, visit the F2 website here.