Invicta Racing rounded out the first FIA Formula 2 weekend of the season with a strong double points finish in the Feature Race at the Bahrain International Circuit.
For the main race of the weekend, the strategies were split on the grid with five drivers opting to start on the Soft tyre with Invicta’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Kush Maini opting for the Hard tyre.
Gabriel had a tricky launch from pole position and had contact at the first turn but was able to keep good pace with the cars around him in the early part of the race. He was left with damage and a 10-second penalty to serve during his pitstop.
Kush, in a repeat of yesterday’s race, gained plenty of places on the opening lap working into 16th before settling into a rhythm after a short Safety Car period, making up a few places in the process.
Despite the difference in tyre life, some drivers opted to pit early to get rid of their Hard tyres, or late to switch away from the Soft tyres, meaning there was a lot of variation in the strategy.
Invicta’s drivers both stayed out longer than their rivals. When ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins came to a halt on lap 19 of 32, Gabriel pitted and served his penalty in the process. Kush pitted during a second Safety Car a lap later, the timing of which brought him firmly back in the mix.
The pair found themselves together for the restart, and the pair battled on the track while also decisively moving up the order with their fresher tyres.
By the chequered flag, they had methodically worked up with Gabriel fifth and Kush seventh to round the first round of the 2024 season. Gabriel was less than a tenth away from taking fourth, while Kush gained 15 places to secure a useful number of points to round out the weekend.
The next FIA Formula 2 round takes place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia between March 7-9.
FEATURE RACE RESULTS:
- Gabriel Bortoleto: P05, 10 points
- Kush Maini: P07, six points
Gabriel Bortoleto
It was not the easiest end to the weekend for us with fifth in the Feature Race after starting from first. I did a mistake in the first corner, which was not ideal, and sorry to Isack Hadjar for that. Recovering the lost positions on track was nice, with some great moves that showed that we had the pace to go forward. There are positive things but I did not maximise the points for the team this weekend.
Kush Maini
It was a rollercoaster of a weekend. I believe we deserved pole on Thursday; I felt the team gave me a great car and I did a quick lap but unfortunately we got shuffled to the back of the grid. We kept fighting and today and we finished seventh from 22nd. It is still a bit bittersweet, because I really feel we had good baseline and if we were starting in the front, it would have been a different race. But all in all, it is a good base to build on for Jeddah.
Andy Roche, Team Principal
Kush’s race was fantastic today; the way he came through from the back of the grid was great and the strategy worked out really well for him. Gabriel did not have an ideal start, but his pace was very good and without the 10-second penalty he would have been right up there towards the very front of the field. I am quite happy with the performance from the whole team this weekend as a basis for the coming events at Jeddah and Melbourne where we will aim to maximise the team result.
