Invicta Racing took pole position in its first Qualifying session of the new FIA Formula 2 season, with Gabriel Bortoleto securing Feature Race pole position around the Bahrain International Circuit.
Beginning the day of action was 45 minutes of running in Free Practice. Having tested here earlier in February, most of the teams limited their laps throughout the session. Invicta started comfortably in the mix, with Gabriel in the top 10 and Kush Maini just outside in 12th position.
As the sun began to set along the spectacular desert horizon, the 22 cars took to the track for the 30-minute Qualifying session.
Most of the cars opted for two runs, with Gabriel and Kush right in the thick of the action. Gabriel’s effort was good enough for sixth, while Kush put in the fastest time of all.
With a new set of tyres for the final effort, the yellow cars were truly performing at their best. Gabriel put in a superb lap, with his time of 1:41.915 strong enough for the front row on his FIA F2 debut weekend.
Kush, however, went comfortably fastest with a time of 1:41.696. After the session, Kush was disqualified due to a technical reason. This was following damage from a kerb which did not improve the performance of the car.
Gabriel therefore took the top spot in the session and is set to start from pole position on his FIA Formula 2 debut weekend.
This means that Gabriel will line up in 10th, and Kush towards the back of the grid, for Friday’s Sprint Race held at 17:15 Arabian Standard Time (UTC +3).
FREE PRACTICE:
- Kush Maini: P12, 1:46.112
- Gabriel Bortoleto: P10, 1:45.968
QUALIFYING:
- Kush Maini: DSQ
- Gabriel Bortoleto: P01, 1:41.915
