Kush Maini earned his maiden pole position in a dramatic qualifying session for the Formula 2 Feature race in Bahrain as he headed an Invicta Racing 1-2.
The brand new Formula 2 cars took to the Sakhir circuit with 10 rookie drivers hoping to fare well in the season opener.
Jak Crawford spun early into the qualifying session, losing his spot in the top 10 as he brought out a momentary yellow flag.
With all eyes on the Mercedes junior driver, rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli slotted into an early P4 during his first qualifying session as an F2 driver.
Concerns over Turn 8 and final corner track limits saw Paul Aron suffer from a deleted lap time that would drop him outside of the top 10.
Campos Racing topped the first half of the qualifying session with a 1-2 as Isack Hadjar took provisional pole with a 1:42:418s.
Weary of dropping track temperatures and new regulations that hint at drivers losing qualifying position if they cause a red flag, the qualifying session ramped up in the final half after a spin from Crawford set the tone.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Fittipaldi put in a near-perfect lap in the last five minutes, picking up purple sectors to put himself in pole position until Zane Maloney immediately snatched the position from him.
Rookie Ritomo Miyata took a provisional third place on his debut after snatching purple sectors from the Prema driver.
ART driver Zak O’Sullivan snatched P4 from his team-mate Victor Martins as Gabriel Bortoleto stole provisional pole from Fittipaldi.
Maini, the Indian driver mentored by two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen, took the provisional pole with a 1.41.696s, earning his first pole position at Sakhir.
Martins and Maloney attempted to improve lap times to snatch pole from Maini but failed to top the Invicta Racing driver’s times.
Bortoleto clinched second with a 1:42:207s to secure an Invicta 1-2 for the season opener in Bahrain.
Meanwhile, Prema drivers Antonelli and Oliver Bearman surprisingly finished in 18th and 19th after a winter of hype surrounding the dynamic duo.
The qualifying session ended with Crawford stuck at turn 8, as his engine turned off to leave him stranded on track in 11th place with the team coming to his rescue.
Final Classification:
- Maini
- Bortoleto
- Hadjar
- Maloney
- Hauger
- Miyata
- O’Sullivan
- Fittipaldi
- Martins
- Bortoleto
