For this first race weekend in Bahrain, the French driver Théo Pourchaire experienced a mixed but very encouraging weekend for the rest of the season.
This year will be short and intense. Only eight competition weekends are on the program for the F2 2021 version. Friday will be dedicated to the free practice session and then the qualifying before giving way to three races (two sprints on Saturday and the long race on Sunday).
For this first qualifying session, the driver from Grasse qualified in 11th position. This result was slightly below his teammate Lundgaard (+0.7s) but hopeful for an eventful race on Sunday.
During race 1, thanks to the disqualification of a competitor ahead of him and the reversed grid system, Pourchaire started from pole position. An opportunity to shine that did not materialize. After a poor start, he found himself in 3rd place before encountering a mechanical issue (turbo) on the 13th lap. A chance for a podium dashed with a hint of frustration as he exited his car.
Fortunately, this year leaves no time to dwell on things because the second sprint race took place a few hours later. Although this retirement forced him to start from the 19th position, the young ART GP driver quickly moved up the rankings, avoiding the collisions at the start. After the first third of the race, the Frenchman was already in the top 10, setting the fastest lap. Driven, he even found himself in 4th place before pit stops were triggered by another Safety Car entrance. Equipped with soft tires, like some other drivers, Pourchaire climbed from 12th to a final 6th place. He thus scored his first points in the category.
“I am rather happy with this race no. 2. We will try to settle at the front with the best drivers and why not aim for the podium,” delightedly said the South of France native before concluding his weekend with the long race. Starting 10th, all hopes were allowed. Although the start was again somewhat mediocre, Théo Pourchaire once more avoided trouble in the first lap. On soft tires, he overtook his competitors one by one. A good management of the Safety Cars allowed him to be ahead of his teammate after his pit stop.
On hard tires, Pourchaire lost a bit of pace and had to give up after a nice battle against his teammate and Shwartzman. The points slipped away until the collision involving championship leader Piastri with Ticktum. A small point (10th place) eventually brightened the record of the youngest driver on the grid (17 years old).
Patience will be needed to get back on track as the second round of the season will be held in Monaco from May 20 to 22.
