Pourchaire inherits F2 pole after Vips disqualification
Theo Pourchaire will start the opening FIA Formula 2 Championship race from pole position after Juri Vips was disqualified from Bahrain qualifying for a technical infringement.
Hitech Grand Prix driver Vips has been removed from the qualifying results after FIA stewards determined that the undertray fins of car #8 were not in compliance with Article 4.3.13 of the F2 Technical Regulations.
Vips, who had been fifth fastest in Friday’s 30-minute qualifying session, will now start Saturday’s opening race and Sunday’s feature race from the back of the grid.
As a result of the disqualification, F3 graduate Pourchaire is promoted from 11th to 10th and will now start the first of Saturday's two sprint races from pole, as per the championship’s new top 10 reverse grid format.
The second sprint race will feature a reverse of the order from race one, with the feature race on Sunday set by the qualifying order.
David Beckmann had been set to start from pole, but will now join Pourchaire on the front row in second position.
The news comes after confirmation that Guanyu Zhou, who topped today’s qualifying session, has kept his pole position for Sunday’s feature race following a post-qualifying FIA investigation.
The UNI Virtuosi driver will start the first sprint race from 10th position.
Meanwhile, F2 title favourite Robert Shwartzman has explained the reason for bringing out the red flag during qualifying.
Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The Prema Racing driver says his car went into a ‘driver safety mode’, resulting in the Ferrari Driver Academy member grinding to halt at the final corner.
Shwartzman was unable to rejoin the session leaving him a lowly 11th on the grid for Race 1.
“Unfortunately after my warm up lap the car stopped because of a system that places it into driver safety mode if you hit too hard the brakes while on the throttle,” he said.
“While warming up, I overreached the limit of braking, and my car switched off. I was not able to restart anymore, and we basically lost our second run in qualy and a top five starting position.
“I’m very disappointed but judging from testing, I think we have a great race pace.
“I’m going to do my absolute best in race one and see where we end up. It’s going to be tough, but I will try to pass as many cars as I can and finish in the highest possible position.”
Saturday’s opening sprint race of the season is due to begin at 10.25 GMT.
Previous article
Zhou keeps Bahrain F2 pole but receives reprimand
Next article
Lawson fends off Daruvala for maiden F2 win in Bahrain
About this article
| Series | FIA F2 |
| Drivers | Jüri Vips , Theo Pourchaire |
| Author | Tom Howard |
Was Formula 2’s radical format switch a success?
Going into the 2021 Formula 2 season the biggest talking point wasn’t about any drivers or teams, but the new race weekend format. Created partly out of financial necessity but also to spice up the action, the Bahrain opener provided a snapshot of the positives and negatives to come
Why 2021 is make-or-break for the driver F1 needs
He was tipped for glory in FIA Formula 2 last year, but was hampered by reliability woes at inopportune moments. Guanyu Zhou knows he won't get too many more chances if he is to become China's first F1 driver, with fierce competition within the ranks of Alpine's junior stable
How Schumacher Jr earned his Haas F1 chance
Michael Schumacher may have won seven Formula 1 titles, but he didn't even compete for a crown at the second tier. Son Mick put that right in 2020, and proved to Ferrari that he was deserving of a shot at motorsport's elite category in 2021
The quintet giving Ferrari a tough decision to make
The Ferrari Driver Academy earned a podium sweep in the first Formula 2 race of the new decade in Austria last weekend. The battle between 'the FDA five' is set to be one of the major subplots of the season, but who has the best F1 prospects for 2021?
The Williams junior determined to prove Red Bull wrong
Dropped by his team in Japan and by Red Bull, Dan Ticktum's single-seater career seemed to be over last summer. But now he's on the Formula 2 grid with the reigning champion team, and he's a new protege of Williams. How did that happen?
The controversial weekend that ended an American's dream in Europe
OPINION: In the latest in our series of features looking back the recently concluded 2010s, we recall one of the many sagas of the 2018 Formula 2 season, which featured unusual fines and an unsavoury clash between team-mates
The year Leclerc fully revealed his star status
In the latest feature in our series looking back on the 2010s, we revisit Charles Leclerc's sensational Formula 2 season - where he strode among on-track highs and lows, as well as tragedy away from motorsport, to earn a place on the Formula 1 grid
Why F1 is no longer ignoring its feeder series
After the MotoGP-style Formula 1 support ladder was fully united for 2019, Bruno Michel and Ross Brawn share their views on the current state of Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 and explain why investment at junior levels should boost the top tier
