Sakhir F2: Tsunoda heads practice on Bahrain Outer Loop
Honda and Red Bull Junior Yuki Tsunoda gave himself a boost by topping free practice for the final round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Bahrain


The Japanese Carlin ace, who has an infinitesimally tiny chance of grabbing the title this weekend, ended up a massive 0.228 seconds clear of his closest rival on the 63-second lap of the Bahrain Outer Circuit as he headed free practice for the fifth time this season.
Like all the other leading contenders, Tsunoda set his quickest lap on his opening run, and there were no significant changes to the order over the last 25 minutes of the session.
But while it was a dull period for clock watchers, it was immensely entertaining viewing.
The first session for single-seaters on the Bahrain Outer Circuit highlighted how bumpy the sweeping corners from Turns 4 to 9 are, in particular the sweeping downhill right-hander of Turn 6 - nearly everyone got massively out of shape through this corner, which doubles as the braking zone for the tighter left-handed Turn 7.
Carlin, perhaps benefiting from all its years of F3 experience at the high-speed Thruxton, ended the session with a 1-2, with Tsunoda's fellow Red Bull protege Jehan Daruvala completing a clean sweep for the team.
Luca Ghiotto, so often the man to beat on the full-fat Bahrain grand prix circuit, seems to be on form on this layout too, and he went third quickest in his Hitech Grand Prix car.
Last weekend's Bahrain feature-race winner Felipe Drugovich continued his fine recent form to finish up fourth with MP Motorsport.
Another of the outside title contenders, 2021 Haas F1 driver Nikita Mazepin, was fifth for Hitech, ahead of the ART Grand Prix car of Ferrari junior Marcus Armstrong.

Mazepin's 2021 team-mate, championship leader Mick Schumacher, played himself nicely into the weekend by going seventh for Prema Racing, just ahead of Virtuosi Racing's Renault F1 Junior Guanyu Zhou.
Louis Deletraz, spurned by Haas as replacement for Romain Grosjean this weekend to the benefit of fellow reserve Pietro Fittipaldi, was ninth in his Charouz Racing System car.
The Swiss's session featured some aggressive wheel-to-wheel battling with Dan Ticktum, who finished up 11th in his DAMS machine.
The final slot in the top 10 was taken by another title longshot, Prema-run Ferrari protege Robert Shwartzman.
Schumacher's closest rival for the crown, fellow Ferrari junior Callum Ilott, languished in 18th place with Virtuosi.
Ralph Boschung, Williams call-up Jack Aitken's replacement at Campos Racing, did a good job to take 13th in his first action for over 12 months.
The session was red-flagged with four minutes remaining and not restarted after Artem Markelov's HWA Racelab car stopped by the pitwall on the grid with smoke billowing from the rear end.
Sakhir F2 practice results:
Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Yuki Tsunoda | Carlin | 1m03.267s |
2 | Jehan Daruvala | Carlin | 0.228s |
3 | Luca Ghiotto | Hitech Grand Prix | 0.315s |
4 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | 0.342s |
5 | Nikita Mazepin | Hitech Grand Prix | 0.397s |
6 | Marcus Armstrong | ART Grand Prix | 0.605s |
7 | Mick Schumacher | Prema Racing | 0.609s |
8 | Guanyu Zhou | UNI-Virtuosi | 0.612s |
9 | Louis Deletraz | Charouz Racing System | 0.673s |
10 | Robert Shwartzman | Prema Racing | 0.699s |
11 | Dan Ticktum | DAMS | 0.727s |
12 | Christian Lundgaard | ART Grand Prix | 0.745s |
13 | Ralph Boschung | Campos Racing | 0.747s |
14 | Theo Pourchaire | BWT HWA RACELAB | 0.793s |
15 | Sean Gelael | DAMS | 0.798s |
16 | Pedro Piquet | Charouz Racing System | 0.798s |
17 | Roy Nissany | Trident | 0.837s |
18 | Callum Ilott | UNI-Virtuosi | 0.850s |
19 | Marino Sato | Trident | 0.899s |
20 | Artem Markelov | BWT HWA RACELAB | 0.985s |
21 | Guilherme Samaia | Campos Racing | 1.099s |
22 | Giuliano Alesi | MP Motorsport | 1.159s |

Boschung to replace Williams F1-bound Aitken at Campos for Bahrain F2 finale
Bahrain F2: Tsunoda takes pole, Schumacher 18th after Nissany clash

Latest news
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
The other Doohan charting his way to motorsport success
Heading into FIA Formula 2 this season, there was a lot of pressure on Jack Doohan. The 2021 F3 runner-up joined a new team for his next challenge, as well as signing up to the Alpine Academy. He told Autosport how he’s tackling the step up - with some help from his motorcycle legend father
The Brazilian F2 driver hoping to return his country to motorsport's top tier
With a chaotic but “pretty much perfect” FIA Formula 2 weekend in Saudi Arabia behind him, Felipe Drugovich now leads the drivers’ standings in his third crack at the series. The Brazilian driver explains how he's improved amid some difficult years, and shares his dreams of ending his nation's absence from the F1 grid
The Red Bull junior aiming to emulate Piastri in F2
Norwegian talent Dennis Hauger has a tough act to follow in Oscar Piastri’s footsteps on his graduation to F2 as the reigning F3 champion with Prema. Here’s what he makes of the task ahead of him
The other Mercedes F1 young gun facing a big 2022
With a disappointing 2021 season behind him, Frederik Vesti makes the move up to FIA Formula 2 with a reinvigorated sense of determination. Could this finally be the breakthrough year for the talented Mercedes junior?
Ranking the 10 best drivers of an F1 junior series stalwart
DAMS has been one of the most prolific teams below Formula 1 since its foundation in 1989, launching 32 drivers into grand prix racing. Following the team's sale to ex-F1 racer Charles Pic, formally closing the book on the ownership of the Driot family, Autosport picks out its 10 best drivers during their spell with the team
How an F2 enigma hopes ‘coming home’ can reopen doors to F1
After a disappointing 2021, Marcus Armstrong is returning to FIA Formula 2 for another shot at the title in 2022 with Hitech – this time without the backing of Ferrari. This year, he says, he’s ready to give it his all in a last-shot bid to reach Formula 1
The hardships that haven’t dented an F2 rookie’s American F1 dream
Faced with no options for 2021, Logan Sargeant’s Formula 1 dreams looked set to crumble. But a last-minute Formula 3 seat and a strong season secured him an F1 junior berth and a Formula 2 drive for 2022. He told Autosport how his transformative season has affected both his personality and his future