Formula 2 returns to Bahrain for the opening round of the 2021 season

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The Bahrain International Circuit welcomes back the F2 drivers as they take to the track with two Sprint Races and one Feature Race in store this weekend.

A new season begins as the top junior feeder category returns to the Middle East, three months after the conclusion of the 2020 campaign that saw Mick Schumacher crowned as 2020 F2 World Champion.

Nearly half of the new 2021 grid are rookies as most of the drivers make a step up from Formula 3 into Formula 2 as they look to establish themselves and find a chance to move into Formula 1.

Last time out in Bahrain

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The 2020 season came to the Middle East with two more rounds left. Five drivers were mathematically in the race for the title ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, but into the Sakhir Grand Prix, it only remained as Schumacher and Callum Ilott with the German coming out on top.

Ilott took pole position ahead of the Feature Race which he was unable to convert with Felipe Drugovich taking the win ahead of the Brit as the two swapped positions with Jehan Daruvala coming in third.

Robert Shwartzman took reverse grid pole position for the Sprint Race and the Russian rookie took the win after a fantastic race as Nikita Mazepin finished second and Louis Deletraz in third.

Yuki Tsunoda and Carlin ended the year on a positive note as the driver was handed a seat in Formula 1 with AlphaTauri.

In qualifying, the Japanese driver took pole position ahead of Mazepin in second and Carlin teammate Jehan Daruvala in third.

The pole position turned into a victory as the 20-year-old took the race win, five seconds ahead of second-place Guanyu Zhou and six seconds ahead of third-place Drugovich.

Daruvala took the victory in the second race of the weekend ahead of Tsunoda and reverse grid pole-sitter Dan Ticktum who finished third.

Prediction for the weekend

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With the Formula 2 grid so tightly packed together, it will be hard to distinguish a real winner as this is the first time fans all around the globe will get to see the best young drivers race.

A new format has also been put in place with now qualifying happening on a Friday alongside two Sprint Races on a Saturday and a Feature Race on a Sunday.

Drivers like Christian Lundgaard, Robert Shwartzman, Felipe Drugovich, Guanyu Zhou and a few others will have a slight upper hand on the rookie drivers having more experience in the machinery.

The likely outcome will be that a previous race winner in F2 will take the victory around the Bahrain International Circuit, but no one can count drivers like Oscar Piastri, Lirim Zendeli, Liam Lawson and Theo Pourchaire who have made the step up to Formula 2 and may surprise everyone with a shock result this weekend.

It will be an exciting weekend for sure as 10 new rookies enter the scene and look to hold their own against 12 drivers who are more experienced than them in this field.

All drivers will want to impress their retrospective team and began a fight for the 2021 F2 World Championship. Shwartzman will look to follow in Mick Schumacher’s footsteps as Prema look to dominate another season, Lundgaard won’t be far behind as he will want to build on from the start of the season he had in 2020 and take that sort of form into this new season.

As Formula 2 begins searches for their new champion, drivers will be giving their all to put their car on pole position, on the top step of the podium and ultimately getting the most points from race weekends to succeed and fulfil their dreams of becoming a World Champion.

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