Mixed Feelings in Bahrain for Van Amersfoort Racing, but Positives to Take Away
After a successful weekend in Australia, the team headed to Bahrain for the second round of the FIA F2 and F3 Championships. The weekend in Sakhir was full of highs and lows, but a key positive was that the team secured their first points in F2.
After the one and only practice session, it was time for F3 qualifying on a hot day in Bahrain. With shifting winds and challenging tyre management, our drivers struggled to put together a clean lap. Théophile Naël qualified P22, Ivan Domingues P23, and Santiago Ramos ended up in P30.
Later that Friday, the F2 qualifying session followed. Both Rafael Villagómez and John Bennett delivered solid performances. Rafael placed himself in the top ten with P8, while John narrowly missed out and qualified in P13. Rafael’s P8 meant a promising P3 start for the sprint race.
During the F3 Sprint Race, the weekend took a turn for the worse. Ivan was involved in a collision, resulting in a DNF. Théophile experienced a technical issue and was also unable to finish. Santiago faced difficulties as well, which led to a third DNF for the team.
The F2 Sprint Race lifted the team’s spirits. In hot conditions, Rafael managed to score his first F2 points of the season, finishing in P6. John had a more challenging race and crossed the line in P17.
After quickly moving on from the F3 Sprint Race, the focus shifted to Sunday’s F3 Feature Race. Due to a tough qualifying, our drivers had to start further back than they would have liked, but all made good progress and gained several positions. Santiago finished in P14, Théophile in P15, and Ivan in P19.
A few hours later came the team’s final race of the weekend: the F2 Feature Race. Rafael had a mega start and was on track to finish in the points again, until tyre degradation dropped him to P12. John benefited from an early pit stop and was in a good position, but again the soft tyres wore down faster than expected. He finished in P20.
The F3 team now returns to the factory in the Netherlands to prepare for the next race in a month’s time. The third round of the FIA F3 Championship takes place in Imola from May 16 to May 18. The F2 team will remain in the Middle East a little longer and race in Jeddah for their third round from April 18 to April 20.
John Bennett - Formula 2 driver, Van Amersfoort Racing:
“Good steps forward made across the weekend, just struggled with tyre deg that left us out of the points. Feeling good going into Jeddah!”
Santiago Ramos - Formula 3 driver, Van Amersfoort Racing:
“Tough weekend for us. It’s a shame what happened in qualifying. We knew we had a really good pace to be up there. It’s a shame because we missed many points this weekend. But we learned many things. We showed the potential and the speed during the races. We will keep working for the next round in Imola. I’m sure we are going to be able to score some points and recover from this weekend.”
Ivan Domingues - Formula 3 driver, Van Amersfoort Racing:
“Positive weekend in the end. Managed to improve some important areas from the first round and the test two weeks ago. Still, we need some progress and hopefully soon enough we will be fighting more consistently at the front.”
Théophile Naël - Formula 3 driver, Van Amersfoort Racing:
“Positive weekend in terms of race pace. Unfortunately not the best result in qualifying but I had some fun with some good overtakes in both races! Now it’s time to focus on the next race.”