Daruvala wins epic F2 Bahrain finale as Schumacher is crowned champion

Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala stormed to his maiden Formula 2 win as Mick Schumacher was crowned 2020 champion.

In a dramatic finale where Schumacher held a 14-point lead over Callum Ilott, the German only needed a sixth-place to be mathematically sure of the title.

In typical fashion, Schumacher made a strong start from third on the grid and quickly moved up to second.

A big lock-up into Turn 4 on the opening lap flat-spotted his front-right tyre and that looked to be a decisive moment in the title race.

As the race progressed, Schumacher lost significant pace and dropped several seconds behind the leading duo of Daruvala and Dan Ticktum.

On Lap 18, Ilott managed to pass his title rival with a move around the outside of Turn 4 as Schumacher continued to struggle with his tyres.

The Prema driver quickly lost out to teammate Robert Shwartzman and Guanyu Zhou on track then was forced to pit for fresh rubber with his flat-spotted tyres now undrivable.

The tide appeared to be turning in Ilott’s favour as he ran in third place as the leading pair battled hard for the victory.

Ilott’s title chances were quickly squashed as he dropped like a stone in the closing dozen laps as he struggled for tyre wear, ultimately classifying 10th meaning Schumacher's P18 was inconsequential.

Ilott's inability to overtake Schumacher in a timely fashion appeared to be decisive as he used up too much tyre trying to do so hence his poor end to the race.

Back at the front, Daruvala ran out comfortable winner, while a late charge from Yuki Tsunoda saw the Japanese driver cut through the field and overtook Ticktum at the final corner on the final lap for second place to make it a Carlin 1-2.

Tsunoda’s second place means he finishes the season in third place in the championship, which means he qualifies for an F1 super license with him likely to make the step up to AlphaTauri alongside Pierre Gasly in 2021.

Zhou beat Shwartzman to fourth, while Giuliano Alesi scored his first points since the season-opener in Austria with sixth.

Luca Ghiotto and Felipe Drugovich rounded out the points positions.