Verschoor dominates F2 opener in Bahrain ahead of Daruvala

Starting from second on the grid, Verschoor took the lead into Turn 1 as Felipe Drugovich made a sluggish start, dropping to sixth on the opening lap.

Verschoor controlled the race from the front as he dominated, leading every lap to take Trident's first F2 victory since 2016.

The battle for the podium was exciting throughout with Ralph Boschung moving up to second early on as he made a daring move on Jake Hughes.

As Boschung struggled with his tyres, he dropped down the order allowing Daruvala to move up to second.

The Indian driver finished just 1.8s behind Verschoor at the end of the race and will be confident going into the feature event on Sunday.

Liam Lawson completed the podium in Bahrain, who overtook Boschung in the closing laps.

Boschung eventually finished fourth ahead of Felipe Drugovich in the MP Motorsport.

Williams F1 junior Logan Sargeant was sixth for Carlin ahead of Juri Vips, while Ayumu Iwasa rounded out the points-paying positions in eighth after recovering from the back of the grid.

Dennis Hauger and Jack Doohan rounded out the top 10 in Bahrain.

Marcus Armstrong was forced to retire after clipping Hughes’ car early on, causing a Safety Car.

It was also a bad day for Theo Pourchaire as he was unable to finish the race after leaking oil onto the track.

Click here for the full FIA Formula 2 results from the sprint race in Bahrain