Latifi recovers from pit stop blunder to win Bahrain F2 opener

Nicholas Latifi battled his way through to win the FIA Formula 2 season-opening Feature Race on Saturday, recovering from sixth after a slow pit stop by his DAMS team to record his third victory in the series.

Latifi managed to pull out a five-second lead over the field in the opening stint of the race after passing pole-sitter Luca Ghiotto and Louis Deletraz early on, only for his advantage to be wiped away after trouble attaching the right-front wheel to his car in the pits cost him time.

The Williams Formula 1 test driver returned to the track in sixth place before going on a stunning charge through the order, picking off his rivals one-by-one to re-take the lead with nine laps to go.

From there, Latifi went unchallenged at the head of the field, eventually crossing the line over eight seconds clear to record his third F2 win and his first in a Feature Race.

Ghiotto bounced back from a clutch issue at the start to take second place for UNI-Virtuosi, while McLaren F1 junior Sergio Sette Camara took third place ahead of F2 debutant Anthoine Hubert.

Mick Schumacher will start Sunday's Sprint Race from reverse grid pole after passing Nobuharu Matushita on the final lap to secure eighth place.

FIA FORMULA 2 BAHRAIN - FEATURE RACE RESULTS