#2 Jehan Daruvala (IND – Prema Dallara Mecachrome)

#5 Liam Lawson (NZL – Carlin Dallara Mecachrome)

#8 Jüri Vips (EST – Hitech Dallara Mecachrome)

#17 Ayumu Iwasa (JAP – DAMS Dallara Mecachrome)

The five man Red Bull Junior F2 squad of Ayumu Iwasa, Jüri Vips, Liam Lawson, Jehan Daruvala and Dennis Hauger start their global campaign at Sakhir, Bahrain aiming to fill the top spots this season.

Daruvala, Lawson and Vips are all F2 winners and Hauger joins them as F3 champion. Iwasa completes the Junior Team having had only a single season in F3.

Vips racing for a job well done

“I’m pushing a lot towards winning the title but in the end I just want to be happy with myself and the job I’ve done,” states the 21-year-old Estonian.

“The testing went very well, I’m happy with the car we had on both short and long runs. We missed most of Day 1 due to reliability issues but honestly it didn’t really put us on the back foot, we got all the running done that we needed.”

“This week we will just just going over small things to improve from the test and last year.”

“I think the track is cool, very different to most of the rounds because the races are normally decided on who has done the best job on tyres. Because of that the driver can make a huge difference on the outcome of the race which I like.”

“Starting the season I just want to get everything out of the car in every session.”

Lawson looking to be in the fight at the end

“It’s hard to state an expectation before the season starts,” explains the 20-year-old New Zealander. “I would say that the goal is to have a strong start to the season and then mostly to be consistent over the year and put ourselves in the position of being able to fight for the championship in the last few races. If we can get to that point then it will be good.”

“Testing was good, we made a lot of progress over the three days, made changes, developed quite a lot which was cool. It was all really good.”

“I think the thing we have to do this week is maximise both tyres in the race runs. Making sure that we are able to be competitive on both tyres. In the Feature Race we have to use both so being good on them is one of the main targets.”

“I like Bahrain as a track a lot, I always enjoy driving here, done quite a lot of testing now because of the post and preseason testing. It’s also a very interesting track in the way that it is so aggressive on tyres. So out of the whole calendar this is the one where you’ve got to be right on it with the tyre saving.”

“It is hard to know about the first races but the goal is to start strongly, have a good Qualifying and maximise points in the feature race. So put ourselves in a position to go forward from this round.”

Daruvala will capitalise on his and his team’s experience

“For this year’s championship my main aim is to build on my experience,” states the 23-year-old Indian. “I’ve shifted to a new team that has won the championship for the last two years so I aim to learn as much as I can and hopefully by the end of the year I will be mounting a title challenge. So that’s definitely going to be my aim for 2022.”

“Testing was really good, we went through all the plans, we ticked all our boxes. We did all our runs at times similar to the weekend schedule, we did Qualifying sessions in the night, we did race runs in the day, on both race and Qualifying performance our pace was really good. Hopefully we can keep that same pace and the race weekend goes pretty well for us”

“We’ve done a lot of work, five or six days testing before the first race so this week is just about going over things and making sure we are 100% ready”

“The track I really enjoy and I’ve had a lot of success here. I had my first ever F2 podium and win at this track. I think that all in all the track is really good. We also get to drive in the night, a rare opportunity for us. I really enjoy Bahrain and it is probably one of the best tracks to start the season at.”

“I’m not going to put numbers on expectations for this weekend but I expect to be fighting at the front, to be fighting for pole and for wins and podiums consistently so that is certainly my aim starting from this weekend.”

Hauger not putting too much pressure on his debut

“I think that this year I have to develop, especially in the beginning of the year and take things step by step,” says the Norwegian who turns 19 on March 17th. “In the end obviously I want to fight for wins and I want to be up there. That’s why I am racing so obviously that’s going to be the goal as always. Just really not putting any pressure on myself but I hope that as soon as possible we can be at the front and fighting for the wins.”

“Testing went pretty well. There are still some things to work on. In general on race pace we were quite quick. Just need to get into the Quali mindset, getting the tyres and the brakes into the perfect temp is a bit different in F2 so that is something I need to try and keep developing in the race weekend and get this right as soon as possible.”

“It’s a pretty cool track, quite a lot of technical sections, especially in Sector 2. Then you also have a few longer straights so that you can have some passing opportunities for the races. Also the asphalt is quite rough so in terms of tyre degradation there is a bit but it’s not the worst. So it’s really about being consistent with the tyres and making sure you keep them alive.”

“I think that it’s a cool track for me to start on and to learn and develop as quickly as possible. That’s a positive thing.”

“Not too much to expect from this weekend’s race, work on myself, get everything out of it that I can, extract the maximum. As I said, as soon as possible I want to be fighting for the wins but we have to build up to that. I think we are in a decent position after testing and I just have to keep my mind on what we have to do to achieve that.”

Iwasa a fast learner

“For 2022, first, it’s to get a lot of experiences as much as possible,” states the 20-year-old Japanese.“ Definitely F2 will be harder than F3, I have to get a good experience. But still the result is very important as well, even in the first year of F2. So I’ll get a lot of experience quickly, and I’ll use it for the race.”

“Honestly, testing was not great for me because I was losing a lot of mileage. I had some car problems on the second and third day. But I could find a good point for my driving improvement. I was getting better and better through the test. So I had some positive points and negative points.”

“I had team preparation last week, and I did physical training with my physio today (Monday). Also I have Red Bull sim session tomorrow. So still I have a lot of things I can do before this weekend.”

“I think there is not any special thing about the track. I felt the tyre management is bit difficult, but I think it’s normal for F2.”

“For the first weekend the main thing is to finish the races completely. I think I should finish the races to get a good experience for next round. But I was bit too safe at the beginning of last year, so I’ll improve it.”

Sakhir weekend schedule – all times AST Arabia Standard Tim (CET +2)
Friday 18th March
12:35 – Practice (45 minutes)
19:25 – Qualifying (30 minutes)

Saturday 19th March
19:40 – Sprint Race (23 Laps or 45 Mins)

Sunday 20th March
13:40 – Feature Race (32 Laps or 60 Mins)