The 2023 Sakhir FIA Formula 2 round was a motor racing event held between 3 and 5 March 2023 at the

Bahrain International Circuit The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Ba ...

Sakhir Sakhir ( ) is a desert area located in the Southern Governorate of Bahrain, near Zallaq. It contains the Al-Sakhir Palace, built in 1870. Camping in Sakhir during the winter months is a popular activity in the country. Notable sites In the ear ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. It was the first race of the

2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship The 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship is a planned motor racing championship for Formula 2 cars that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship will be the fifty-seventh season of Formula 2 racing and ...

and was held in support of the

2023 Bahrain Grand Prix The 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2023) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 5 March 2023 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the opening round of the ...

Background

Team changes

German

Formula 4 FIA Formula 4, also called FIA F4, is an open-wheel racing car category intended for junior drivers. There is no global championship, but rather individual nations or regions can host their own championships in compliance with a universal set of r ...

team

PHM Racing PHM Racing is a German auto racing team currently competing in the Italian F4 and ADAC Formula 4 championships. The team was founded by Paul Müller. The team is due to take over Charouz Racing System's Formula 2 and Formula 3 entries in 2023. ...

took over the entry and assets of

Charouz Racing System Charouz Racing System (CHRS, also was known as Lotus in World Series Formula V8 3.5) is a racing team from Czech Republic, created in 1985 by . History In the 1980s, Charouz participated in the European Championship of Circuit Races' 1600 ...

at the end of the 2022 season, and runs in cooperation with the Czech squad under the ''PHM Racing by Charouz'' moniker.

Driver changes

As the category's sporting regulations state, reigning Drivers' Champion

Felipe Drugovich Felipe Drugovich Roncato (born 23 May 2000) is a Brazilian-Italian racing driver of Austrian descent who last competed in FIA Formula 2 Championship with MP Motorsport. He is the 2018 Euroformula Open champion and the 2022 Formula 2 champion. ...

was unable to defend the title and therefore left the series. This year's championship also saw the return of American driver

Juan Manuel Correa Juan Manuel Correa Borja (born August 9, 1999) is an American-Ecuadorian racing driver who races under an American license and is set to compete in the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Van Amersfoort Racing. Career Karting Correa beg ...

, who returned to the series after his heavy accident at the

2019 Spa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round The 2019 Spa-Francorchamps FIA Formula 2 round was to have been a pair of motor races that were due to be held on 31 August and 1 September 2019 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium as part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. ...

in which

Anthoine Hubert Anthoine Hubert (; 22 September 1996 – 31 August 2019) was a French professional racing driver. He was the 2018 GP3 Series champion and a member of the Renault Sport Academy. He died at the age of 22, following an accident during the featur ...

lost his life.

Classification

Qualifying

Notes * –

Frederik Vesti Frederik Vesti (born 13 January 2002) is a Danish racing driver who is set to compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Prema Racing. He is a member of the Mercedes Junior Team and the inaugural champion of the Formula Regional European ...

has been handed a three-place grid drop for impeding

Arthur Leclerc Arthur Leclerc (born 14 October 2000) is a Monégasque racing driver, currently set to race for DAMS in the 2023 Formula 2 Championship. He is the younger brother of Scuderia Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc, and a member of Ferrari Dr ...

during Qualifying, demoting him to ninth place for Saturday's Sprint race.

Sprint race

Notes * –

Richard Verschoor Richard Verschoor (born 16 December 2000) is a Dutch racing driver set to compete for Van Amersfoort Racing in the Formula 2 Championship. Verschoor graduated to Formula 2 in 2021 with MP Motorsport before switching to Charouz Racing System, aft ...

retired, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Feature Race

Standings after the event

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

External links

Official website
{{Portal bar, Bahrain, Sports

Sakhir Formula 2 Sakhir Formula 2