Zane Maloney makes history with F2 sweep in Bahrain
Zane Maloney broke records with his sweep of the Formula 2 weekend in Bahrain as he made a dominant start to the season.
Zane Maloney celebrates his clean sweep of the Formula 2 round in Bahrain. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
Maloney is the first driver in the history of Formula 2 to win both races of the opening round since the two-race format began with GP2 in 2005.
With polesitter Gabriel Bortoleto struggling off the start, Maloney surged through from third on the grid to take the lead into turn one.
His competition was eliminated when Bortleto collected fellow front-row starter Isack Hadjar at turn one, with the race briefly neutralised behind the safety car.
Maloney stretched his legs at the restart, moving beyond DRS range ahead of Zak O'Sullivan, surviving a second safety car and emerging from the pit stop cycle in the lead once again.
Zane Maloney on track during the Formula 2 feature race in Bahrain. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
"From the test we knew already we had very good pace," said the Boy from Barbados.
"But we didn’t expect to be winning two races by 5 seconds, that’s unbelievable."
"When you have days like these, weekends like these you just need to stay in the moment.
"But also I know that there are still many rounds left and many different tracks to also perform at.
"I will celebrate tonight and then move on straight away to Jeddah."
The Rodin Motorsport driver had a much harder fight on Friday, winning from eighth on the grid and fighting through the field to take the lead on lap eight.
His path to victory was much simpler on Saturday, finishing with a five second lead ahead of Josep Maria "Pepe" Martí.
Maloney credit his pre-season preparations with the success he has seen in round one of the championship.
"I was training as hard as I can during the off-season," said the 20-year-old from Bridgetown.
"Of course, you do that every year, but I do feel like I am a step above fitness wise, mentally as well."
"A lot of sim days and really looking back at last year and through Christmas, I like watching the races back on F1TV.
"Honestly 100s of hours just watching the races and seeing what I could have done better, what everyone else did good versus bad, you learn so much from that.
"Generally, I think that’s what it is and then just a small mindset change, going with a bit more confidence in myself and know that I can go and do it.
"That obviously showed this weekend but there’s still so much work to do this year."
Pepe Marti, Zane Maloney, and Paul Aron (right) on the podium in Bahrain. (Formula Motorsport Limited/Supplied)
Behind Maloney's dominant form, Formula 3 graduate Pepe Martí has also been a standout from round one after finishing third in the sprint race on Friday.
The Spaniard was up to third after the first safety car period, immediately passing Dennis Hauger and then dispatching O'Sullivan for second in the following stages, running long on the soft compound tyres.
Paul Aron was another standout in third, into the podium positions by the second safety car period after starting twelfth on the grid.
The Estonian was hampered by a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, but maintained the gap ahead of Zak O'Sullivan to keep his position at the chequered flag.
Maloney is an obvious leader in the standings on 36 points, with Martí second and Aron in third ahead of round two in Jeddah.
The FIA Formula 2 field returns next week for the Saudi Arabian grand prix from 7-9 March.
Watch every race of the FIA Formula 2 season on Kayo Sports.
