Isack Hadjar took a debut win in the FIA Formula 3 Championship Sprint Race in Bahrain on Saturday, as Oliver Bearman was penalised for track limits abuse after crossing the line first.
Carlin‘s Zak O’Sullivan started from pole position after the top 12 of Friday’s Qualifying session were reversed. Prema Racing‘s Ferrari Driver Academy debutant Bearman and David Vidales (Campos Racing) followed O’Sullivan in second and third.
It was an all-rookie, all-British front row at the Bahrain International Circuit, with both O’Sullivan and Bearman winning races in the GB3 Championship last year.
Kush Maini (MP Motorsport) was penalised for not stopping at the weighbridge during Qualifying, ensuring he starts from the pit lane for both races despite finishing the session in third place.
Ayrton Simmons impeded Alexander Smolyar at the final corner, and started the Sprint Race from the back, while the Russian still managed to start sixth.
O’Sullivan and Bearman just about got through the first sector intact, despite the polesitter squeezing Bearman into the pitwall. They began to clear off immediately, with David Vidales losing out to Isack Hadjar.
Zane Maloney moved past Smolyar on the first lap, while Trident team-mate Roman Stanek suffered a puncture.
The three ART Grand Prix cars ran line astern in the early stages, with Victor Martins trying to make his way past Smolyar at Turn 6 on Lap 2, but he couldn’t find grip on the outside and had to give best.
Arthur Leclerc made moves early on, moving up from 13th to tenth position for Prema by the end of the second lap.
Gregoire Saucy and Caio Collet made it a three-car battle for ninth, with Collet coming out on top halfway through Lap 3.
Zane Maloney set the fastest lap on Lap 3, as David Vidales began to be swallowed up by the midfield.
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan was eight tenths ahead of Bearman and 3.6 seconds ahead of Maloney in third, while Feature Race polesitter Franco Colapinto boxed for a new front wing.
Bearman began to close back in as DRS was enabled, and went side-by-side through Turn 5. He got the best line for Turn 6 and 7, and moved past O’Sullivan to take the lead.
Victor Martins picked up a puncture after a tussle with ART team-mate Saucy at Turn 1 on Lap 6, the Swiss Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine champion also losing his front wing. Both drivers pitted but encountered issues during repairs, dropping off the lead lap.
Kush Maini was making an impressive comeback after starting from the pits, as he sat 18th after six laps, while Prema’s Jak Crawford had to pit for a new front wing.
Caio Collet got past David Vidales into Turn 1 on Lap 8, while Arthur Leclerc moved ahead of Juan Manuel Correa at the same corner moments earlier.
Bearman led by 1.3 seconds at the halfway stage, with the gap between O’Sullivan and 2019 British F4 champion Maloney sitting at around two seconds.
Reece Ushijima got past his Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate Rafael Villagomez on Lap 11, but Villagomez was able to hold off Ido Cohen.
By the end of Lap 13, Bearman had stretched his advantage to 3.2 seconds, with O’Sullivan falling back towards Maloney in third, himself holding off Isack Hadjar and Smolyar.
Maloney and Hadjar both got past O’Sullivan at Turn 4 on Lap 15, the British driver slipping to fourth in the latter stages.
Niko Kari is competing in the first round with Jenzer Motorsport, but suffered a puncture on the same lap to end his chances in the Sprint Race.
Smolyar managed to get past O’Sullivan at the same corner a lap later, as it seemed the Williams Racing Academy driver had pushed his tyres too hard in the early stages before Bearman came back at him with DRS.
Arthur Leclerc sent one down the inside of O’Sullivan with a late move at the penultimate corner on Lap 17, having to finish it off at the final corner and holding the Carlin off down the main straight.
Red Bull Racing junior Hadjar found himself all alone in the latter stages of the race, over three seconds behind Bearman and a similar distance ahead of Alex Smolyar, racing under a neutral flag amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Leclerc continued his extremely impressive charge from 13th as he attacked Maloney, but couldn’t quite nick fourth from the Barbadian at the line.
Bearman won the Sprint Race on track but lost the win for too many excursions off it, as the Chelmsford-born driver received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
Hadjar inherited his first FIA F3 win for Hitech Grand Prix, with Alexander Smolyar taking third on the podium behind Bearman.
FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race – Bahrain International Circuit
| Pos. | No. | Name | Nat. | Team | Laps/Gap |
| 1 | 18 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Hitech Grand Prix | 20 laps |
| 2 | 6 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | Prema Racing | +1.5s |
| 3 | 11 | Alexander Smolyar | FIA | MP Motorsport | +3.5s |
| 4 | 3 | Zane Maloney | BAR | Trident | +5.6s |
| 5 | 4 | Arthur Leclerc | MON | Prema Racing | +5.6s |
| 6 | 26 | Zak O’Sullivan | GBR | Carlin | +8.8s |
| 7 | 10 | Caio Collet | BRA | MP Motorsport | +9.1s |
| 8 | 17 | Kaylen Frederick | USA | Hitech Grand Prix | +11.4s |
| 9 | 9 | Juan Manuel Correa | USA | ART Grand Prix | +12.1s |
| 10 | 20 | David Vidales | SPA | Campos Racing | +19.1s |
| 11 | 25 | William Alatalo | FIN | Jenzer Motorsport | +21.2s |
| 12 | 31 | Reece Ushijima | USA | Van Amersfoort Racing | +21.8s |
| 13 | 1 | Jonny Edgar | GBR | Trident | +28.3s |
| 14 | 23 | Ido Cohen | ISR | Jenzer Motorsport | +29.9s |
| 15 | 12 | Kush Maini | IND | MP Motorsport | +30.7s |
| 16 | 19 | Nazim Azman | MAL | Hitech Grand Prix | +34.8s |
| 17 | 30 | Rafael Villagomez | MEX | Van Amersfoort Racing | +34.9s |
| 18 | 15 | Ayrton Simmons | GBR | Charouz Racing System | +44.8s |
| 19 | 16 | Francesco Pizzi | ITA | Charouz Racing System | +45.6s |
| 20 | 28 | Enzo Trulli | ITA | Carlin | +46.5s |
| 21 | 27 | Brad Benavides | USA | Carlin | +53.4s |
| 22 | 14 | Laszlo Toth | HUN | Charouz Racing System | +53.7s |
| 23 | 21 | Hunter Yeany | USA | Campos Racing | +54.2s |
| 24 | 2 | Roman Stanek | CZE | Trident | +67.1s |
| 25 | 29 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | Van Amersfoort Racing | +76.6s |
| 26 | 24 | Niko Kari | FIN | Jenzer Motorsport | +99.3s |
| 27 | 5 | Jak Crawford | USA | Prema Racing | +100.4s |
| 28 | 22 | Josep Maria Marti | SPA | Campos Racing | DNF |
| 29 | 8 | Gregoire Saucy | SUI | ART Grand Prix | DNF |
| 30 | 7 | Victor Martins | FRA | ART Grand Prix | DNF |
