SAKHIR, Bahrain, CMC – Barbadian race car driver Zane Maloney landed his maiden Formula 2 win after he charged through the field from eighth on the grid in the Bahrain Grand Prix sprint race on Friday.
The 20-year-old Rodin Motorsport driver made a fast start and quickly moved up to fourth by the end of the first lap and showed an intense pace after dispatching rivals Van Amersfoort driver Enzo Fittipaldi and Victor Art Grand Prix driver Martins of France.
Watched by family and friends, Maloney overtook DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford of the United States on the eighth lap to grab the lead and never relinquished it throughout the 23-lap race around the Bahrain International Circuit.
Reverse grid pole-sitter Jake Crawford of the United States held onto a podium finish in second for DAMS Lucas Oil, and rookie driver and Red Bull Junior Josep María Marti of Spain took third for Campos Racing.
“Of course, I’m thrilled to win the race. We started in P8 (position eight), got a great start, and the team just gave me an amazing car, so it is all down to them, and we will go for it (on Saturday) in the feature race,” Maloney said after the race.
“It was a fantastic race. Of course, it started with a great start and then an excellent first two laps. I always put my car in the right place, which was good. After that, I was happy to settle into my position and try to save the tires.
“While saving the tires, I was still keeping up, so I decided just to go for it, get in the lead, and think about the tires after that, which I did. It worked out very well. The team gave me a great car, which is why.”
The win for Maloney and his fastest lap time of one minute, 46.585 seconds, earned Rodin Motorsport 11 points, and they will be looking to add more in the first feature race of the season on Saturday when he starts third on the grid.
“I mean, that’s always the goal; I didn’t think I would win, but the plan was to try and win (on Saturday),” he said. “Every day is different, so we just need to look at the data and see what we can do better and improve.
“For sure, starting third, I need to have a good start again and go into the race the way I did (on Friday). The goal is to win (on Saturday) for sure.”
After five laps, the race was a three-way fight for the lead between Crawford, Martins, and Maloney and a three-way battle for fourth between Fittipaldi, Campos Racing driver Isack Hadjar of France, and Art Grand Prix driver Zak O’Sullivan of Great Britain.
But Maloney was the man on the move. Having snatched second from Martins, he set his sights on leader Crawford on the seventh lap and passed the American a lap later through the exit of Turn 4.
Maloney extended his lead and enjoyed a comfortable margin over Crawford of approximately three seconds, passing the checkered flag with an advantage of plus five seconds.
“I came out of Turn 11 on the inside, and I wasn’t really looking for it, but then I saw it was on, and I had to go for it,” he said about his move to get past Fittipaldi and into the top three.
“I know Enzo is a very respectful driver, so I knew he was a hard racer, but he is not just going to force me off the track, which is why I tried for it. It was on the edge, but it was great.”
On the performance of the new race car, Maloney said: “From my side, I mean, it’s all quite similar to the old car. I know it’s pretty different for the team to set it up and get it working like the old car, but how I drive it is almost the same.
“It’s not much different from the old one, but we still can improve quite a lot. I think everyone will be developing the car and getting faster through the year, but for now, everything is quite similar.”
Coincidentally, Maloney and Crawford were part of the Red Bull Racing Academy last season and identified as reserve drivers for F1 world champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez, but they were let go.
It was announced last month that Maloney would be a reserve driver for the Skate F1 team, Kick Sauber, for this year’s F1 Grand Prix after becoming a member of the Sauber Academy following a tricky rookie F2 season in which he finished 10th.
Formula 2 is the second tier to Formula 1 racing, organized by the FIA, motor sport’s world governing body, and held on select circuits on the Grand Prix schedule.
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