Jehan Daruvala wins Sakhir Sprint Race to register maiden F2 win

Jehan Daruvala came out on top of a race-long battle with Dan Ticktum, to win by 2.9s, while Carlin teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished second.

India's Jehan Daruvala with the Sakhir Sprint Race winner's trophy.

India’s Jehan Daruvala capped off his rookie campaign in Formula 2 with a brilliant first win in the Sakhir Sprint Race on Sunday.

Daruvala came out on top of a race-long battle with Dan Ticktum, to win by 2.9s, while the Latter ended up in third after a late overtake from Feature Race winner Yuki Tsunoda, who secured a Carlin one-two.

At the start of the race, Mick Schumacher who sealed the F2 title on Sunday, was brave off the line, driving down the middle of Ticktum and Daruvala in an attempt to steal first place as the Indian fell back to third.

Ticktum opened up a 1.2s gap at the front of the race but warned his team over the radio that he was already losing his rear tyres.

Schumacher was suddenly feeling the wear on his tyres from an earlier lockup and dropped back behind Daruvala.

The 22-year-old from Mumbai then shuttled up the road and caught up with Ticktum when racing resumed after the Virtual Safety Car period.

After a hard-fought battle for a few laps, Daruvala eventually fought his way ahead on Lap 26, with a daring move around the outside. Once into the lead, Daruvala managed to do what Ticktum couldn’t and opened up a 3.5-second gap to cruise to his maiden F2 win.

“It feels good to win the last race of the season and finish on a high. It was a great battle out there with Dan (Ticktum), which got close at times, but we respected each other and raced well. The car was good and, I couldn’t have asked for a better finish,” said Daruvala.