PREMA Racing captured fifth place in the opening race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship at Imola. Starting from the 9th place, Ollie Bearman gained a few positions at the start and installed himself in P5, while a major crash forced the pack behind the safety-car. Once re-started, Bearman stayed in P5, which he held until the end with late defending.

Antonelli took an 11th-place finish. The Italian suffered from a technical issue and struggled to go from first to second gear. At the start, he dropped several spots but masterfully avoided the early melee. Like his team-mate, he had a solid race pace, but with the field spreading out, he didn’t have the opportunity to make gains to finish just outside the top 10.

3 OLLIE BEARMAN

“Difficult race. I struggled a little bit to keep a strong pace, but I managed to make a good start and avoid the carnage at the beginning, which was positive. That’s P5 today. We’ve got some work to do before tomorrow, but I feel confident because we are quite close. Let’s go for starting P2.”

Qualifying: P2
Starting Position Race 1: P8
Fastest lap: 1:27.111
Race 1: P5

4 KIMI ANTONELLI

“Since the formation lap, I had issues with the steering wheel, then at the start, the second gear was not going in, and I lost a lot of places. At that point, the race was pretty much ruined. In Imola it’s really hard to overtake, so I got stuck in the middle of the pack. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Qualifying: P4
Starting Position Race 1: P6
Fastest lap: 1:27.320
Race 1: P11

Source | Photo: PREMA Racing