Markelov comes from pitlane start to third in thrilling race behind Norris
Thursday 13 December 2018 12:35, UK
Lando Norris laid down a marker in Bahrain with a dominant drive from pole to victory in the F2 Feature Race.
The McLaren junior made a great start from pole to hold onto the lead on the run to Turn One, opening up a lead of over 10 seconds by the midway point of the race.
Setting the fastest lap along the way, Norris not only picked up the 25 points for the victory, but also the two bonus points for the fastest lap to go with the four for pole he got on Friday - a perfect start to his maiden F2 campaign.
While Norris was out front, it was crazy behind him with the order changing corner by corner.
George Russell lit up his rear tyres at the start and dropped back from second at the start, with Sergio Sette Camara coming from sixth on the grid to second on the exit of Turn One.
Russell would pit early in an attempt to recover positions, but tyre degradation towards the end of the race meant he finished in fifth.
Aside from Norris, the star of the race was Artem Markelov. A disastrous qualifying saw the Russian line-up 17th on the grid, but he stalled after the formation lap and had to start the race from the pits.
Yet despite his early woes, Markelov once again showed his incredible overtaking skills and came through the field to finish third.
It was nearly second, but a tremendous defensive job from Camara secured a one-two finish for Carlin on their F2 debut.
Sunday's Sprint Race sees the top eight reversed and you can see all the action live on Sky Sports F1 from 12:15pm.
