2021 BRDC British F3 runner-up Kush Maini stole the headlines ahead of the first Formula 2 round of the season in Bahrain, as he blasted to pole position against one of the most talked about F2 grids in several years.
The Indian driver, in his second F2 campaign, was more than two tenths clear of his opposition which was headed by his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, with his best lap coming inside the final five minutes.
Maini wasn’t the only graduate to impress; 2021 champion Zak O’Sullivan qualified seventh ahead of his F2 debut, having been inside the top-eight in practice also. PREMA’s Ollie Bearman was 19th as he prepares for his second campaign with the team.
Eight GB3 graduates are in action in Formula 3, with 2022 champion Luke Browning tipped as a likely championship contender. The British driver, who won the Macau Grand Prix in November, lived up to those expectations as he just missed out on pole position by a tenth of a second.
Christian Mansell, a GB3 race winner in 2021 was eighth fastest while Max Esterson, who competed in GB3 in both 2022 and 2023 impressed with the 10th quickest time.
2023 front-runners Alex Dunne, Callum Voisin and Joseph Loake were all within eight tenths of a second of the fastest lap as they gear up for their first F3 campaigns.
The first F2 and F3 races of the year take place tomorrow (Friday).
As well as the 11 graduates competing this weekend in the F1 feeder categories, George Russell and Lando Norris are also setting themselves up for their latest F1 campaigns with Mercedes and McLaren.
Both were inside the top-eight in the opening practice session of the year, with Norris second and Russell seventh, with the first F1 contest of 2024 taking place on Saturday.