Interviews by Sergio Álvarez (with a little help from @ChrisMedlandF1); photos by Diego Merino; also feat. screen grabs from https://www.fiaformula2.com/livetiming/index.html

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If you think about it, former Force India guys ruled the day at Sakhir on Sunday.

It’s worth remembering that Daruvala was part of Force India’s sort of young driver (One in a Billion) scheme, you can also argue that Jehan’s win in the last race of the 2020 Formula 2 season served as an omen or as a precursor of Perez’s win.

Not much to say about both Mick Schumacher’s and Callum Ilott’s afternoons really as they didn’t even score any points! There was a bit of promise in the beginning, however Mick’s unscheduled pit stop dropped him at the back of the field, while Callum’s tyres fell off a cliff and that was the end of that.

The general quality of racing remained on the level otherwise, with plenty of pushing and shoving up and down the field, rough and tumble, hurly-burly. This is the beauty of Formula 2 for you.

Screen grab: https://www.fiaformula2.com/livetiming/index.html

Notwithstanding that Sergio’s questions didn’t really come through the Bahraini firewall, it seems as though Chris had simply read Sergio’s mind. It’s F2 telekinesis!

1. Jehan Daruvala (Carlin)
2. Yuki Tsunoda (Carlin)
3. Dan Ticktum (DAMS)

Q: Dan, how do you reflect on this season as a whole?

DT: It’s not ideal basically is how we describe it in a short phrase. I think, if you look at DAMS last year, they could only have gone backwards and unfortunately that’s what we have done! It’s difficult to manage expectations when you’ve been with a team that had just won the championship the year before. But it’s clear that on the 18 inch and with the slight changes to the floor and whatever else, we just haven’t got on top of it all season and we’ve been a bit lost, I think, it’s fair to say. I still believe DAMS have one of the best personnel I’ve worked with, it’s just not been one of those seasons unfortunately. I’ve done my best, I’ve had some good results, I’ve had some bad luck, y’know. A very mixed season and one I’m keen to put to bed.

Q: Jehan, I imagine it’s important for you to put India on the map with this win as well?

JD: I have a big fan base back home, yeah. My goal at the end of the day is to do myself proud, but also do my country proud and to prove people from back home that, even though we don’t have the same facilities and staff that guys have in Europe, as long as you work hard then you can fight right at the sharp end of the grid.

(100% genuine Iberianmph question now. Feel the difference. This one travelled through the space-time continuum a bit.)

Q: Yuki, what about your fan base in Japan? How have people been reacting to your success and do you get a lot of attention now?

YT: Yeah, quite a lot! (Good sign.) Especially after last week I saw some comments on social media. Some of the guys, some of the Japanese fans, were saying ‘keep pushing’ but also some were saying ‘‘ah, disappointed’, (stuff) like that. I’ve had a bit of pressure until today; always, when I get in the car, I just drive it for myself, to be honest. It doesn’t really matter about the others. It’s normal. When I’m not in the car, I get a little bit of pressure especially from Japan and also Helmut Marko. But when I get in the car, it doesn’t really matter: I always focus on my driving, I’m ok with that.