Motorsport: Liam Lawson stuns with opening Formula 2 victory

Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Hitech Grand Prix celebrates on the podium after winning Sprint Race 1 of Round 1 at the Sakhir of the Formula 2 Championship. Photo / Getty

Kiwi driver Liam Lawson has made a thunderous start to his Formula Two career.

The 19-year-old has won the opening sprint race in Bahrain. Lawson, racing for Hitech GP, drove like a seasoned pro on his Formula 2 debut, brushing off a stern challenge from second year driver Jehan Daruvala to take the opening win of the season.

Charouz Racing System rookie David Beckmann hung onto third to complete a youthful podium.

"That was pretty awesome. Starting third, I had a pretty good start and led from that moment onwards," Lawson said.

"I had massive pressure from Jehan (Daruvala) towards the end of the race and learned a lot."

Scampering ahead of Théo Pourchaire at the start, Lawson spent the majority of the race in a to-and-fro with his former Formula 3 rival, before seeing the ART Grand Prix driver retire.

This handed the Kiwi a more experienced challenger, as Daruvala – up from fifth - lined up behind him. However, the Carlin driver had no answer to his Red Bull academy teammates' defensive masterclass and was forced to settle for second.

In the second race, Lawson was sitting third when he crashed out to miss out on another podium finish.

Reigning Formula 3 champion Oscar Piastri went onto win race two for his maiden F2 victory.

Lawson sits fourth on the standings heading into tomorrow's feature race.