Pourchaire wins Bahrain F2 feature race after slow pit stop for Vips

Vips dominated the first half of the race after making a storming start from third on the grid.

The Red Bull-backed junior got past Jack Doohan and was forced to fend off Ralph Boschung into Turn 1.

Vips quickly built up a four-second lead after the Safety Car period which was caused by Frederik Vesti's stricken ART Grand Prix car.

The race turned on its head on Lap 14 when Vips stopped for soft tyres.

Unlike in previous seasons, the soft compound was holding up well - demonstrated by Marcus Armstrong and Ayumu Iwasa's charge up the order.

A very slow stop for Vips meant he lost the lead of the race as he plummeted down the order.

Felipe Drugovich's early stop allowed him to take the lead but the real fight was between Doohan and Pourchaire.

As Doohan was exiting the pit lane, through Turns 1 and 2, he clipped Pourchaire and damaged his front wing in the process. 

Pourchaire managed the race from the front as Vips recovered up to third behind Liam Lawson. 

The drama didn't stop there as Enzo Fittipaldi spun Richard Verschoor, causing another Safety Car.

The pit lane was hectic as both Dennis Hauger and Calan Williams were released with only three tyres fitted to their respective cars.

With time running out, only one lap remained after the Safety Car restart which Pourchaire judged perfectly. 

Pourchaire secured his first win of the season ahead of Lawson and Vips, who was the fastest man on the day.

Boschung finished fourth ahead of Armstrong, Drugovich and Logan Sargeant.

Roy Nissany came away with eighth after defending heavily throughout, while Jake Hughes and Doohan rounded out the top 10.

Click here for the full FIA Formula 2 feature race results from Bahrain