Kiwi teen Liam Lawson has followed up his maiden Formula Two victory with a podium finish in the 173km feature race at the Bahrain International Circuit.
After taking out the opening sprint race in his debut start at this level, Lawson battled home for third in the main event to stand second overall behind Chinese Guanyu Zhou after the championship's first stop.
Amid a small sandstorm, fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong led the race briefly after a safety car, but eventually fell back through the field for fifth.
Lawson made his move after the restart, but could not stay with winner Zhou and Brit Dan Ticktum.
"Extremely happy to finish third today," he says. "We got lucky with the [virtual safety car], because I was in the box when it came out and everyone slowed down, so I made up some spots there.
"Dan was faster, so I let him go and in the end, I just didn't quite have enough tyre life to fight with these two in the last couple of laps."
After winning the first sprint outing, Lawson failed to finish the second, which ultimately cost him a shot at the championship lead.
The tour moves to Monte Carlo on May 20-22.
Formula Two is a stepping stone towards the ultimate in motorsport - Formula One.
Last year's championship was won by German Mick Schumacher - son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher - who will race for Haas during the 2021 F1 season.
