In his first Formula 3 race for Prema in Bahrain, Arvid Lindblad, a Red Bull Academy driver, surpassed the two ART drivers and comfortably claimed first place on the podium. Starting strong, Laurens Van Hoepen, who had secured pole position, led the pack into Turn 1 before his teammate Nikola Tsolov overtook him to claim the lead, resulting in an ART one-two. In a chaotic start, Van Hoepen briefly regained first place from Tsolov, but Tsolov’s audacious move on the inside allowed him to retake the lead once again. Dino Beganovic, a Ferrari junior, had a fiery start and received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision on the first lap, resulting in a puncture and a necessary pit stop.
During the first half of the race, Max Esterson from Jenzer Motorsport held onto third position, taking advantage of the battle between the ART drivers when the Drag Reduction System (DRS) was activated, allowing him to close the gap to the race leader. However, Lindblad and Leonardo Fornaroli from Trident managed to overtake him to gain track position on lap 9. The top five drivers distanced themselves from the rest of the pack, all fighting for the first victory of the season. This broke the DRS train that had formed and posed a challenge for the ART duo.
Van Hoepen once again regained the lead on lap 11, only for Tsolov to snatch it back after a side-by-side duel. Meanwhile, Luke Browning received a 10-second penalty for going off track and gaining an advantage while overtaking Christian Mansell on the outside. Lindblad reappeared on the inside, running side by side with Van Hoepen to hold onto second position until a lock-up caused him to lose his advantage. The ART drivers swapped positions on the track for a lap until Van Hoepen briefly locked up at Turn 11, dropping to third place.
Tsolov managed to open up a half-second gap going into lap 14, but Lindblad made a daring move on the inside on lap 15 to steal the lead before Tsolov reclaimed it by finding a gap at Turn 4. In the crucial final three laps, Lindblad took the lead ahead of Tsolov before the first braking zone, establishing a nearly two-second advantage and forcing the ART drivers to fight for second place. Pulling away from the DRS train, Lindblad led on the final lap, while Fornaroli secured second place on the podium, overtaking Tsolov. Gabriele Mini showcased impressive skills by overtaking other drivers and finishing in seventh place.
With a comfortable five-second lead, Lindblad claimed his first victory of the season in his race debut, while Tsolov relinquished his race lead to finish in fourth place after being overtaken by his teammate and Fornaroli.
