The MP Motorsport driver, who joins the Dutch outfit having taken four podiums for UNI Virtuosi last year, set a 1m44.484s to top the timesheet.
A last-minute dash from DAMS rookie Iwasa was enough to take second place, bumping teammate Nissany into third, 0.3s behind the leader.
Clement Novalak took fourth place, with a 1m44.769s just 0.01s off third, with Marcus Armstrong in fifth for Hitech Grand Prix.
Like FIA Formula 3, F2 has reverted to a two-race format this season, with one reversed-grid sprint race on Saturday and a feature race on Sunday.
Both series have just one practice session on a Friday before qualifying later in the day.
Novalak was first to set a quick lap, putting a 1m46.879s on the board for MP Motorsport. But he was bumped down to third after Van Amersfoort Racing pair Amaury Cordeel and Jake Hughes went quicker, with the latter fastest with a 1m46.333s.
Much of the field headed on track with 30 minutes remaining of the session, with Charouz Racing System duo Enzo Fittipaldi and rookie Cem Bolukbasi next to put in laps.
Fittipaldi returns to F2 after suffering a fractured heel in a startline crash involving Theo Pourchaire in Jeddah at the end of last season.
As the times tumbled, Liam Lawson put himself in P2 for Carlin with a 1m45.742s, sitting behind Jake Hughes (VAR), with Olli Caldwell in P3 for Campos Racing, having joined the team for the final two races of the 2021 campaign alongside his full-time race seat in F3 for Prema.
Armstrong went second after setting a 1m45.415s, pushing Lawson and Trident’s Richard Verschoor into P3 and P4. The Kiwi enters his third season in the series, having finished 13th for DAMS in 2021.
Armstrong improved on his earlier time to trade the top spot with Lawson, who briefly went quickest with a 1m45.215s, before he broke into the 1m44s with a 1m44.901s to top the timesheet.
Jehan Daruvala was next to break the 1m44s barrier, with the Red Bull junior topping Armstrong’s time by less than 0.2s to go quickest for Prema Racing.
Reigning F3 champion Dennis Hauger put himself up into sixth position with less than eight minutes left of the session, remaining with Prema Racing for his rookie F2 campaign. He finished the session in P11.
With times continuing to improve, Novalak returned to the top of the timesheet with a 1m44.769s, before teammate Felipe Drugovich went quicker by 0.3s.
Nissany was next to improve, with a 1m44.754s enough to put him up into P2, before a last minute run from Iwasa bumped him into third.
Jack Doohan, who finished runner-up in F3 last season, finished in P14 for Virtuosi.
F2 Bahrain free practice results
| Cla | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Felipe Drugovich |  MP Motorsport | 1'44.484 | |
| 2 | Ayumu Iwasa |  Nissan e.dams | 1'44.679 | 0.195 |
| 3 |  Roy Nissany | Nissan e.dams | 1'44.754 | 0.270 |
| 4 |  Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | 1'44.769 | 0.285 |
| 5 |  Marcus Armstrong |  HitechGP | 1'44.833 | 0.349 |
| 6 |  Jehan Daruvala |  Prema Powerteam | 1'44.838 | 0.354 |
| 7 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | 1'44.886 | 0.402 |
| 8 |  Logan Sargeant | Carlin | 1'45.112 | 0.628 |
| 9 | Olli Caldwell |  Campos Racing | 1'45.241 | 0.757 |
| 10 | Jake Hughes | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1'45.244 | 0.760 |
| 11 |  Dennis Hauger | Prema Powerteam | 1'45.370 | 0.886 |
| 12 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 1'45.414 | 0.930 |
| 13 |  Jüri Vips | HitechGP | 1'45.476 | 0.992 |
| 14 |  Jack Doohan | Virtuosi Racing | 1'45.548 | 1.064 |
| 15 |  Theo Pourchaire | ART Grand Prix | 1'45.845 | 1.361 |
| 16 |  Frederik Vesti | ART Grand Prix | 1'46.047 | 1.563 |
| 17 | Ralph Boschung | Campos Racing | 1'46.200 | 1.716 |
| 18 | Amaury Cordeel | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1'46.224 | 1.740 |
| 19 | Calan Williams | Trident | 1'46.393 | 1.909 |
| 20 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi Racing | 1'46.750 | 2.266 |
| 21 | Enzo Fittipaldi |  Charouz Racing System | 1'46.842 | 2.358 |
| 22 |  Cem Bolukbasi | Charouz Racing System | 1'47.905 | 3.421 |
| View full results | ||||
| Cla | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | 1'44.484 | |
| 2 | Ayumu Iwasa | Nissan e.dams | 1'44.679 | 0.195 |
| 3 | Roy Nissany | Nissan e.dams | 1'44.754 | 0.270 |
| 4 | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | 1'44.769 | 0.285 |
| 5 | Marcus Armstrong | HitechGP | 1'44.833 | 0.349 |
| 6 | Jehan Daruvala | Prema Powerteam | 1'44.838 | 0.354 |
| 7 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | 1'44.886 | 0.402 |
| 8 | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | 1'45.112 | 0.628 |
| 9 | Olli Caldwell | Campos Racing | 1'45.241 | 0.757 |
| 10 | Jake Hughes | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1'45.244 | 0.760 |
| 11 | Dennis Hauger | Prema Powerteam | 1'45.370 | 0.886 |
| 12 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 1'45.414 | 0.930 |
| 13 | Jüri Vips | HitechGP | 1'45.476 | 0.992 |
| 14 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi Racing | 1'45.548 | 1.064 |
| 15 | Theo Pourchaire | ART Grand Prix | 1'45.845 | 1.361 |
| 16 | Frederik Vesti | ART Grand Prix | 1'46.047 | 1.563 |
| 17 | Ralph Boschung | Campos Racing | 1'46.200 | 1.716 |
| 18 | Amaury Cordeel | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1'46.224 | 1.740 |
| 19 | Calan Williams | Trident | 1'46.393 | 1.909 |
| 20 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi Racing | 1'46.750 | 2.266 |
| 21 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz Racing System | 1'46.842 | 2.358 |
| 22 | Cem Bolukbasi | Charouz Racing System | 1'47.905 | 3.421 |
| View full results | ||||
