Hitech driver Mini was running in third by the end of the first lap, having been passed by Bortoleto (Trident) and Gregoire Saucy (ART) off the line.
He retook second place from Saucy on lap four before passing Bortoleto for the lead on lap 10, but was handed a five-second penalty for a start procedure infringement.
Mini had looked set to retain at least fourth place before a penultimate lap safety car scuppered his chances, eliminating his lead and handing Bortoleto the win.
The Brazilian led a Trident 1-2 from fellow rookie Oliver Goethe, while reigning Formula Regional European champion Dino Beganovic took third for Prema.
An audibly frustrated Mini was relegated to eighth by the penalty, shouting over the radio and hitting his steering wheel after an unlucky race.
Saucy finished fourth, with Luke Browning in fifth for Hitech after a superb race, having charged through the field from 17th place.
Bortoleto had lined up second and took the lead down to Turn 1 as Saucy slotted into second ahead of Mini at Turn 4.
He built a 2.1s lead to Saucy while the ART returnee battled with Mini behind, the Alpine Academy driver finally passing Saucy around the outside of Turn 4 on the fourth lap.
Bortoleto had doubled his lead by lap six before the safety car was deployed, with Tommy Smith having spun his Van Amersfoort Racing car at Turn 8 while Mari Boya (MP Motorsport) had also suffered front wing damage.
It was during the break in action in which a confused Mini was handed his penalty.
Racing resumed on lap 10, with Mini taking the lead at Turns 6 and 7 from Bortoleto as he set about building enough of a gap to retain the lead.
He had broken DRS three laps later as the Prema pair of Zak O’Sullivan and Paul Aron tussled for 11th, the two drivers making contact in their points pursuit.
Goethe passed Saucy for third with seven laps remaining, taking the final podium spot down to Turn 1 as Browning made up yet another place to move into seventh, taking sixth the following lap from Kaylen Frederick.
By the penultimate lap, Saucy had been caught by Beganovic and Browning, with the former making his way through into fourth as Saucy retained fifth.
The safety car was deployed for the second time on the penultimate lap after Smith and Roberto Faria made contact, ending Smith’s race and scuppering Mini’s chances of victory.
Sprint race winner Pepe Marti finished sixth for Campos, with Frederick in seventh. Sebastian Montoya finished ninth for Hitech, with Aron rounding off the top 10.
F3 returns in Melbourne, Australia, from 31 March to 2 April.
F3 Bahrain - Race results:
Cla | # | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Trident | |
2 | 6 | Oliver Goethe | Trident | 0.800 |
3 | 2 | Dino Beganovic | Prema Powerteam | 1.100 |
4 | 8 | Gregoire Saucy | ART Grand Prix | 1.300 |
5 | 16 | Luke Browning | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1.600 |
6 | 23 | Pepe Martí | Campos Racing | 1.800 |
7 | 7 | Kaylen Frederick | ART Grand Prix | 2.100 |
8 | 15 | Gabriele Minì | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 4.600 |
9 | 14 | Sebastian Montoya | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 6.800 |
10 | 1 | Paul Aron | Prema Powerteam | 8.100 |
11 | 10 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 9.800 |
12 | 3 | Zak O'Sullivan | Prema Powerteam | 15.800 |
13 | 24 | Christian Mansell | Campos Racing | 18.200 |
14 | 17 | Caio Collet | Van Amersfoort Racing | 19.200 |
15 | 9 | Nikola Tsolov | ART Grand Prix | 19.200 |
16 | 27 | Taylor Barnard | Jenzer Motorsport | 19.600 |
17 | 26 | Nikita Bedrin | Jenzer Motorsport | 22.000 |
18 | 20 | Oliver Gray | Rodin Carlin | 25.000 |
19 | 22 | Ido Cohen | Rodin Carlin | 25.200 |
20 | 18 | Rafael Villagomez | Van Amersfoort Racing | 25.600 |
21 | 29 | Sophia Flörsch | PHM Racing by Charouz | 28.400 |
22 | 21 | Hunter Yeany | Rodin Carlin | 35.400 |
23 | 12 | Jonny Edgar | MP Motorsport | 36.100 |
24 | 31 | Piotr Wiśnicki | PHM Racing by Charouz | 37.300 |
25 | 30 | Roberto Faria | PHM Racing by Charouz | 45.300 |
26 | 25 | Hugh Barter | Campos Racing | 1'07.500 |
27 | 4 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | |
19 | Tommy Smith | Van Amersfoort Racing | ||
28 | Alex Garcia | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
11 | Mari Boya | MP Motorsport | ||
View full results |