ROAD TO F1: Schumacher seals F2 title in dramatic fashion as Daruvala takes maiden win

Two decades after Michael Schumacher scored his first Formula 1 World Championship with Ferrari, his son Mick Schumacher sealed his own date with destiny, following up his promotion into F1 with Haas by clinching the Formula 2 Championship, despite a tricky race where he finished in 18th.

Red Bull junior Jehan Daruvala took the win in Bahrain, but it was Schumacher who will steal the headlines. For a moment, it looked as if the title was slipping out of his fingers, after an early lock-up damaged his tyres and forced him into an unwanted pitstop.

ANALYSIS: The inside line on how the Schumacher name returned to F1 - and what we should expect from Mick

He came back out down in 20th position, title rival Callum Ilott by now in third – just one position and a fastest lap away from snatching the crown. Alas, the UNI-Virtuosi man couldn’t sustain his pace, suffering from heavy tyre degradation and plummeting down from third to 10th at the flag.

The German ended up in 18th, but parked up in the champion’s spot, clambering out of his car, lost for words and visibly emotional. He joins Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Nyck de Vries as F2 champions.

Daruvala’s win was his first in F2, beating out his fellow Red Bull junior and Carlin teammate, Yuki Tsunoda to victory. Tsunoda snatched the fastest lap at the death to put himself within one point of Ilott in the final standings. Polesitter Dan Ticktum completed the podium, falling behind the Carlin pair in the latter stages of the race.

READ MORE: Vettel happy to tell Mick Schumacher 'everything I know' ahead of young German's F1 debut