The Frenchman, who finished second in the drivers’ standings last year, put in a stunning lap to finish qualifying 0.7s clear of team-mate Victor Martins, who lines up second on his debut.
Having led practice earlier in the day, the championship favourite put in a 1m40.903s to take the front spot for Sunday’s feature race at the Sakhir Circuit.
Despite being in his third F2 season, it was just his second pole, the first having come in Monaco 2021.
Reigning F3 champion Martins will line up second for his debut F2 feature race, with Richard Verschoor in third for Van Amersfoort Racing.
Ralph Boschung took an early lead for Campos Racing, with his first flying lap a 1m42.010s before he was quickly demoted by Alfa Romeo F1 reserve driver Pourchaire, who went almost 0.5s quicker.
DAMS rookie Arthur Leclerc slotted into third place, with a 1m42.212s, before he was quickly demoted by Alpine Academy member Martins.
Fellow Alpine junior Jack Doohan, who enters the season as a title favourite, found clean air in a bid to find more time and went fourth quickest for Invicta Virtuosi Racing with a 1m42.112s.
But the risk failed to pay off for the Australian, who finished sixth in the standings last year, as he finished the session in 17th place behind Invicta Virtuosi Racing team-mate Amaury Cordeel.
As the pack emerged with fresh soft tyres, rookie Kush Maini went second fastest for Campos, with a 1m41.927s, before he was quickly demoted by Verschoor, 0.1s quicker.
Pourchaire then put in his pole-clinching lap, with his team-mate slotting in to second, with the rest of the field unable to match ART’s superior qualifying pace.
MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger, who won the F3 title in 2021, will line up fourth for Sunday’s race, with Frederik Vesti in fifth, having moved back to Prema from ART for 2023.
Maini starts sixth, with the DAMS pair of Ayumu Iwasa and Leclerc in seventh and eighth respectively.
Boschung will line up on reverse-grid pole for Saturday’s sprint race, with Trident rookie Roman Stanek behind him.
F2 Bahrain qualifying results
| Cla | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Theo Pourchaire |
ART Grand Prix |
1'40.903 | |
| 2 |
Victor Martins |
ART Grand Prix |
1'41.654 | 0.751 |
| 3 |
 Richard Verschoor |
Van Amersfoort Racing |
1'41.803 | 0.900 |
| 4 |
 Dennis Hauger |
MP Motorsport |
1'41.831 | 0.928 |
| 5 |
 Frederik Vesti |
 Prema Powerteam |
1'41.897 | 0.994 |
| 6 |
 Kush Maini |
 Campos Racing |
1'41.927 | 1.024 |
| 7 |
 Ayumu Iwasa |
DAMS |
1'41.934 | 1.031 |
| 8 |
 Arthur Leclerc |
DAMS |
1'41.973 | 1.070 |
| 9 |
 Roman Staněk |
Trident |
1'41.988 | 1.085 |
| 10 |
 Ralph Boschung |
Campos Racing |
1'42.010 | 1.107 |
| 11 |
Jehan Daruvala |
MP Motorsport |
1'42.017 | 1.114 |
| 12 |
 Oliver Bearman |
Prema Powerteam |
1'42.026 | 1.123 |
| 13 |
 Enzo Fittipaldi |
Rodin Carlin | 1'42.049 | 1.146 |
| 14 |
Isack Hadjar |
Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1'42.092 | 1.189 |
| 15 |
 Amaury Cordeel |
Invicta Virtuosi Racing | 1'42.092 | 1.189 |
| 16 |
 Juan Manuel Correa |
Van Amersfoort Racing |
1'42.109 | 1.206 |
| 17 |
 Jack Doohan |
Invicta Virtuosi Racing | 1'42.112 | 1.209 |
| 18 |
 Zane Maloney |
Rodin Carlin | 1'42.185 | 1.282 |
| 19 |
Jak Crawford |
Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1'42.234 | 1.331 |
| 20 |
Brad Benavides |
PHM Racing by Charouz | 1'42.493 | 1.590 |
| 21 |
 Roy Nissany |
PHM Racing by Charouz | 1'42.502 | 1.599 |
| 22 |
Clement Novalak |
Trident |
1'42.570 | 1.667 |
| View full results | ||||
