Official F1 Journal Formula 2 Friday Round Up- Zandvoort

FIA Formula 2 returns after the summer break at the mighty Zandvoort, with only 3 events and 6 races to go in their season. Theo Pourchaire leads the championship by a small margin over former ART team mate and current Prema man Fredrik Vesti, after the Danish driver had a miserable Spa weekend. But the championship is far from over with drivers down to 5th in the championship fight such as Jack Doohan who has had a late season resurgence of form still in the fight. Martin, Iwasa & Hauger are also not drivers you can count out just yet. 

Practice- Dry

Practice started slowly with just one car lapping for the first 8 minutes, most of the field waiting while the only man to have never raced at Zandvoort before Joshua Mason in his PHM Racing car to clear some of the sand from the racing line. 
When the rest of the grid joined him on track names like Doohan and Bearman looked very fast, but mistakes were being made with Championship leader Theo Pourchaire having a moment at turn 3, Doohan having a similar scary moment in the same place and the session being ended by a red flag being brought out for Ralph Boschung after he touched a wheel onto the grass and went in to turn 7 backwards and was unable to continue.
 The session ended with Bearman topping the time tables, Hauger in second and Fredrik Vesti in third. ​

© Prema Racing

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Practice results 
1 BEA      2 HAU
3 VES      4 IWA
5 MAR     6 DAR
7 MAL      8 DOO
9 HAD     10 POU
11 NOV    12 BOS 
13 CRA    14 MAI
15 NIS     16 VER
17 COR    18 FIT
19 LEC     20 JCO
​21 STA     22 MAS 
              

Qualifying- Dry

Qualifying started with Jack Doohan making his feelings about fellow Apline Academy driver Victor Martins 'erratic' driving, very clear over the radio and to the FIA (after the session Martins received a reprimand for this) in the shuffle to get the best position for their flying lap. After the first round of times were set American HiTech driver and Redbull Academy Jak Crawford had set the fastest lap with Dennis Hauger not far behind. But in the mass exodus from the pit for all  the drivers to make their second run, Clemant Novalak hit Crawford while leaving his own Pit spot pushing Crawford in to the pit wall damaging  his front wing and meaning he had to pit on the next lap when his rivals for pole were starting their flying laps putting him drastically out of sequence.

​Luck though was on Crawfords side and with 7 minutes to go Daruvela crashed and caused a Red flag before his closest rivals could complete a flying lap. With 7 minutes on the clock, running restarted and multiple drivers were on great laps Doohan was on a lap, Crawford, Hauger, Bearman and Vesti were all flying, when Juan Manuel Correa brought out another Red flag after being on 'full send' for his flying lap, pushed to hard and parked the car in the gravel, also on a more successful 'full send' lap Hauger was meters from the line when the Red flag was called meaning his lap wasn't classified and he lost a lap that would have beaten Crawford's for Pole. 
The final running began with just 3 minutes and 46 seconds on the clock and in a much more orderly manor than earlier in qualifying all the cars made their way onto the track and again there where purple sectors popping up all over the track and we were set for over 10 drivers that could have fought it out for pole but it wasn't meant to be and Novalak  brought out a 3rd and final Red flag and with 46 seconds on the clock, the Stewards called no more running and Jack Crawford's brilliant first run had got him pole, despite a very rapid Dennis Hauger always being close to taking it. 
Theo Pourchaire had a tough qualifying never really seeming comfortable with his ART Racing car , but will start on reverse grid pole for tomorrows Sprint race and 10th for the Sunday Feature race while his closest rival Vesti took 3rd in qualifying and will start 8th for the Sprint race.
A very exciting Sprint tomorrow that could have a decent effect on the both Championships.

Qualifying Result

1 CRA      2 HAU
3 VES      4 MAL
5 DOO     6 BEA
7 JCO      8 MAR
9 HAD     10 POU
11 MAI     12 IWA
13 NOV    14 BOS
15 DAR    16 LEC
17 VER     18 ACO
19 FIT       20 STA
​21 NIS      22 MAS

Sprint Race Grid 

1 POU      2 HAD
3 MAR      4 JCO
5 BEA       6 DOO
7 MAL       8 VES
9 HAG      10 CRA
11 MAI      12 IWA
13 NOV     14 BOS
15 DAR     16 LEC
17 VER     18 ACO
19 FIT        20 STA
​21 NIS       22 MAS

Joanna Blackmore
Writer @ F1 Journal