FORMULA 2
 IMAGE: Malcolm Griffiths Leonardo Fornaroli picks up where he left off in Silverstone and takes his second Sprint Race victory in a row in style. The Invicta driver who started in P3 got a great launch off the line to storm into P1 and commanded the race from there right up until the checkered flag. Equally brilliant drives from Victor Martins and Gabriele Mini who came from P6 and P8 respectively to take the other two podium places. Lights out and Fornaroli steamed passed Goethe on the Kemmel straight to take the race lead from third on the grid. The reverse grid Pole sitter lost out again when Amaury Cordeel alsop got passed him on the run down to Turn 1 - the German going from first to third in a matter of seconds. The opening lap saw more drama further back in the pack with Luke Browning, Jak Crawford, and Richard Verschoor colliding at the exit to Turn 1. The Safety Car was then called upon as the incident left Browning's Hitech TGR machine beached in the gravel. Verschoor spun at Eau Rouge and sustained sidepod damage which saw him return to the pits to retire the car. Crawford also returned to the pits but was able to get back out on track to continue. Green flags were waved again on Lap 4 and the restart was controlled brilliantly by Fornaroli and he lead the way by nearly a second to Cordeel in P2. Oliver Goethe remained in third whilst Pepe Marti came under pressure from his Campos teammate Arvid Lindblad after losing part of his front wing earlier on which seemed to be costing him time. The incident between Verschoor, Browning, and Crawford was announced by Race Control that it would not investigated any further. Lap 6 and Fornaroli was facing a threat from the Rodin Motorsport car of Cordeel in second as he was just four tenths of a second behind. He looked to make a move into Les Combes but Fornaroli handled it perfectly and by Lap 8 he had pulled away out of DRS range. Victor Martins capitalised on a tentative Goethe on Lap 8 and after chasing him down, used DRS to his advantage to pass the German on the Kemmel straight going into Lap 9. The top three: Fornaroli, Cordeel, Martins. The problems kept coming for Goethe on Lap 10 as he had now fallen away from the top three and was facing attack from the Red Bull junior Marti. Behind him followed Lindblad, Minì, Dunne and Roman Stanek were starting to form a DRS chain. Lap 12 saw the second incident of the race. Martins overtook Cordeel to take second place after catching him for the past few laps but Cordeel catches the rear wheel of the Frenchman's car as he passes, causing Cordeel to go off at Les Combes, leaving him out of the race. The Safety Car was then deployed yet again whilst Cordeel's Rodin machinery is recovered by the marshalls and many drivers took this as an opportunity to pit and switch to Soft tyres. Only five drivers out of 22 decided to stay out on the mediums and they were Fornaroli, Martins, Goethe, Minì and Cian Shields. Racing commenced again on Lap 14 and just as he did the first time, Fornaroli handles the restart very well and keeps hold of his lead. The PREMA of Gabriele Mini made the move on Oliver Goethe to move into P3 as the lead car out of those who decided to pit under the Safety Car. Alex Dunne was also up into sixth place by this point. Lap 16 saw a battle for fifth taking place between Martí and Dunne. Preoccupied with his battle with the Campos driver, Dunne lost out to Stanek who seized the opportunity to get passed the Irishman and up into sixth. The penultimate lap of the race saw the third and final Safety Car put in place after the Trident of Sami Meguetounif came to a halt just before Les Combes after suffering a mechanical issue. Fornaroli took the chequered flag and made it two back to back Sprint Race victories after driving a brilliant race. Martins and Mini came home to take the other two podium places - fantastic drives from them too coming from further back on the starting grid. Goethe kept Marti at bay in the latter stages to take fourth place with the Red Bull junior following in fifth. Stanek crossed the line to take sixth place whilst tomorrow's pole sitter Alex Dunne came home in seventh. Ritomo Miyata took the final points place in eighth. Arvid Lindblad was handed a five second time penalty post race following a collision with Dino Beganovic at Turn 1 during the Safety Car restart on Lap 14. This dropped the Briton from ninth to 17th. The Feature Race will take place tomorrow so be sure to tune in for more Formula 2 action at Spa-Francorchamps!  Katie Shepherd
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Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal
Writer - F1 Journal
Formula 2 Media
Jak Crawford wins the F2 Silverstone Feature Race, ahead of Alex Dunne and Luke Browning rounding out the top three podium places.
The race start was delayed due to rain and started under wet conditions with all the drivers starting on wet tyres. During the race at the mandatory pit stop it was all about whether to change to slick tyres or another set of wet tyres. Some drivers pitted for slick tyres and immediately got caught out on track.
The race start was delayed due to rain and started under wet conditions with all the drivers starting on wet tyres. During the race at the mandatory pit stop it was all about whether to change to slick tyres or another set of wet tyres. Some drivers pitted for slick tyres and immediately got caught out on track.
Race Facts
- Jak Crawford wins the Silverstone feature race after starting on third
- Durksen crashed from fourth on the second last lap
- The race finished under safety car conditions
- Martins lost the lead at the start of the race and ended up finishing at the back of the grid after picking up damage to his front wing
- Crawford moves into second in the championship
The race start was delayed until 11:17am local time, due to wet conditions, which meant the Formula 3 race was stopped and didn't restart.
Drivers went out on the lap to the grid as the rain stopped, but the track was very wet, with all the drivers out on fully wet tyres.
Victor Martins started on pole position for the 6th time at the F2 Silverstone 29-lap Feature Race. Martin had a terrible launch off the start line and only managed to stay in fourth place around the first few corners. Jak Crawford took the race lead off the line, with Alex Dunne keeping close behind him.
As the first lap came to a close, Crawford was leading, followed by Dunne, Martins, Stanek, Durksen, Montoya, Verschoor, Lindblad, Browning and Beganovic, completing the top ten.
Brownings and Lindblad were side by side for several corners, with Browning managing to get through on the final corner of the lap.
Crawford had built a gap of over 1.9s to Dunne by the start of the fourth lap as Browning tried to make his way through the field, trying to overtake Verschoor and getting past on lap four at Turn 9 to move into sixth place.
Beganovic was next to get past Verschoor, as he complained that his tyres were losing grip. As he does this, Beganovic gets past Montoya for seventh place.
Drivers went out on the lap to the grid as the rain stopped, but the track was very wet, with all the drivers out on fully wet tyres.
Victor Martins started on pole position for the 6th time at the F2 Silverstone 29-lap Feature Race. Martin had a terrible launch off the start line and only managed to stay in fourth place around the first few corners. Jak Crawford took the race lead off the line, with Alex Dunne keeping close behind him.
As the first lap came to a close, Crawford was leading, followed by Dunne, Martins, Stanek, Durksen, Montoya, Verschoor, Lindblad, Browning and Beganovic, completing the top ten.
Brownings and Lindblad were side by side for several corners, with Browning managing to get through on the final corner of the lap.
Crawford had built a gap of over 1.9s to Dunne by the start of the fourth lap as Browning tried to make his way through the field, trying to overtake Verschoor and getting past on lap four at Turn 9 to move into sixth place.
Beganovic was next to get past Verschoor, as he complained that his tyres were losing grip. As he does this, Beganovic gets past Montoya for seventh place.
Formula 2 Media
Lindblad and Fornaroli continued to battle for tenth place on lap seven as more rain threatened the race.
Tyre management was a factor after eight racing laps as rain threatened, but the track wasn't dry enough for slick tyres.
Stanek, Durksen, and Browning were all battling for fourth place on lap nine, with a three-way side-by-side, with Durksen getting ahead, as did Browning, leaving Stanek to settle for sixth place. Beganovic almost immediately overtook him. Stanek lost four places and ended up in seventh in only a few corners.
Browning and Durksen continued to battle for fourth place, with BrowningBrowning going deep into the corner, but Durksen held onto the position for the time being.
Browning was noted for a previous incident with Lindblad for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, but it was ruled that no further investigation was necessary.
After battling for multiple laps, Browning got the overtake on Durksen completed and moved into fourth place on lap 12 down the start/finish straight. But ended up over 3 seconds behind Alex Dunne in second place.
Further back, Verschoor was under pressure from Fornaroli and Lindblad for ninth, tenth and eleventh place.
As a dry line started to appear on the racing line, the conversation centred on whether to pit for slick tires during the mandatory pit stop or not.
Stanek and Montoya battled and switched positions for seventh and eighth place at half race distance.
Crawford continued his race lead out front by over two seconds, after gaining the race lead at the start of the race from third on the grid. Alex Dunne was in second with Martins over six seconds behind him in third place, with Browning chasing him.
Verschoor had a DRS train forming behind him in ninth place.
Browning and Martins battled through laps 16, 17 and 18, with Browning getting the overtake done around the outside of Luffield, moving into third place, with Browning making up nine places in the race so far.
Tyre management was a factor after eight racing laps as rain threatened, but the track wasn't dry enough for slick tyres.
Stanek, Durksen, and Browning were all battling for fourth place on lap nine, with a three-way side-by-side, with Durksen getting ahead, as did Browning, leaving Stanek to settle for sixth place. Beganovic almost immediately overtook him. Stanek lost four places and ended up in seventh in only a few corners.
Browning and Durksen continued to battle for fourth place, with BrowningBrowning going deep into the corner, but Durksen held onto the position for the time being.
Browning was noted for a previous incident with Lindblad for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, but it was ruled that no further investigation was necessary.
After battling for multiple laps, Browning got the overtake on Durksen completed and moved into fourth place on lap 12 down the start/finish straight. But ended up over 3 seconds behind Alex Dunne in second place.
Further back, Verschoor was under pressure from Fornaroli and Lindblad for ninth, tenth and eleventh place.
As a dry line started to appear on the racing line, the conversation centred on whether to pit for slick tires during the mandatory pit stop or not.
Stanek and Montoya battled and switched positions for seventh and eighth place at half race distance.
Crawford continued his race lead out front by over two seconds, after gaining the race lead at the start of the race from third on the grid. Alex Dunne was in second with Martins over six seconds behind him in third place, with Browning chasing him.
Verschoor had a DRS train forming behind him in ninth place.
Browning and Martins battled through laps 16, 17 and 18, with Browning getting the overtake done around the outside of Luffield, moving into third place, with Browning making up nine places in the race so far.
Formula 2 Media
On lap 19, Dunne started to put pressure on Crawford for the race lead, closing the gap down to 1.2s. Browning was setting the fastest lap times, trying to close the gap between himself and Dunne, who was in second place.
During lap 21, cars began to pit onto new, wet compound tyres for the mandatory pit stops, having very depleted wet tyres. Mini pitted for a set of slick, soft-compound tyres, as did Lind, but Mini immediately spun into Goethe.
Browning pitted from third on lap 23 onto wet compound tyres, coming back out into tenth. Crawford pitted from the lead onto wet tyres at the very start of the virtual safety car, making it close between him crossing the time and the VSC being thrown. Crawford came back out onto the track in fifth place, leaving Dunne to take the race lead.
Stanek pitted for slick tyres but was stopped on the track, which brought out the virtual safety car. In F2, cars cannot pit under these VSC conditions.
The VSC was upgraded to a full safety car on lap 25, with the pit lane open. Dunne pitted from the lead as did all the rest of the top six cars, with new wet tyres going on the majority of the field. Crawford benefited from pitting under the VSC, as Dunne came back out ahead of Browning in second, with Crawford retaking the lead.
Under the safety car, Crawford was leading, with Dunne, Browning, Durksen, Beganovic, Martins, Montoya, Lindbald, Verschoor and Fornaroli rounding out the top ten.
The safety car ended with two laps left in the race just as the rain started falling once again. Crawford held onto the race lead at the restart, with the rain falling heavier once again. Dursken spun, bringing out the yellow flags, as Martins picked up some damage under the safety car and fell to the back of the field, having to pit for a new front wing.
A full safety car was thrown once again, with Durksen stopped on the start/finish straight after sliding and losing control of his car from fourth.
The race finished under safety car conditions, with Crawford taking the win, followed by Dunne in second and Browning in third.
Mini picked up a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Goethe. Crawford moved up into second place in the championship with the valuable points from the feature race.
During lap 21, cars began to pit onto new, wet compound tyres for the mandatory pit stops, having very depleted wet tyres. Mini pitted for a set of slick, soft-compound tyres, as did Lind, but Mini immediately spun into Goethe.
Browning pitted from third on lap 23 onto wet compound tyres, coming back out into tenth. Crawford pitted from the lead onto wet tyres at the very start of the virtual safety car, making it close between him crossing the time and the VSC being thrown. Crawford came back out onto the track in fifth place, leaving Dunne to take the race lead.
Stanek pitted for slick tyres but was stopped on the track, which brought out the virtual safety car. In F2, cars cannot pit under these VSC conditions.
The VSC was upgraded to a full safety car on lap 25, with the pit lane open. Dunne pitted from the lead as did all the rest of the top six cars, with new wet tyres going on the majority of the field. Crawford benefited from pitting under the VSC, as Dunne came back out ahead of Browning in second, with Crawford retaking the lead.
Under the safety car, Crawford was leading, with Dunne, Browning, Durksen, Beganovic, Martins, Montoya, Lindbald, Verschoor and Fornaroli rounding out the top ten.
The safety car ended with two laps left in the race just as the rain started falling once again. Crawford held onto the race lead at the restart, with the rain falling heavier once again. Dursken spun, bringing out the yellow flags, as Martins picked up some damage under the safety car and fell to the back of the field, having to pit for a new front wing.
A full safety car was thrown once again, with Durksen stopped on the start/finish straight after sliding and losing control of his car from fourth.
The race finished under safety car conditions, with Crawford taking the win, followed by Dunne in second and Browning in third.
Mini picked up a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Goethe. Crawford moved up into second place in the championship with the valuable points from the feature race.
Formula 2 Media
Full Race Classification
1) Jak Crawford
2) Alex Dunne +0.227
3) Luke Browning +0.838
4) Dino Beganovic +1.369
5) Sebastian Montoya +1.753
6) Leonardo Fornaroli +2.215
7) Richard Verschoor +3.035
8) Arvid Lindblad +3.779
9) Josep Maria Marti +4.186
10) Rafael Villagomez +4.467
11) Oliver Goethe +4.905
12) John Bennett +5.333
13) Max Esterson +6.284
14) Cian Shields +6.502
15) Ritomo Miyata +8.929
16) Kush Maini +11.348
17) Amaury Cordeel +24.874
18) Sami Meguetounif +75.614
19) Victor Martins DNF
20) Joshua Dürksen DNF
2) Alex Dunne +0.227
3) Luke Browning +0.838
4) Dino Beganovic +1.369
5) Sebastian Montoya +1.753
6) Leonardo Fornaroli +2.215
7) Richard Verschoor +3.035
8) Arvid Lindblad +3.779
9) Josep Maria Marti +4.186
10) Rafael Villagomez +4.467
11) Oliver Goethe +4.905
12) John Bennett +5.333
13) Max Esterson +6.284
14) Cian Shields +6.502
15) Ritomo Miyata +8.929
16) Kush Maini +11.348
17) Amaury Cordeel +24.874
18) Sami Meguetounif +75.614
19) Victor Martins DNF
20) Joshua Dürksen DNF
Formula 2 Media
Written by Anny Wooldridge
After 1,491 days, Leonardo Fornaroli is a F2 race winner, in the Formula 2 Silverstone Sprint race. Leonardo was joined on the podium by Sebastián Montoya and Roman Stanek.
Last year's F3 champion took the win and stood on the top step of the podium despite never having never stood on the top step in F3.
Last year's F3 champion took the win and stood on the top step of the podium despite never having never stood on the top step in F3.
Race Facts
- Fornaroli scored his maiden F2 victory
- Fornaroli, Montoya and Stanek made it a 1-3 for Invicta Racing
Fornaroli started the Sprint race from pole position with Kush Maini joining him on the front row.
In a dramatic start, Dino Beganovic failed to get away in the formation lap after lining up in third place; his car was rolled back into the pits by marshals for a pit lane start.
With the third-place grid box empty, at the race start, Maini surged into the lead, overtaking Fornaroli. The battle continued side by side into Brooklands, with a close call out of Luffield, before Fornaroli reclaimed the lead into Copse.
Verschoor didn't have such a good start, dropping six positions to tenth at the race start, with Dunne also losing places, falling to 11th. Montoya made a good start, gaining two places, and Stanek moved up into fourth place.
In a dramatic start, Dino Beganovic failed to get away in the formation lap after lining up in third place; his car was rolled back into the pits by marshals for a pit lane start.
With the third-place grid box empty, at the race start, Maini surged into the lead, overtaking Fornaroli. The battle continued side by side into Brooklands, with a close call out of Luffield, before Fornaroli reclaimed the lead into Copse.
Verschoor didn't have such a good start, dropping six positions to tenth at the race start, with Dunne also losing places, falling to 11th. Montoya made a good start, gaining two places, and Stanek moved up into fourth place.
Fornaroli sprinted ahead after retaking the lead, as Montoya put pressure on Maini in second place. Lindblad and Browning moved up quickly into eighth and ninth, making up for the places they lost at the race start.
Browning and Lindblad put extreme pressure on each other into Vale, with Browning moving into eighth. Lindblad was quickly put under pressure from Verschoor for ninth place.
Dunne and Gabriele Mini collided exiting Turn 2, fighting for eleventh, after the Irishman locked up and ran wide into the first corner. The Rodin Motorsport driver picked up a puncture and Mini damaged his front wing. Bringing out the yellow flags. Mini later received a ten-second time penalty for the incident.
Up front, Maini led a closely packed train with Montoya, Stanek, Duerksen, Crawford, Martins, Browning and Verschoor all behind him.
Montoya passed Maini to take the place, with Satnek also attempting an overtake, but Maini wasn't having it, after the pair went wheel-to-wheel.
By lap 18, Montoya chipped away at Fornaroli's lead, cutting the gap down to one and a half seconds. Maini held firm against Stanek's pressure, with Lindblad and Mini joining the fight on the penultimate lap.
Martins and Browning made contact with Luffield, and Martins dropped to ninth with Verschoor inheriting eighth place.
Fornaroli claimed his first F2 victory with Montoya and Stanek joining him on the podium.
Browning and Lindblad put extreme pressure on each other into Vale, with Browning moving into eighth. Lindblad was quickly put under pressure from Verschoor for ninth place.
Dunne and Gabriele Mini collided exiting Turn 2, fighting for eleventh, after the Irishman locked up and ran wide into the first corner. The Rodin Motorsport driver picked up a puncture and Mini damaged his front wing. Bringing out the yellow flags. Mini later received a ten-second time penalty for the incident.
Up front, Maini led a closely packed train with Montoya, Stanek, Duerksen, Crawford, Martins, Browning and Verschoor all behind him.
Montoya passed Maini to take the place, with Satnek also attempting an overtake, but Maini wasn't having it, after the pair went wheel-to-wheel.
By lap 18, Montoya chipped away at Fornaroli's lead, cutting the gap down to one and a half seconds. Maini held firm against Stanek's pressure, with Lindblad and Mini joining the fight on the penultimate lap.
Martins and Browning made contact with Luffield, and Martins dropped to ninth with Verschoor inheriting eighth place.
Fornaroli claimed his first F2 victory with Montoya and Stanek joining him on the podium.
Race Classification
1) Leonardo Fornaroli
2) Sebastián Montoya +1:404
3) Roman Stanek +9.395
4) Arjun Maini +11.188
5) Joshua Dürksen +11.866
6) Jak Crawford +11.867
7) Luke Browning +12.810
8) Richard Verschoor +13.534
9) Victor Martins +14.826
10) Arvid Lindblad +14.962
2) Sebastián Montoya +1:404
3) Roman Stanek +9.395
4) Arjun Maini +11.188
5) Joshua Dürksen +11.866
6) Jak Crawford +11.867
7) Luke Browning +12.810
8) Richard Verschoor +13.534
9) Victor Martins +14.826
10) Arvid Lindblad +14.962
Written by Anny Wooldridge
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Victor Martins of ART Grand Prix took both the Aramco Pole Position Award and the fastest lap in Free Practice, in what was a great day for the Frenchman at Silverstone.
Martins beat Rodin Motorsport's Alexander Dunne by 0.065s with DAMS Lucas Oil's Jak Crawford rounding out the top three.
Leonardo Fornaroli rounded out the top ten in the 30-minute qualifying session and will start the Saturday's Silverstone Sprint Race in pole position.
Martins beat Rodin Motorsport's Alexander Dunne by 0.065s with DAMS Lucas Oil's Jak Crawford rounding out the top three.
Leonardo Fornaroli rounded out the top ten in the 30-minute qualifying session and will start the Saturday's Silverstone Sprint Race in pole position.
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Free Practice
Top 10 Results
1) Victor Martins 1:41.699
2) Luke Browning +0.051
3) Jak Crawford +0.163
4) Dino Beganovic +0.224
5) Sebastián Montoya +0.236
6) Oliver Goethe +0.471
7) Arjun Maini +0.522
8) Richard Verschoor +0.548
9) Ritomo Miyata +0.582
10) Roman Stanek +0.610
1) Victor Martins 1:41.699
2) Luke Browning +0.051
3) Jak Crawford +0.163
4) Dino Beganovic +0.224
5) Sebastián Montoya +0.236
6) Oliver Goethe +0.471
7) Arjun Maini +0.522
8) Richard Verschoor +0.548
9) Ritomo Miyata +0.582
10) Roman Stanek +0.610
Victor Martins of ART Grand Prix topped the only practice session of the weekend on Friday morning with a lap time of 1:41.699s, which he set at the very end of the 45-minute session. He beat Luke Browning of Hitech TGR by 0.051s as Jak Crawford of DAMS Lucas Oil rounded out the top three.
Sebastián Montoya was the first driver out on the track on the hard compound tyres. He set an early benchmark time of 1:43.160s.
However, Victor Martins was close on his tail, just 0.145s behind him. Montoya improved slightly on his second push lap, but it didn't last for long as Martins took the top spot with a lap time of 1:42.393.
Sami Meguetounif took his turn at the top spot with a lap time of 1:42.369s.
A red flag was shown with just under 26 minutes left in the session following a spin in the gravel at Turn 16 by Rafael Villagómez. The action resumed with 17 minutes left to go in the session after the Van Amersfoort Racing car was cleared.
Browning was the first to take the top spot after the red flag was cleared, with a lap time of 1:42.324s, just 0.006s ahead of Alexander Dunne. However, it didn't last long, as Martins retook the top spot.
The track was improving quickly as Montoya, Browning and Martins switched positions in the next set of lap times.
During the final few minutes of the session, Martins was sitting in second place, just shy of Browning in the top spot, but a very late lap from Martins jumped him above Browning in the last few seconds. Crawford was close, though, on his final lap as he went the fastest in the first two sectors, but a late lock-up at the final chicane left him with a lap time only good enough for third place.
Sebastián Montoya was the first driver out on the track on the hard compound tyres. He set an early benchmark time of 1:43.160s.
However, Victor Martins was close on his tail, just 0.145s behind him. Montoya improved slightly on his second push lap, but it didn't last for long as Martins took the top spot with a lap time of 1:42.393.
Sami Meguetounif took his turn at the top spot with a lap time of 1:42.369s.
A red flag was shown with just under 26 minutes left in the session following a spin in the gravel at Turn 16 by Rafael Villagómez. The action resumed with 17 minutes left to go in the session after the Van Amersfoort Racing car was cleared.
Browning was the first to take the top spot after the red flag was cleared, with a lap time of 1:42.324s, just 0.006s ahead of Alexander Dunne. However, it didn't last long, as Martins retook the top spot.
The track was improving quickly as Montoya, Browning and Martins switched positions in the next set of lap times.
During the final few minutes of the session, Martins was sitting in second place, just shy of Browning in the top spot, but a very late lap from Martins jumped him above Browning in the last few seconds. Crawford was close, though, on his final lap as he went the fastest in the first two sectors, but a late lock-up at the final chicane left him with a lap time only good enough for third place.
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Qualifying
Victor Martins continued his momentum into Qualifying by taking the Aramco Pole Position Award in a tightly fought qualifying session.
After early installation laps, it was PREMA Racing's Sebastián Montoya that set the pace on a 1:41.225, but it was quickly beaten by Luke Browning, Richard Verschoor and Victor Martins after the first set of times.
Montoya could only manage fourth on his first series of laps after losing a lap time due to track limits early in the session, with Browning only managing a lap time good enough for sixth.
The second red flag of the day was brought out after Rodin's Amaury Cordeel spun to a stop at the final corner. With 18 minutes left, the session was resumed, but most of the cars stayed in the pit lane, except several drivers outside the top ten. Dunne was one of the cars on track and set a lap time 0.098s off Martins time, only good enough for P3.
The majority of the drivers returned to the track on brand new soft compound tyres, which brought improvements throughout the field.
Jak Crawford, Martins and Dunne all took a turn at the top of the timesheet, with Martins ultimately laying down the benchmark lap time with a 1:39.731s lap time.
Dunne ended up in P2, Crawford in P3, Roman Stanek in fourth, Montoya in fifth and Joshua Duerksen in sixth. Verschoor in seventh, Beganovic in eighth, Maini in ninth and Fornaroli rounding out the top ten. Meaning Fornaroli will start the Silverstone Sprint Race from pole position.
After early installation laps, it was PREMA Racing's Sebastián Montoya that set the pace on a 1:41.225, but it was quickly beaten by Luke Browning, Richard Verschoor and Victor Martins after the first set of times.
Montoya could only manage fourth on his first series of laps after losing a lap time due to track limits early in the session, with Browning only managing a lap time good enough for sixth.
The second red flag of the day was brought out after Rodin's Amaury Cordeel spun to a stop at the final corner. With 18 minutes left, the session was resumed, but most of the cars stayed in the pit lane, except several drivers outside the top ten. Dunne was one of the cars on track and set a lap time 0.098s off Martins time, only good enough for P3.
The majority of the drivers returned to the track on brand new soft compound tyres, which brought improvements throughout the field.
Jak Crawford, Martins and Dunne all took a turn at the top of the timesheet, with Martins ultimately laying down the benchmark lap time with a 1:39.731s lap time.
Dunne ended up in P2, Crawford in P3, Roman Stanek in fourth, Montoya in fifth and Joshua Duerksen in sixth. Verschoor in seventh, Beganovic in eighth, Maini in ninth and Fornaroli rounding out the top ten. Meaning Fornaroli will start the Silverstone Sprint Race from pole position.
Qualifying Top Ten
1) Victor Martins 1:39.731
2) Alex Dunne +0.065
3) Jak Crawford +0.240
4) Roman Stanek +0.334
5) Sebastián Montoya +0.407
6) Joshua Duerksen +0.438
7) Richard Verschoor +0.595
8) Dino Beganovic +0.606
9) Arjun Maini +0.649
10) Leonardo Fornaroli +0.697
1) Victor Martins 1:39.731
2) Alex Dunne +0.065
3) Jak Crawford +0.240
4) Roman Stanek +0.334
5) Sebastián Montoya +0.407
6) Joshua Duerksen +0.438
7) Richard Verschoor +0.595
8) Dino Beganovic +0.606
9) Arjun Maini +0.649
10) Leonardo Fornaroli +0.697
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Written by Anny Wooldridge
Credit: Malcolm Griffiths
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is halfway through the 2025 season and heads to the Silverstone to kick off the second half of the campaign and round eight of 14.
The Formula 2 championship has had a fantastic first seven rounds of 14 that have seen six different pole sitters, many different winners and many different pieces of history being written -including the records for the youngest ever pole sitter and race winner being broken by Arvid Lindblad.
Lindblad has a good record around this circuit after winning both the Sprint and Feature Races at Silverstone, in the FIA Formula 3 Championship season of 2024.
It is set to be a memorable moment for Lindblad as well as FIA Formula 2 alumni Paul Aron as both will make their Formula One weekend debuts at Silverstone, for Red Bull Racing and Kick Sauber respectively, during Free Practice 1.
Richard Verschoor of MP Motorsport is the driver who leads the championship, after he has picked up two Feature Race victories so far in 2025, with the most recent coming in last week's Austria Feature Race.
The Dutchman has a 24-point lead in the championship to Alex Dunne in second but just 31 points separate the top five. The chasing pack will be looking to capitalise on slight off-moments from the MP Motorsport driver.
Campos Racing lead the Teams Standings and are 20 points ahead of MP Motorsport.
Formula 2 prepares for round eight of the championship by heading to the birthplace of Formula One, Silverstone, in support of the Formula One World Championship.
Silverstone has been an ever-present feature on the Formula 2 calendar and has featured every year of the championship’s existence since 2017 – including two rounds in the Covid affected year of 2020.
There have been some fantastic races at this circuit in previous years gone by and many great moments overall at this infamous circuit.
Silverstone Circuit itself is made up of 5.891km and 18 corners form the track layout. Many conic corner and straight names such as Abbey, Copse, Maggotts and Becketts as well as the Wellington and Hangar Straights.
Two DRS Zones will increase the already many overtaking opportunities this circuit produces. They are down the Wellington and Hangar Straights into Brooklands and Stowe respectively. Overtaking opportunities also appear into Copse and into Vale.
The lap record of Silverstone in FIA Formula 2 was set by Zhou Guanyu in the 2019 event. His lap time for the UNI-Virtuosi team was a 1:38.182.
In the two races, there will be 21 racing laps in Saturday’s sprint race and 29 racing laps in Sunday’s feature race, where drivers have to serve a mandatory pit stop, where they have to use the other dry compound to what they start the race on.
Formula 2 action around Silverstone will commence with Free Practice on Friday morning.
The Formula 2 championship has had a fantastic first seven rounds of 14 that have seen six different pole sitters, many different winners and many different pieces of history being written -including the records for the youngest ever pole sitter and race winner being broken by Arvid Lindblad.
Lindblad has a good record around this circuit after winning both the Sprint and Feature Races at Silverstone, in the FIA Formula 3 Championship season of 2024.
It is set to be a memorable moment for Lindblad as well as FIA Formula 2 alumni Paul Aron as both will make their Formula One weekend debuts at Silverstone, for Red Bull Racing and Kick Sauber respectively, during Free Practice 1.
Richard Verschoor of MP Motorsport is the driver who leads the championship, after he has picked up two Feature Race victories so far in 2025, with the most recent coming in last week's Austria Feature Race.
The Dutchman has a 24-point lead in the championship to Alex Dunne in second but just 31 points separate the top five. The chasing pack will be looking to capitalise on slight off-moments from the MP Motorsport driver.
Campos Racing lead the Teams Standings and are 20 points ahead of MP Motorsport.
Formula 2 prepares for round eight of the championship by heading to the birthplace of Formula One, Silverstone, in support of the Formula One World Championship.
Silverstone has been an ever-present feature on the Formula 2 calendar and has featured every year of the championship’s existence since 2017 – including two rounds in the Covid affected year of 2020.
There have been some fantastic races at this circuit in previous years gone by and many great moments overall at this infamous circuit.
Silverstone Circuit itself is made up of 5.891km and 18 corners form the track layout. Many conic corner and straight names such as Abbey, Copse, Maggotts and Becketts as well as the Wellington and Hangar Straights.
Two DRS Zones will increase the already many overtaking opportunities this circuit produces. They are down the Wellington and Hangar Straights into Brooklands and Stowe respectively. Overtaking opportunities also appear into Copse and into Vale.
The lap record of Silverstone in FIA Formula 2 was set by Zhou Guanyu in the 2019 event. His lap time for the UNI-Virtuosi team was a 1:38.182.
In the two races, there will be 21 racing laps in Saturday’s sprint race and 29 racing laps in Sunday’s feature race, where drivers have to serve a mandatory pit stop, where they have to use the other dry compound to what they start the race on.
Formula 2 action around Silverstone will commence with Free Practice on Friday morning.
2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship: Round 8 - Silverstone session times
- Free Practice 04/07: 10:00-10:45
- Qualifying 04/07: 14:55-15:25
- Sprint Race 05/07: 13:15-14:05
- Feature Race 06/07: 11:05-12:10
Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal
Writer - F1 Journal
Credit: Malcolm Griffiths
Dutch driver RIchard Verschoor took a commanding victory in the Austria Feature Race, at the Red Bull Ring, which sees him take the championship lead.
Verschoor started third but after a well played strategy and rapid pace he deomnsrated, he was unable to be caught when he took over the lead in the second half of the race to secure another victory once again at the Red Bull Ring.
The MP Motorsport driver took victory and managed to keep at bay McLaren Development Driver Alex Dunne of Rodin Motorsport, who came home in second place. Pole sitter Leonardo Fornaroli completed the podium positions.
Verschoor came into the Feature race just one point shy of Dunne but now after the Feature Race results mean that Verschoor has a six-point lead heading into next weekend's round at Silverstone.
Verschoor started third but after a well played strategy and rapid pace he deomnsrated, he was unable to be caught when he took over the lead in the second half of the race to secure another victory once again at the Red Bull Ring.
The MP Motorsport driver took victory and managed to keep at bay McLaren Development Driver Alex Dunne of Rodin Motorsport, who came home in second place. Pole sitter Leonardo Fornaroli completed the podium positions.
Verschoor came into the Feature race just one point shy of Dunne but now after the Feature Race results mean that Verschoor has a six-point lead heading into next weekend's round at Silverstone.
How the Austria Feature Race unfolded
Grand Prix Sunday at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, meant Feature Race Sunday for FIA Formula 2 as it was time to have the seventh Feature Race of the 2025 campaign with one point separating the top two in the championship - Alex Dunne and Richard Verschoor.
Dunne was to start the Feature Race from seventh while it was third on the grid for Verschoor. Just in front of Verschoor and on the front row of the grid was Victor Martins and pole sitter Leonardo Fornaroli, who was in search for his first Formula 2 victory.
The race got underway and immediately there was battling. Fornaroli and Verschoor got great launches and through the first few corners of the race track the two drivers battled it out for the race lead. Fornaroli maintained it though on the first lap as he defended well to the inside of turn 4.
There was a lot of drama on the opening lap as well as disaster for two of the drivers who retired with mechanical problems. Gabriele Mini, who started the race in fourth, was forced to retire with an engine failure, while also failing to continue with an issue was Ritomo Miyata.
Both of these retired in the pit lane so there was no need for a Safety Car to be deployed, which was definitely a relief to Fornaroli who aimed to build a lead out in front and push towards a securing a maiden Formula 2 victory.
Pepe Marti, Sprint Race winner from Saturday, was a driver who caught the eye immediately from the start of the race. After starting in 12th, by lap four he was up into fifth place and showing an impressive turn of pace.
At the end of lap six, many drivers took the first opportunity to change rubber from the supersoft compound to the soft compound. It was many out of the lead group that entered the pits at the end of lap six and it included Victor Martins, Pepe Marti and Alex Dunne.
The following lap was the turn of Verschoor to come into pit lane with the likes of Roman Stanek and Amaury Cordeel also visiting the pit lane at a similar time. The undercut was proving to work as Martins emerged in front of Verschoor.
This left a potential problem for Fornaroli who ended up pitting the lap after Verschoor and the undercut was once again powerful as he exited the pit lane behind Martins and Verschoor with his tyres really struggling for temperature.
Fornaroli continued to struggle with getting the tyres up to temperature and before long he was passed by Rodin's Dunne and the Campos of Marti. The pole sitter was down to ninth, which was effective fifth for those who were yet to stop.
During his own pit stop in the early stages of the race, Oliver Goethe was found to have sped in the pit lane and off the back of this he received a five-second time penalty as punishment for the infringement.
As Fornaroli was passed by Dunne and Marti, the two were in their own battle for position with Marti attempting to keep the Irish driver at bay. However, Marti had to suffer defeat eventually and Dunne cleared the Campos to set off up the road towards Verschoor and Martins.
While it was happiness for Dunne, it was frustration for Cordeel. Looking at a decent points finish, Cordeel was forced to retire from the race with another engine failure to a Formula 2 car during the Feature Race.
Thankfully for the racing action, Cordeel did brilliantly to park it well out of the way and therefore no Safety Car was needed to stop the fluidity of racing. A good piece of thinking from the Belgian.
Marti was struggling a bit with pace on his tyres and he was vulnerable to Fornaroli, who had been growing with warming his tyres into the race. On lap 14, Fornaroli got by into ninth by completing the move at turn 4.
Fornaroli set down the road after Dunne, who was chasing after experienced Formula 2 duo Martins and Verschoor. However, those two found themselves in a battle before long and it was the MP Motorsport of Verschoor who found his way through and into the net-race lead.
This was as they were catching up to those who had yet to make their mandatory pit stops, as they were on the alternate strategy. Cian Shields was the first driver and both Formula 2 veterans made light work and set after their next target, which was the Trident of Max Esterson.
Shields was struggling and this case was strengthened when Dunne and Fornaroli then found their ways ahead of the AIX British driver. It appeared to be a bit of a mechanical issue for Shields too as a few laps later he pitted to retire his car.
After Verschoor passed Martins earlier in the race, Martins began to fall back and into the clutches of Dunne. Two drivers who had shared many battles throughout the season already, were once again engaged in a battle for position.
Dunne made a lunge to the inside of turn 4, with the two banging wheels and Dunne advancing ahead. This was noted by Race Control, with them later determining that it was to be investigated after the race so they could hear both drivers' perspectives.
Lap 32 was the lap when everyone had pitted so Verschoor was back in the race lead and now he had to just command the race from the front and keep the likes of Dunne at bay.
Martins was really struggling for grip and soon was passed by Fornaroli and the Invicta Racing driver was back into the podium positions after starting from pole position. It was not without help from Marti making contact with the rear of Martins' ART as the Spanish driver was also looking to overtake the Frenchman.
Marti made contact with the rear of Martins and Fornaroli took advantage of them both squabbling to move up into third position and ahead of Martins. He was able to build a gap as he looked to try and catch Dunne.
The Red Bull junior Pepe Marti was punished for the collision with Martins. He was handed a 10-second time penalty which was to be added to his race time.
Marti was able to be in fourth but Martins had fallen into the clutches of Jak Crawford and Luke Browning, who had been having brilliant drives through the field and the DAMS driver was up to fifth after a great move.
Browning was pushing hard to get by his fellow Williams Academy member Martins but Sebastian Montoya of Prema looked to capitalise on them both and did so by moving up into sixth, which later became fifth with the penalty Marti suffered.
There was more drama in the final two laps as two Red Bull juniors Arvid Lindblad and Oliver Goethe came together at turn 3, with Goethe bouncing over the curb and into the gravel trap. Lindblad was penalised with a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision.
However, out in front Richard Verschoor had controlled the race since inheriting the race lead and on his final tour he saw the chequered flag to win at a place he has done so before in Van Amersfoort Racing colours - another Dutch team but now it was another Dutch team in MP Motorsport, that he clinched victory with.
He took the win ahead of Dunne and Fornaroli who completed the podium positions at the Red Bull Ring. with Marti's time penalty, Crawford took fourth place while rounding off the top five was Prema's Montoya.
Browning was sixth ahead of Marti, who managed to take seventh after the penalty. Victor Martins, Roman Stanek and Dino Beganovic completed the top 10 and points scoring positions.
Formula 2 action will return in less than a week's time for round eight at the home of British motorsport - Silverstone.
Dunne was to start the Feature Race from seventh while it was third on the grid for Verschoor. Just in front of Verschoor and on the front row of the grid was Victor Martins and pole sitter Leonardo Fornaroli, who was in search for his first Formula 2 victory.
The race got underway and immediately there was battling. Fornaroli and Verschoor got great launches and through the first few corners of the race track the two drivers battled it out for the race lead. Fornaroli maintained it though on the first lap as he defended well to the inside of turn 4.
There was a lot of drama on the opening lap as well as disaster for two of the drivers who retired with mechanical problems. Gabriele Mini, who started the race in fourth, was forced to retire with an engine failure, while also failing to continue with an issue was Ritomo Miyata.
Both of these retired in the pit lane so there was no need for a Safety Car to be deployed, which was definitely a relief to Fornaroli who aimed to build a lead out in front and push towards a securing a maiden Formula 2 victory.
Pepe Marti, Sprint Race winner from Saturday, was a driver who caught the eye immediately from the start of the race. After starting in 12th, by lap four he was up into fifth place and showing an impressive turn of pace.
At the end of lap six, many drivers took the first opportunity to change rubber from the supersoft compound to the soft compound. It was many out of the lead group that entered the pits at the end of lap six and it included Victor Martins, Pepe Marti and Alex Dunne.
The following lap was the turn of Verschoor to come into pit lane with the likes of Roman Stanek and Amaury Cordeel also visiting the pit lane at a similar time. The undercut was proving to work as Martins emerged in front of Verschoor.
This left a potential problem for Fornaroli who ended up pitting the lap after Verschoor and the undercut was once again powerful as he exited the pit lane behind Martins and Verschoor with his tyres really struggling for temperature.
Fornaroli continued to struggle with getting the tyres up to temperature and before long he was passed by Rodin's Dunne and the Campos of Marti. The pole sitter was down to ninth, which was effective fifth for those who were yet to stop.
During his own pit stop in the early stages of the race, Oliver Goethe was found to have sped in the pit lane and off the back of this he received a five-second time penalty as punishment for the infringement.
As Fornaroli was passed by Dunne and Marti, the two were in their own battle for position with Marti attempting to keep the Irish driver at bay. However, Marti had to suffer defeat eventually and Dunne cleared the Campos to set off up the road towards Verschoor and Martins.
While it was happiness for Dunne, it was frustration for Cordeel. Looking at a decent points finish, Cordeel was forced to retire from the race with another engine failure to a Formula 2 car during the Feature Race.
Thankfully for the racing action, Cordeel did brilliantly to park it well out of the way and therefore no Safety Car was needed to stop the fluidity of racing. A good piece of thinking from the Belgian.
Marti was struggling a bit with pace on his tyres and he was vulnerable to Fornaroli, who had been growing with warming his tyres into the race. On lap 14, Fornaroli got by into ninth by completing the move at turn 4.
Fornaroli set down the road after Dunne, who was chasing after experienced Formula 2 duo Martins and Verschoor. However, those two found themselves in a battle before long and it was the MP Motorsport of Verschoor who found his way through and into the net-race lead.
This was as they were catching up to those who had yet to make their mandatory pit stops, as they were on the alternate strategy. Cian Shields was the first driver and both Formula 2 veterans made light work and set after their next target, which was the Trident of Max Esterson.
Shields was struggling and this case was strengthened when Dunne and Fornaroli then found their ways ahead of the AIX British driver. It appeared to be a bit of a mechanical issue for Shields too as a few laps later he pitted to retire his car.
After Verschoor passed Martins earlier in the race, Martins began to fall back and into the clutches of Dunne. Two drivers who had shared many battles throughout the season already, were once again engaged in a battle for position.
Dunne made a lunge to the inside of turn 4, with the two banging wheels and Dunne advancing ahead. This was noted by Race Control, with them later determining that it was to be investigated after the race so they could hear both drivers' perspectives.
Lap 32 was the lap when everyone had pitted so Verschoor was back in the race lead and now he had to just command the race from the front and keep the likes of Dunne at bay.
Martins was really struggling for grip and soon was passed by Fornaroli and the Invicta Racing driver was back into the podium positions after starting from pole position. It was not without help from Marti making contact with the rear of Martins' ART as the Spanish driver was also looking to overtake the Frenchman.
Marti made contact with the rear of Martins and Fornaroli took advantage of them both squabbling to move up into third position and ahead of Martins. He was able to build a gap as he looked to try and catch Dunne.
The Red Bull junior Pepe Marti was punished for the collision with Martins. He was handed a 10-second time penalty which was to be added to his race time.
Marti was able to be in fourth but Martins had fallen into the clutches of Jak Crawford and Luke Browning, who had been having brilliant drives through the field and the DAMS driver was up to fifth after a great move.
Browning was pushing hard to get by his fellow Williams Academy member Martins but Sebastian Montoya of Prema looked to capitalise on them both and did so by moving up into sixth, which later became fifth with the penalty Marti suffered.
There was more drama in the final two laps as two Red Bull juniors Arvid Lindblad and Oliver Goethe came together at turn 3, with Goethe bouncing over the curb and into the gravel trap. Lindblad was penalised with a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision.
However, out in front Richard Verschoor had controlled the race since inheriting the race lead and on his final tour he saw the chequered flag to win at a place he has done so before in Van Amersfoort Racing colours - another Dutch team but now it was another Dutch team in MP Motorsport, that he clinched victory with.
He took the win ahead of Dunne and Fornaroli who completed the podium positions at the Red Bull Ring. with Marti's time penalty, Crawford took fourth place while rounding off the top five was Prema's Montoya.
Browning was sixth ahead of Marti, who managed to take seventh after the penalty. Victor Martins, Roman Stanek and Dino Beganovic completed the top 10 and points scoring positions.
Formula 2 action will return in less than a week's time for round eight at the home of British motorsport - Silverstone.
2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship: Round 7 - Austria Feature Race provisional classification
- Richard Verschoor
- Alex Dunne
- Leonardo Fornaroli
- Jak Crawford
- Sebastian Montoya
- Luke Browning
- Pepe Marti
- Victor Martins
- Roman Stanek
- Dino Beganovic
- Sami Meguetounif
- Rafael Villagomez
- John Bennett
- Arvid Lindblad
- Joshua Durksen
- Max Esterson
- Kush Maini
- Oliver Goethe (DNF)
- Cian Shields (DNF)
- Amaury Cordeel (DNF)
- Gabriele Mini (DNF)
- Ritomo Miyata (DNF)
Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal
Writer - F1 Journal
Credit: James Sutton
Red Bull junior driver Pepe Marti took victory for Campos Racing, for the second time in 2025, to win a chatoic and incident-filled Austria FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race.
Racing around the Red Bull Ring Marti secured a second Formula 2 victory of the 2025 campaigb, after starting fifth on the grid following a grid penalty of three places for impeding AIX Racing's Cian Shields during Friday qualifying.
Marti secured victory ahead of Paraguayan and AIX Racing driver Joshua Durksen, who was pushed all the way to the line by Czech Republican and Invicta racing driver Roman Stanek.
Championship leader Alex Dunne secured a points finish, despite picking up a five-second time penalty for a false start infringement. Dunne ended the Austria Sprint Race in sixth, while second in the standings Richard Verschoor finished in fourth place - just missing out on a podium.
Verschoor has now closed the championship lead Dunne had to one singular point. It will be really close between the pair in the Feature Race on Sunday with Verschoor starting third and Dunne starting in seventh.
Racing around the Red Bull Ring Marti secured a second Formula 2 victory of the 2025 campaigb, after starting fifth on the grid following a grid penalty of three places for impeding AIX Racing's Cian Shields during Friday qualifying.
Marti secured victory ahead of Paraguayan and AIX Racing driver Joshua Durksen, who was pushed all the way to the line by Czech Republican and Invicta racing driver Roman Stanek.
Championship leader Alex Dunne secured a points finish, despite picking up a five-second time penalty for a false start infringement. Dunne ended the Austria Sprint Race in sixth, while second in the standings Richard Verschoor finished in fourth place - just missing out on a podium.
Verschoor has now closed the championship lead Dunne had to one singular point. It will be really close between the pair in the Feature Race on Sunday with Verschoor starting third and Dunne starting in seventh.
How the Austria Formula 2 Sprint Race unfolded
As usual in Formula 2, Saturday was Sprint Race day where the top 10 from the Friday qualifying was reversed to form the grid for the shortened race, with no mandatory pit stops unlike the Feature Race.
Reigning Formula 3 Champion Leonardo Fornaroli will start Sunday's Feature Race from pole position but he was to start from 10th with the reversing of the top 10 to form the starting grid. Instead, starting from pole for the first time in his Formula 2 career was John Bennett and he had Joshua Durksen for company.
Durksen was promoted to the front row after Pepe Marti was handed a three-place grid penalty, post-qualifying, for impeding British and AIX Racing's Cian Shields during Friday qualifying at the Red Bull Ring. Marti was initially supposed to start second and on the front row but a three-place penalty saw him start fifth.
There was drama before the Sprint Race began. American and Aston Martin Devlopment Driver Jak Crawford stalled at the beginning of the formation lap meaning he had to be pushed into the pit lane for the race start.
Crawford came into the round fourth in the standings but this was far from ideal, coupled with him qualifying outside the pivotal top 10 on Friday. Crawford was not alone as starting out of position was Campos Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad and Williams and Hitehc driver Luke Browning.
Once the lights went out, a dream scenario for Bennett turned into an early race disaster. He got off the line slowly and gave the lead straight to Dursken. Also, Dunne got off the line and appeared to get away slowly.
However, Dunne had in fact had a false start as he had moved before the lights went out. Therefore, he was handed a five-second time penalty which was added to his final Sprint Race time.
The first lap remained fairly clean for the 21 drivers on circuit but on the second lap of the race there was a nasty incident which involved tow of the main championship contenders in Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad.
Trident's Sami Meguetounif sent a move to the inside of turn 3 on Lindblad who was also initiating a move on Browning but by going for a gap that was forever closing, Meguetounif collided with Lindblad.
As a result of colliding with Lindblad's wheel, Meguetounif's Trident barrel rolled in the air landing on the top of Browning's car before flipping again and landing upside down. Thankfully all drivers were able to walk away from the incident and once again praise has to be heaped on the halo because without it this would be a very different report.
Upon this incident, the red flag was called by Race Control almost immediately. Racing was suspended and all cars returned to the pit lane while the incident was cleared up and the welfare of all drivers' was checked before the Sprint Race was allowed to form a restart.
The race was to be restarted behind the Safety Car ahead of a rolling start procedure. The restart procedure lost a further car though as Kush Maini had a mechanical issue. However, his team DAMS Lucas Oil were determined to not lose two cars completely but Maini rejoined the race two laps down.
When the race got back underway, it was a good restart from Durksen who maintained the lead from Marti and Stanek who were looking to pile the pressure on and take the lead of the Sprint Race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Immediately, when the race was restarted the Safety Car was called out once again as Dino Beganovic was out at turn 3 after contact from the MP Motorsport of Oliver Goethe, who made an ambitious move in an attempt to gain a position.
Goethe subsequently received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision but that was still enough to prevent him from finishing last in the final classification with the tight nature of the field thanks to the race being very 'stop and start'.
The Hitech was cleared and once again the field was to go racing in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at Austria, which was part of round seven of 14 in the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Durksen once again controlled the restart to the Sprint Race as Marti and Stanek looked to pile on some pressure meanwhile Amaury Cirdeel in fourth was hoping to secure his first Formula 2 podium in his career. What a moment it had the potential to be for the Belgian.
Dunne was looking to make some progress through the field after a difficult first part to the race and the Irish McLaren Development Driver looked to try get by the ART of Victor Martins. These two drivers had created a bit of rivalry between each other over the course of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 campaign.
Eventually though after laps of trying, Dunne found his way ahead of Martins and was up against it to build a gap of five seconds to the French Williams Academy driver to avoid falling behind following the penalty taking place.
Meanwhile this was going on, there was a battle forming for the Sprint Race lead as Durksen was coming under pressure from Marti and on lap 17 Marti looked to have taken the lead around turn 4 but with an unexpected but clean lunge, Durksen took the lead back into turn 6.
It was great battling between Durksen and Marti but eventually Dursken had to concede defeat to Marti and the Spaniard took the lead of the Sprint Race and left Durksen, who was left in the clutches of Invicta Racing driver Roman Stanek.
With the red flag and Safety Car stoppage, the race was flirting between the time the race had to be run in and the lap count as it was close to how much the race could be completed. Therefore, drivers needed to make their moves smartly, quickly and efficiently in the latter stages.
Battles were forming all over the race track and Richard Verschoor was involved in one of them. On lap 24 he was up to ffith place after a stunning move on the race's pole sitter Bennett. It was a move that provisionally saw him into the championship lead ahead of Sunday's feature Race.
However, incidents on the final lap saw Dunne end the race in the points, which kept Dunne the championship lead but reduced the gap to a singular point ahead of the mandatory one-stop Feature Race,
Causing Dunne's promotion up the order was an incident which eliminated four different drivers. The incident was initiated by Amaury Cordeel who spun at turn 3. Gabriele Mini, Bennett and Leonardo Fornaroli were powerless to avoid the Rodin Motorsport car and all ran into him - eliminating themselves from the sprint race.
This was the incident that unfolded on the final lap and there was no Safety Car required.
Out in front and taking victory was the Campos of Pepe Marti, who after taking the lead, looked in complete control and took his second race victory of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship season at the Red Bull Ring!
Marti secured the victory ahead of Durksen, who was pushed all the way to the line by Stanek who had to settle for just third and the final place on the podium. Verschoor took fourth with Sebastian Montoya of Prema Racing completing the top five.
Dunne was sixth ahead of ART Grand Prix duo Victor Martins and Ritomo Miyata. Rafael Villagomez and Max Esterson completed the top 10 but with the sprint race rules it was the top eight which scored points.
The main Formula 2 points of the weekend were to come in Sunday's Feature Race, where for the second time, Leonardo Fornaroli will start a Feature Race from pole position. Lights out is at 10:00 track time.
Reigning Formula 3 Champion Leonardo Fornaroli will start Sunday's Feature Race from pole position but he was to start from 10th with the reversing of the top 10 to form the starting grid. Instead, starting from pole for the first time in his Formula 2 career was John Bennett and he had Joshua Durksen for company.
Durksen was promoted to the front row after Pepe Marti was handed a three-place grid penalty, post-qualifying, for impeding British and AIX Racing's Cian Shields during Friday qualifying at the Red Bull Ring. Marti was initially supposed to start second and on the front row but a three-place penalty saw him start fifth.
There was drama before the Sprint Race began. American and Aston Martin Devlopment Driver Jak Crawford stalled at the beginning of the formation lap meaning he had to be pushed into the pit lane for the race start.
Crawford came into the round fourth in the standings but this was far from ideal, coupled with him qualifying outside the pivotal top 10 on Friday. Crawford was not alone as starting out of position was Campos Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad and Williams and Hitehc driver Luke Browning.
Once the lights went out, a dream scenario for Bennett turned into an early race disaster. He got off the line slowly and gave the lead straight to Dursken. Also, Dunne got off the line and appeared to get away slowly.
However, Dunne had in fact had a false start as he had moved before the lights went out. Therefore, he was handed a five-second time penalty which was added to his final Sprint Race time.
The first lap remained fairly clean for the 21 drivers on circuit but on the second lap of the race there was a nasty incident which involved tow of the main championship contenders in Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad.
Trident's Sami Meguetounif sent a move to the inside of turn 3 on Lindblad who was also initiating a move on Browning but by going for a gap that was forever closing, Meguetounif collided with Lindblad.
As a result of colliding with Lindblad's wheel, Meguetounif's Trident barrel rolled in the air landing on the top of Browning's car before flipping again and landing upside down. Thankfully all drivers were able to walk away from the incident and once again praise has to be heaped on the halo because without it this would be a very different report.
Upon this incident, the red flag was called by Race Control almost immediately. Racing was suspended and all cars returned to the pit lane while the incident was cleared up and the welfare of all drivers' was checked before the Sprint Race was allowed to form a restart.
The race was to be restarted behind the Safety Car ahead of a rolling start procedure. The restart procedure lost a further car though as Kush Maini had a mechanical issue. However, his team DAMS Lucas Oil were determined to not lose two cars completely but Maini rejoined the race two laps down.
When the race got back underway, it was a good restart from Durksen who maintained the lead from Marti and Stanek who were looking to pile the pressure on and take the lead of the Sprint Race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Immediately, when the race was restarted the Safety Car was called out once again as Dino Beganovic was out at turn 3 after contact from the MP Motorsport of Oliver Goethe, who made an ambitious move in an attempt to gain a position.
Goethe subsequently received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision but that was still enough to prevent him from finishing last in the final classification with the tight nature of the field thanks to the race being very 'stop and start'.
The Hitech was cleared and once again the field was to go racing in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at Austria, which was part of round seven of 14 in the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Durksen once again controlled the restart to the Sprint Race as Marti and Stanek looked to pile on some pressure meanwhile Amaury Cirdeel in fourth was hoping to secure his first Formula 2 podium in his career. What a moment it had the potential to be for the Belgian.
Dunne was looking to make some progress through the field after a difficult first part to the race and the Irish McLaren Development Driver looked to try get by the ART of Victor Martins. These two drivers had created a bit of rivalry between each other over the course of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 campaign.
Eventually though after laps of trying, Dunne found his way ahead of Martins and was up against it to build a gap of five seconds to the French Williams Academy driver to avoid falling behind following the penalty taking place.
Meanwhile this was going on, there was a battle forming for the Sprint Race lead as Durksen was coming under pressure from Marti and on lap 17 Marti looked to have taken the lead around turn 4 but with an unexpected but clean lunge, Durksen took the lead back into turn 6.
It was great battling between Durksen and Marti but eventually Dursken had to concede defeat to Marti and the Spaniard took the lead of the Sprint Race and left Durksen, who was left in the clutches of Invicta Racing driver Roman Stanek.
With the red flag and Safety Car stoppage, the race was flirting between the time the race had to be run in and the lap count as it was close to how much the race could be completed. Therefore, drivers needed to make their moves smartly, quickly and efficiently in the latter stages.
Battles were forming all over the race track and Richard Verschoor was involved in one of them. On lap 24 he was up to ffith place after a stunning move on the race's pole sitter Bennett. It was a move that provisionally saw him into the championship lead ahead of Sunday's feature Race.
However, incidents on the final lap saw Dunne end the race in the points, which kept Dunne the championship lead but reduced the gap to a singular point ahead of the mandatory one-stop Feature Race,
Causing Dunne's promotion up the order was an incident which eliminated four different drivers. The incident was initiated by Amaury Cordeel who spun at turn 3. Gabriele Mini, Bennett and Leonardo Fornaroli were powerless to avoid the Rodin Motorsport car and all ran into him - eliminating themselves from the sprint race.
This was the incident that unfolded on the final lap and there was no Safety Car required.
Out in front and taking victory was the Campos of Pepe Marti, who after taking the lead, looked in complete control and took his second race victory of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship season at the Red Bull Ring!
Marti secured the victory ahead of Durksen, who was pushed all the way to the line by Stanek who had to settle for just third and the final place on the podium. Verschoor took fourth with Sebastian Montoya of Prema Racing completing the top five.
Dunne was sixth ahead of ART Grand Prix duo Victor Martins and Ritomo Miyata. Rafael Villagomez and Max Esterson completed the top 10 but with the sprint race rules it was the top eight which scored points.
The main Formula 2 points of the weekend were to come in Sunday's Feature Race, where for the second time, Leonardo Fornaroli will start a Feature Race from pole position. Lights out is at 10:00 track time.
2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship: Round 7 - Austria Sprint Race Provisional Classification
- Pepe Marti
- Joshua Durksen
- Roman Stanek
- Richard Verschoor
- Sebastian Montoya
- Alex Dunne
- Victor Martins
- Ritomo Miyata
- Rafael Villagomez
- Max Esterson
- Oliver Goethe
- Cian Shields
- Amaury Cordeel [STOP]
- Gabriele Mini [STOP]
- John Bennett [STOP]
- Leonardo Fornaroli [STOP]
- Kush Maini +1 LAP
- Dino Beganovic DNF
- Luke Browning DNF
- Arvid Lindblad DNF
- Sami Meguetounif DNF
- Jak Crawford DNF
Brandon Whiteside
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Writer - F1 Journal
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