Frederik Vesti prevailed in the Formula 2 Sprint ahead of an ART 2-3 with Theo Pourchaire claiming second place after a late race charge, ahead of Victor Martins.
After rain began to fall during Formula 1’s FP3 session, the Formula 2 Sprint Race would begin in wet conditions.
The wet conditions meant that the formation lap was run behind the safety car, and the race commenced from a rolling start.
Amaury Cordeel managed to maintain the lead off the rolling start, but Frederik Vesti fancied a move on Jak Crawford for second place. The pair made contact which sent Vesti across the runoff, but he was able to maintain the position.
Crawford sustained damage from the contact and was forced to retire from the race.
As Crawford retired, Vesti continued on with his charge. Cordeel went deep into Turn 10, allowing the Prema driver through to take the lead and stretch his legs.
Victor Martins was the next driver to displace reverse pole sitter Cordeel, sliding up the inside at Turn 1 to take P2.
Cordeel’s fall down the pecking order continued when he went wide once more, this time at Turn 7 and narrowly avoided a trip to the gravel trap. He was later handed a 5-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
With conditions drying, those still on the wet tyre were told to push to try and wear through the rubber as a dry line began to appear.
Correa and Benavides were the first drivers to box for slicks, and within a couple of laps, Novalak, Nissany, Boschung and Daruvala followed suit. Daruvala emerged as the fastest driver on the track, although Correa span and became beached in the gravel in the first complex.
This brought out a virtual safety car which was then escalated into a full safety car. This allowed the leaders to stop for slick tyres for a two lap sprint to the flag, and also eradicated Vesti’s lead which had been floating at around 10 seconds.
Vesti got the jump on martins at the restart, but Theo Pourchaire launched an attack on Hauger to move up to P3. This quickly became second when just two corners later, the Frenchman overtook teammate and compatriot Martins and would begin to chase down Vesti.
Due to the weather and safety car, the race would end under timed conditions.
But it was Vesti who prevailed through the mixed conditions, winning the Formula 2 sprint race ahead of Pourchaire and Martins. Hauger and Doohan completed the top five.
Verschoor, Bearman and Iwasa picked up the final points, with Red Bull junior Iwasa promoted to 8th after Cordeel’s penalty for exceeding track limits was applied.
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