Formula 2 Round 9: Highlights from Spa-Francorchamps
The ninth round of the Formula 2 championship unfolded at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, featuring a thrilling sprint race under dry conditions followed by a challenging feature race with wet weather. This event was crucial for the drivers, as it drastically affected the championship standings, especially for Richard Verschoor and Jak Crawford, who entered the weekend ranked first and second in the drivers’ championship but left without scoring any points, shaking up the leaderboard significantly.
Alex Dunne’s Roller Coaster Weekend
Throughout the weekend, it appeared that Alex Dunne was destined for success. He showcased his speed by leading the practice sessions and secured pole position by an impressive margin of 0.419 seconds. After a solid performance in the sprint race where he earned points, it looked like he was on his way to a feature race victory in the rain. However, an unexpected twist occurred when he was penalized post-race for not engaging the start set-up procedure, resulting in him losing his win to Roman Staněk. This also meant he relinquished the championship lead he had just claimed to Leonardo Fornaroli, who not only won his second consecutive sprint race but also performed admirably in the feature race.
Fornaroli’s Steady Ascent to the Top
Leonardo Fornaroli’s journey this season has been marked by remarkable consistency. Last year, he clinched the F3 title without a single race win—an unprecedented feat in the series’ history. While it’s impossible for him to replicate that achievement in F2 this year after winning back-to-back sprint races, he has demonstrated a perfect blend of consistent performance and race-winning speed in the past few weeks.
In the sprint race, Fornaroli started third on the reverse grid and swiftly moved to the front by the first corner, expertly managing his lead during two safety car restarts. Notably, he chose to keep his used medium tires during the second safety car period, a decision that paid off as he maintained his position and ultimately secured the victory.
Despite struggling with tire management in the feature race, where he dropped from sixth to tenth before the pit cycle, a quick pit stop allowed him to finish in seventh place, which later became fifth due to penalties assessed to two drivers ahead of him. His performance over the weekend, which included the highest point total among the top five championship contenders, solidified his position as the championship leader with 125 points.
Challenges for Other Championship Contenders
As Fornaroli thrived, the weekend proved to be a nightmare for Richard Verschoor and Jak Crawford. Both drivers failed to score any points, resulting in them dropping to second and third place in the championship standings, respectively.
The weekend began promisingly for both, with Verschoor taking seventh place and Crawford finishing fifth in practice. However, their fortunes shifted dramatically during qualifying, where they qualified 11th and 14th, respectively, missing out on the reverse grid for Saturday’s sprint race.
The sprint race was marked by a collision involving Verschoor, Crawford, and fellow championship contender Luke Browning. The three drivers went three-wide exiting La Source on the opening lap, resulting in a crash that left Browning and Crawford in the gravel. Crawford managed to recover to finish just outside the points in 10th place, while Verschoor spun at Eau Rouge and had to retire in the pits. Their struggles continued in the feature race, with Crawford finishing 17th and Verschoor in 18th.
This double non-score at Spa maintained a six-point gap between the two drivers, while the overall point difference among the top five contenders shrank to just 12 points, raising the stakes for the remaining rounds of the season.
Dunne’s Dilemma: From Hero to Zero
Initially, it seemed that Alex Dunne would emerge as the big winner of the weekend, having dominated the feature race. However, his apparent victory was overshadowed by a post-race penalty for failing to engage the start set-up procedure during the formation lap. After a thorough review, stewards issued a 10-second penalty, which relegated him from a potential race win to a 10th place finish, where he eventually was classified ninth.
Past incidents involving similar infractions have resulted in disqualifications, but in this case, the stewards provided no clear explanation for the lack of harsher penalties, only noting that Dunne acted under instructions from his team, Rodin.
With Dunne’s penalty in place, Arvid Lindblad was declared the race winner. Lindblad had a strong performance, moving from fifth to second during the race. However, his triumph was short-lived as post-race inspections revealed that his tire pressures were below the minimum specifications set by Pirelli, leading to his disqualification. This meant that Roman Staněk, who finished third on the track, was promoted to first place, marking his first win of the season and his second career victory in F2.
Ritomo Miyata’s Breakthrough Moment
Ritomo Miyata, coming off a successful season in Japan’s Super Formula and Super GT, faced challenges in his transition to European single-seaters. Prior to this weekend, his best F2 result had been a fifth-place finish in Melbourne, and he struggled significantly, finishing 19th overall in the championship last year. However, this weekend marked a turning point for Miyata as he secured his first F2 podium in a well-rounded performance.
In qualifying, Miyata achieved his best result of the season, securing second place and only the second time he outqualified his ART Grand Prix teammate, Victor Martins. His sprint race on Saturday was somewhat uneventful, starting in ninth and finishing eighth, benefitting from retirements and a slow pit stop from Lindblad.
In the feature race, Miyata initially lost his position to Staněk but quickly regained his momentum after Staněk’s off-track excursion at Eau Rouge. Despite being undercut by Staněk during the pit stops, Miyata reclaimed his position with a bold overtaking maneuver at the bus stop chicane. Although he spun at Pouhon and dropped to fourth late in the race, post-race penalties elevated him to a podium finish, marking a significant achievement in his F2 career.
Summary of Race Results and Standings
Race Results
Qualifying:
- Alex Dunne: 1:57.151
- Ritomo Miyata: +0.419s
- Roman Staněk: +0.425s
Sprint Race (18 laps):
- 1st: Leonardo Fornaroli – 41:49.222
- 2nd: Victor Martins: +0.601s
- 3rd: Gabriele Minì: +1.271s
Feature Race (19 laps):
- 1st: Roman Staněk – 46:15.274
- 2nd: Ritomo Miyata: +1.790s
- 3rd: Luke Browning: +2.413s
Championship Standings
Drivers:
- Leonardo Fornaroli: 125 points
- Richard Verschoor: 122 points
- Jak Crawford: 116 points
- Alex Dunne: 114 points
- Luke Browning: 113 points
- Pepe Martí: 85 points
- Arvid Lindblad: 84 points
- Sebastián Montoya: 72 points
- Victor Martins: 64 points
- Roman Staněk: 57 points
Teams:
- Invicta Racing: 182 points
- Campos Racing: 169 points
- Hitech: 163 points
- DAMS: 142 points
- MP Motorsport: 139 points
- Rodin Motorsport: 117 points
- Prema Racing: 107 points
- ART Grand Prix: 89 points
- AIX Racing: 23 points
- Van Amersfoort Racing: 11 points
The results from the ninth round of the Formula 2 season at Spa-Francorchamps have set the stage for an exciting final stretch of the championship, with significant implications for the drivers and teams as they aim for the title.
