Arvid Lindblad Claims Victory in Abu Dhabi Formula 2 Sprint Race

Arvid Lindblad secured a remarkable victory in the Formula 2 sprint race at Abu Dhabi, converting his pole position from the reverse grid into a win while expertly fending off challenges from AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen. This race was particularly significant for Lindblad, as it marked his final weekend in F2 before his anticipated transition to Formula 1 with Racing Bulls in 2026.

Race Overview: Lindblad’s Strategic Start

The excitement surrounding Lindblad ramped up earlier in the week when his promotion to Formula 1 was officially announced. As the F2 season concluded, the focus shifted to the teams’ championship and a fierce competition for second place in the drivers’ standings. However, attention quickly turned back to Lindblad when he secured pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Lindblad had an exceptional start, maintaining his lead as he approached Turn 1, successfully holding off Dürksen, who had previously won the feature race last year. ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins experienced a setback, dropping from third to fifth right from the start due to a sluggish getaway. He would later be pushed down to sixth by Hitech’s Dino Beganovic, who overtook him at Turn 7 during the opening lap. The stewards flagged Beganovic for forcing Martins off the track, but no further action was taken.

Teammate Nikola Tsolov, showing impressive prowess, advanced from fifth to third at the start, overtaking fellow Red Bull junior Oliver Goethe in just his third race in F2.

Mid-Race Tension: Dürksen Pressures Lindblad

As the race progressed, Lindblad found himself under pressure from Dürksen, who clocked the fastest lap on lap two, while Tsolov fell further back, trailing two seconds behind the leader. Utilizing DRS, Dürksen closed the gap to Lindblad, bringing it down to just two-tenths of a second at Turn 9 on lap three and three-tenths on lap four. Despite his speed, Dürksen was unable to launch an overtaking maneuver. Lindblad then responded by setting the fastest lap on lap four, providing him with a small buffer.

The race took a turn on lap eight when a virtual safety car was deployed after John Bennett from Van Amersfoort Racing came to a halt just before Turn 5, leaving a plume of smoke in his wake. The virtual safety car period concluded just one lap later. At the restart, Dürksen remained close to Lindblad but made a crucial error at Turn 12, going wide and losing two seconds.

Lindblad commented on this moment, stating, “When I saw that he dropped back, it took off a little bit of pressure. But I was focused on my own job. I was still working on things in the car, so I couldn’t really let off because I knew if I did that, then he would be back.”

Late-Race Drama: A Fight to the Finish

As the race continued, a second virtual safety car was activated on lap 21 to retrieve an endplate that had come loose from Jak Crawford’s car after contact with Martins. Dürksen briefly closed in on Lindblad, reducing the gap to 0.7 seconds as drivers were informed of the virtual safety car’s end. However, when the race resumed, Lindblad managed to extend his lead to 1.7 seconds.

In the final laps, Dürksen displayed impressive speed, cutting the gap to less than one second as they entered the last lap. He had DRS available on the straight approaching Turn 6, but it wasn’t sufficient to make a decisive move, nor could he capitalize at Turn 9.

After 23 intense laps, Lindblad crossed the finish line just 0.982 seconds ahead of Dürksen, marking a significant achievement for the young driver. Dürksen, meanwhile, has now earned a podium finish in every round since Monza. In a remarkable debut season, Tsolov secured his first podium finish in F2, finishing 9.605 seconds behind his Campos teammate.

Reflecting on his performance, Lindblad said, “I could see that Joshua was good in the first part of the lap, especially sector two. I don’t think sector one was particularly different. He was fast the whole race, and I had to focus on my part and try not to make any mistakes. It wasn’t easy. I think we were really good in the first half of the race, and then I didn’t manage everything perfectly, which allowed Joshua a bit of a sniff in the second half of the race. A few things to work on, but still, it was good enough to take the win.”

Notable Performances: Tsolov and Beganovic Shine

Hitech’s Beganovic finished fourth, securing five important points for his team. Starting from seventh, he gained a position right at the beginning when Prema’s Sebastián Montoya struggled off the line. After overtaking Martins for fifth later in the opening lap, Beganovic pursued Goethe, initially attacking for fourth on lap six and finally making the pass on lap 17 by executing a well-timed maneuver around the outside at Turn 9.

Meanwhile, Lindblad’s teammate, Luke Browning, faced challenges starting from 17th position. He opted to pit at the end of lap 19 for a change to supersoft tires and managed to set the fastest lap of the race on lap 22, although he finished without earning points, as the extra point for fastest lap went to Lindblad.

Goethe came in fifth, followed closely by DAMS’ Crawford, who secured three valuable points for his ongoing battle for second in the drivers’ championship. Martins and Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne rounded out the top eight, concluding the points-scoring positions.

Feature race polesitter Roman Staněk attempted to overtake Gabriele Minì for ninth place on laps 18 and 19 but was unsuccessful. He ultimately finished behind Minì, who completed the top ten.

Late-Race Controversies: Fornaroli’s Time Penalty

In a late-race battle for 11th place, newly signed McLaren juniors Leonardo Fornaroli from Invicta and Richard Verschoor from MP Motorsport engaged in a fierce contest. On lap 21, shortly after the virtual safety car period ended, Fornaroli gained an advantage over Verschoor by cutting the chicane at Turns 6 and 7. This maneuver resulted in a post-race 10-second time penalty for the new F2 champion, relegating him to 17th place in the final standings.

This marks just the second time this season that Invicta failed to score points, leaving a remaining title yet to be decided in the series. Despite the setback, the Norfolk team leads the teams’ championship with 298 points, now 32 points ahead of Hitech and 42 points clear of Campos, who could only secure the title with a 1-2 finish in the feature race.

Championship Standings: A Tight Race for Second

In the ongoing battle for second place in the drivers’ championship, there were no changes in position, with 26 points still available for the taking in the next race. Crawford’s sixth-place finish brought his tally to 173 points, maintaining a three-point lead over Verschoor in third. Browning trails close behind with 162 points, while Dunne remains a contender with 150 points. Notably, Crawford, who qualified in second, is the only one among this group starting within the top 10 for the upcoming feature race, scheduled to commence at 13:15 local time.

With the championship race heating up and the stakes growing higher, the final race of the season promises to be an exhilarating showdown as drivers vie for every point in pursuit of glory.