Ritomo Miyata leaves a memorable 2026 F2 Madrid round after following up his maiden Sprint Race victory with a P3 finish in the Feature Race.
After dominating Saturday’s Sprint Race, the Japanese driver started the Feature Race from ninth on the grid. Starting on softs, Miyata gradually moved up the order before taking P3 on Lap 14, opting to stay out as others made their pit stops. The decision ultimately paid off when a late Safety Car allowed Miyata to make his mandatory pit stop without losing position, securing P3 at the chequered flag.
Reflecting on his result during the post-Feature Race press conference, attended by Pit Debrief, Miyata shared:
“Yeah, back to the podium. It’s very amazing the weekend. Yeah, we finished P3 from P9. Of course, the strategy was good and also we are pit under the Safety Car. So that’s why I think we gained the position. But anyway, we have a good pace. That’s why we’re here.”
Miyata highlights Turn 12 challenges
Despite securing another podium, Miyata highlighted the increased physical demands of the new Madrid circuit over the 32-lap Feature Race distance. Notably, out of the 22 corners, the Sprint Race winner pointed to the banked Turn 12 as the most challenging.
“Yeah, definitely Turn 12 and the banking is really tough. Yeah, it was quite a heavy steering feedback. And actually, I came from Super Formula, where they have a super power steering. So basically, F2 is really heavy steering and also tough physical. But yeah, today is very different compared to yesterday. Yeah, actually, prime stints is really tough for physical, yeah.”
Further discussing the demands of the high-speed La Monumental corner, Miyata explained how its 24% banking made it particularly difficult to keep the car within its limit, especially when pushing hard.
“Yeah, the tyre degradation, I would say really flat, not so huge. But just the T12 going to much more the physical hard and difficult to like on the limits. Because if too much push, easy to like sliding or sketchy and then difficult to input the steering because it’s too heavy. So just try to under the limit and then try to push in the sector 1 and 3, yeah.”
New destinations
Madrid marked F2’s third new destination on the 2026 calendar, with the championship previously visiting Miami and Montreal due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs.
Asked by Pit Debrief whether he had enjoyed the challenge of learning three new tracks this season, Miyata said the venues have allowed him to develop both the car and his driving from scratch.
“Yeah, I enjoyed it quite a lot because street track really challenging. And also, you know, everyone’s first time on track. Yeah, Miami, Montreal and here. So we start from like zero experience and then try to improve the car performance, driving, everything. So this is very challenging, but we enjoy.”
However, despite enjoying the challenge of Madrid, Miyata identified the circuit’s limited escape areas as an area for improvement. The Round 11 weekend saw a total of four red flags and four Safety Car periods, underlining the unforgiving nature of the Madring.
“No, I’m happy with the track because I won the Sprint and back to the podium here,” he jokingly began. “Actually, I enjoyed it. But, of course, just one thing is, you know, really tricky when we make a mistake or something. And then, yeah, it’s a big crash. So, yeah, just maybe we should consider about the escape or something.”
