Sebastián Montoya delivered a composed yet opportunistic performance in Saturday’s F2 Austrian GP Sprint Race at the Red Bull Ring. Starting from 11th on the grid, the PREMA Racing driver weathered an early drop in position and carved his way through the field to finish fifth, picking up valuable points in a chaotic race that ended with a dramatic final-lap incident.
Early chaos and recovery
Montoya’s Sprint Race began with immediate drama, as a poor exit out of Turn 3 forced him to relinquish positions in the opening laps. By the time the red flag was deployed following a three-car crash involving Luke Browning, Arvid Lindblad, and Sami Meguetounif, Montoya found himself in 15th.
Reflecting on the start, he explained: “Today was quite eventful, very Formula 2‑like. I knew the pace was quite strong, I did not know exactly where or how quick we’d be, I just kind of took it lap by lap. I got a good start, we were all quite tight, but I made a small mistake out Turn 3, got onto the sausage kerb, and lost a couple of positions.”
At the restart of the 2025 F2 Austrian GP Sprint Tace, Montoya had Alexander Dunne and Victor Martins directly ahead, and quickly realised one of them was struggling to keep pace.
“At the restart, I had Victor and Alex in front of me, and it seemed like Alex was struggling. He was not able to keep up with the guys in front and Victor showed very strong pace, but I was able to pass, did what I had do and the laps counted by.”
Picking his moments in the DRS train
Once Montoya cleared Dunne and Martins, he found himself locked in a long DRS train. Although the Colombian showed strong pace, the nature of the Red Bull Ring’s layout made further progress difficult.
“At the end of the race, I tried to overtake, but it was kind of hard to do in a DRS train, it was hard to make the difference, but I knew the pace was quite strong. I was close enough where it looked like I could make a move but not close enough to actually complete a move.”
Nonetheless, he remained patient, saving tyres and battery in anticipation of a late opportunity. That opportunity came on the final lap, when a multi-car collision opened the door for a four-place gain in the space of one corner.
“Obviously, the last lap, everyone saw the coming together, there was a big crash, but in the end, quite good, quite happy with the points, another top five. It gives us a good base for tomorrow, running in dirty air, clean air, understanding how the tyre works, where we are dropping off and where we as a team are, so quite happy with it.”
Avoiding trouble and capitalising on crashes
Montoya’s clean and measured approach during the 2025 F2 Austrian GP Sprint Race allowed him to avoid major incidents, including the early red-flag crash that eliminated several drivers. He found himself directly behind the action when Browning, Lindblad, and Meguetounif came together.
“I was just behind Meguetounif, Browning and Lindblad when they got together, which was quite a big one. Happy to see everyone was okay, got a chance to see Luke and he said he was okay, so that was good.”
After the restart, Montoya re-established himself in 11th and began a strategic race to manage his tyres while staying within reach of the top ten.
A strategic approach through the midfield
Despite being faster than the cars ahead, Montoya found himself caught in a train where every driver was both attacking and defending. His racecraft and tactical awareness became vital tools as he read the situation unfolding ahead.
“The thing is with the DRS here, you use so much with three straights, so inside I knew I had to conserve and bide my time. I knew later on I would have a better opportunity if I managed my race properly. When I realised Alex got by Victor, the first lap we did more or less the same lap time and when me engineer told me he was closing, I thought ‘let’s turn up the heat a little bit’ and soon I was able to close up on Fornaroli.”
However, even as he closed up on the drivers ahead, Montoya noticed that each car was managing their own race in similar fashion, making forward progress more difficult.
“I got quite close, but then I think he was also saving quite a lot. As soon as I closed up to him, he closed up to Gabriele and he closed up to Verschoor, who was trying to overtake Bennett. I think we all had something in the pocket, but as soon as we got close to each other, we all kind of had our cards laid out.”
Looking ahead with confidence
With a third-place finish in Monte Carlo and a runner-up result in Barcelona, Montoya has shown steady improvement as the season progresses. After a successful Sprint Race, he now heads into Sunday’s 2025 F2 Feature Race in Spielberg with high confidence, set to start 10th on the grid.
“I’d say the only race weekend this year where we were struggling with pace was Bahrain, we were struggling a lot. Australia, Gabi was fastest, so the car had good potential, and the Sprint Race I had a good race, I finished P6.”
“After that, I had some strong pace in Jeddah, Bahrain was not the best, getting taken out in the first lap in the Sprint and in the Feature, struggling on pace.”
Jeddah we were quite strong, just missing a bit of luck with quali, and weren’t able to maximise everything. When we came back to Europe, we made a good step, not only from the team side, but also from my side, and we’ve just been working on it.”
As Montoya continues to adapt to the rhythms of F2, PREMA Racing appear to have found a consistent rhythm themselves. With valuable lessons in tyre and race management from the Sprint, the Colombian enters Sunday’s Feature Race poised to attack once again.
