This past weekend, the seventh round of the 2025 FIA F2 Championship went underway at the Austrian GP. In a weekend marked by chaos and multiple retirements in both races, Campos Racing’s Pepe Martí and MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor rose above the turmoil with standout performances to secure respective victories in the Sprint and Feature Race. As the season hits the half-way mark, Verschoor now leads the way in the Drivers Standings with 114 points to his name.
As we head into back-to-back rounds, the F2 calendars next heads to the British GP for the eight round of the season. However, as we approach the next round, we take a look at the winners and losers of the F2 Austrian GP.
Winners of the weekend
Richard Verschoor
In what was a dominant display, Verschoor concluded the weekend to take the championship lead and his third win of the season. Now in his fifth year, the Dutchman delivered a performance worthy and expected of a seasoned veteran. After qualifying P3, Verschoor started P8 for the Sprint Race. Amid the chaos that unfolded that saw nine retirements, the Dutchman made his way through the field to finish P4—securing five valuable points to kick off his weekend.
However, it did not stop there for the Dutchman as his weekend got even better during the Feature Race. Starting P3, the Dutchman launched himself brilliantly off the line and overtook ART GP’s Victor Martins, who started P2. The move proved crucial, as Verschoor battled with the Frenchman and eventually took the lead a few laps later. Once in control out in front, Verschoor controlled the race and crossed the line victorious on Sunday. With an additional 25 points added to his tally—and Rodin’s Alex Dunne disqualified after the race—the Dutchman catapulted himself to the top of the championship ahead of his main rival Dunne.
With a new found confidence in 2025, Verschoor would hope to extend his championship lead even further. However, as a mere 24 points separate him and the Irishman, the 24 year-old would hope its fifth time lucky for him.
Josep Maria ‘Pepe’ Martí
After a challenging European triple-header, this was exactly the results Martí needed and had been aiming for. Walking away from the past three rounds, the Spaniard had only scored 8 points—all coming from the Barcelona Feature Race. Although Martí emerged victorious on Saturday, Qualifying continues to be the Spaniard’s biggest weakness, often making his races more difficult. Despite qualifying P9, Martí received a 3-place grid penalty for both races after impeding AIX Racing’s Cian Shields.
Originally set to start P3 in the Sprint Race, Martí instead lined up on the third-row in P5. Climbing to P2 immediately on the opening lap, the 20 year-old’s strong launch off the line immediately put him in the fight for victory. Following the red flag for Trident’s Sami Meguetounif who flipped after a collision with Arvid Lindblad and Luke Browning, Martí battled AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen for the lead and ultimately came out on top. Crossing the line first, this marked Martí’s second win of the season.
The Spaniard delivered another impressive drive in the Feature Race to score valuable points he had been missing. Starting from P12, the 20 year-old launched off the line brilliantly, quickly climbing to P7. As he battled fiercely with Dunne and Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli for the final spot on the podium, the Spaniard displayed strong race-craft. However, after a racing incident with Martins, Martí was handed a 10-second penalty, which dropped him to P7 in the classifications. Following Dunne’s disqualification, Martí was then promoted to P6, as he collected another valuable 8 points to his championship tally.
Leonardo Fornaroli
After his streak of consecutive points finishes came to a disappointing end in Barcelona, Fornaroli bounced back with a strong performance to secure another pole-position and podium in 2025. During Qualifying, the Italian delivered a stunning lap to beat Martins to pole by 0.014 seconds, claiming his second pole-position of the year. Unfortunately, starting from P10 in the Sprint Race, Fornaroli got caught up in a last-lap pile-up that was triggered by Rodin’s Amaury Cordeel.However, fortunately enough for him, his fortune would change during the Feature Race.
Lining up on the front-row for the Feature Race, Fornaroli had his best opportunity to take his long-awaited victory. Amazingly, despite winning the F3 title last year, his first and only single-seater win came back in 2021. Since then, it has been Fornaroli’s consistency which has proven essential to his championship pursuits. Showcasing great race-craft, Fornaroli crossed the line to finish P3—earning him his fourth podium of the season. However, unfortunately for the Italian, the chase for the top-step of the podium continues. Headed into the British GP, Fornaroli currently sits P4 in the Drivers Standings, just two points behind DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford.
Jak Crawford
Since finding momentum during the European triple-header, Crawford delivered another strong and promising weekend. Although the American benefitted from Dunne’s disqualification after the Feature Race, it was not all smooth sailing for Crawford. It all started during Qualifying on Friday. During the session, Crawford was impeded during his final run by Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad, limiting him to a P15 result—much lower than he had hoped for. The American’s misfortunes continued into Saturday’s Sprint Race, where a technical issue on the grid prevented him from even starting the race. A missed opportunity to score valuable points to his championship charge.
Starting from P15 for the Feature Race, Crawford faced a tough challenge to score points. However, the American unleashed impressive race pace as he steadily made his way through the field. His charge went largely unnoticed until he had approached the podium positions. Crossing the line in P4, Crawford was later promoted to P3 following Dunne’s disqualification—securing his forth podium-finish of the season.
This result has proven crucial for his championship hopes, as this has now pushed him up to P3 in the Drivers Standings. After a slow start to his 2025 campaign, the American has now established himself as a serious title contender.
Losers of the weekend
Arvid Lindblad
Heading into the weekend, Lindblad received and announced good news as Red Bull announced his FP1 debut at Silverstone. However, as a Red Bull Junior racing at their home race, the weekend did not unfold as he had hoped for. Especially after a dominant weekend in Barcelona, this was an extreme blow to his championship pursuit. In Qualifying, the Briton struggled to find one-lap pace and could only manage P12. After impeding Crawford, the stewards handed Lindblad a three-place grid penalty for both races, dropping him to P15 on the grid. Unfortunately for Lindblad, things did not improve on Sprint Race Saturday. The young Briton got caught in a dramatic first-lap incident that saw Meguetounif flip over his cockpit, forcing him to retire from the race.
During the Feature Race, Lindblad flew under the radar until he became involved in a last-lap incident with fellow Red Bull Junior Ollie Goethe that launched him airborne. Subsequently, the stewards handed Lindblad a 10-second penalty for the incident. After applying the penalty, Lindblad classified P14 and walked away from the weekend without scoring any points. As a result, the Briton has dropped to P6 in the Drivers’ Standings, just ahead of teammate Martí.
Dino Beganovic
Beganovic endured another weekend to forget, leaving with only two points. From the start, the Swede struggled to find any pace as he finished Free Practice in P20. Beganovic’s troubles continued in Qualifying, where he placed P21 at the back of the grid. Things worsened in the Sprint Race when Goethe spun him around, forcing him to retire after failing to get the car going again.
Starting from P21 in the Feature Race, Beganovic managed to recover slightly, as he worked his way up the field slowly. The Swede initially crossed the line in P10 but gained another position after Dunne’s disqualification that promoted him up to P9. As the 2025 season heads into its eighth round, Beganovic will be hoping to turn his fortune around with some stronger results.
Gabriele Minì
Minì missed out on the opportunity to score valuable points after having to retire from both races. The Italian had qualified P4—a strong result and a great opportunity to turn his season around after a struggle-filled start. However, alongside Fornaroli, Minì was one of three drivers who was involved in the last-lap incident during the Sprint Race that was triggered by Cordeel. Subsequently, in the opening stages of the Feature Race, an engine-related issue forced him to retire as a cloud of smoke emerged from the rear of his car.
With only 21 points to his name, some could argue that Minì’s performances have been far from teammate Sebastian Montoya’s. Like Beganovic, the Italian would hope that the eighth round of racing in Silverstone will be better.
