It was time for the final F2 showdown at the Abu Dhabi GP with the feature race ahead. But first, here’s what happened during the Sprint.
Arvid Lindblad made the most of his pole position to claim victory in a dramatic 23-lap sprint at Yas Marina, converting the pressure and opportunities the circuit offered into a commanding win for Campos Racing. Joshua Dürksen finished second for the team, delivering a solid performance throughout, while Nikola Tsolov secured his first F2 podium in third after a strong recovery drive.
The race was marked by tight battles across the field, multiple incidents including a Virtual Safety Car and a brief red flag, and intense competition right until the final lap, where Dürksen made one last ambitious push to challenge Lindblad but ultimately fell short.
After an intense F2 Qualifying session at the Abu Dhabi GP, Roman Staněk started on pole, ahead of Jak Crawford and 2025 Champion, Leonardo Fornaroli. The Teams’ Championship could be swept by Invicta Racing, but Hitech TGR and Campos Racing looked to stop the leading team.
Lights out!
Invicta had employed contrasting tyre strategies, with Staněk selecting the Options whilst Fornaroli committed to the Prime compound. Crawford had also chosen the Prime tyres, though he faced a 10-second stop-and-go penalty after incurring an infringement.
The opening lap of the F2 Abu Dhabi GP Feature Race proved fiercely competitive on the front row, yet Beganovic seized the initiative with an impressive launch that saw him overtake Fornaroli through the first corner. The Hitech TGR driver continued his assault by passing Crawford at Turn 6, vaulting into second place.
The softer compound runners possessed a marked advantage in pace, allowing Dürksen to sweep past Fornaroli on the outside of Turn 9 and claim third. Meanwhile, Crawford headed to the pits to serve his penalty.
Safety Car
A collision between Alex Dunne and Victor Martins at Turn 6 proved unavoidable for Cian Shields, whose Rodin couldn’t escape the incident. All three drivers retired from the race, prompting the deployment of the safety car. By lap 2, Browning had delivered an impressive performance, surging from P17 to P9 in just two laps.
LAP 2 / 33
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) December 7, 2025
Alex Dunne and Victor Martins make contact at turn 6 and both spin 😵💫
Cian Sheilds is unsighted and crashes into the side of the Rodin Motorsport driver 💥
🟡 SAFETY CAR 🟡#F2 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/c54MLUv2ze
The top 10 featured Staněk, Dino Beganovic, Dürksen, Fornaroli, Oliver Goethe, Gabriele Minì, Lindblad, Sebastián Montoya, Luke Browning and Rafael Villagómez. The stewards subsequently issued Dunne a 10-second time penalty for his role in the collision.
As the safety car remained deployed that lap, the action resumed by lap 6. Staněk made a solid start to hold off Beganovic at the front, whilst Villagómez executed a neat overtake on Villagómez heading into Turn 5, demoting him to P10 in the battle for the teams’ championship. Minì also struck on lap 6, threading past Goethe at Turn 9 to claim fifth place.
The top three, Staněk, Beganovic and Dürksen, remained separated by less than a second. Both Staněk and Beganovic pitted that lap, whilst Dürksen extended his run on track. By lap 8, Staněk had narrowly held position ahead of Beganovic, yet their fierce battle appeared to aid Dürksen’s cause. Beganovic then passed Staněk down the back straight, but their continued scrap allowed Dürksen to escape and assume the net race lead with a commanding advantage over his rivals.
Bad luck for Montoya
Goethe emerged from his pit stop ahead of Staněk, though the Invicta driver immediately reclaimed the position at Turn 5, with Minì repeating the manoeuvre at Turn 9. Montoya came to a halt at the exit of Turn 14, triggering a Virtual Safety Car just as Lindblad closed menacingly on Fornaroli for the lead.
LAP 9 / 33
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) December 7, 2025
Sebastian Montoya pulls off on the exit of turn 14 😕
🟡 VSC 🟡#F2 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/wq31wvX094
The safety car was deployed on lap 14. Fornaroli led the field through the restart but ran deep into the final corner, yet he maintained the lead ahead of Lindblad. The drivers on fresh Medium tyres began to make their presence felt, with Dürksen, Beganovic, Staněk and Minì all dispatching Inthraphuvasak.
By lap 16, Fornaroli and Lindblad were locked in a fierce battle separated by just 0.6 seconds. Both Browning and Beganovic received five-second time penalties for speeding in the pitlane. Lindblad attempted to sweep around the outside of Fornaroli at Turn 9, but the Invicta driver shut the door. Dürksen found himself struggling to pass Martinius Stenshorne, allowing Beganovic and Staněk to maintain contact.
Crawford making moves
On lap 19, Dürksen finally cleared Stenshorne at Turn 6, leaving the Rodin driver facing Beganovic’s advances. In the drivers’ championship battle, Richard Verschoor and Crawford fought for P3, with the DAMS driver prevailing on the brakes at Turn 6. Fornaroli then out-braked himself at the same corner, gifting Lindblad the lead, though Fornaroli immediately reclaimed it on the run to Turn 9. Their tussle allowed Crawford to edge closer. Further back, Beganovic and Staněk dispatched Stenshorne, but Dürksen inserted himself between them by passing John Bennett. Beganovic then overtook Bennett to climb to seventh on the road.
By lap 24, Beganovic trailed Dürksen by 2.4 seconds but faced mounting pressure from Staněk. Crawford demonstrated strong pace and passed Fornaroli at Turn 6, only for the Italian to reclaim the position at Turn 9. Dürksen also overtook Tsolov, placing another car between himself and Beganovic.
On lap 26, Crawford made his move stick with a decisive pass on Fornaroli at Turn 6. Beganovic had been stalking Tsolov for several laps and finally overtook the Campos driver, moving into a net P2 position as he hunted down Dürksen.
LAP 26 / 33
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) December 7, 2025
The road to recovery ❤️🩹
Jak Crawford moves into P2 with a neat move on Fornaroli on the entrance to turn six 👏#F2 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/GrrDAZffAs
The final stages of the F2 Abu Dhabi GP Feature Race
On lap 28, the question remained whether the Medium tyre runners who had yet to pit would gamble on a late stop. Tsolov made that decision, as did Bennett and Stenshorne.
By lap 30, Crawford was producing a scintillating display, having set the fastest opening sector on his 30-lap-old Mediums. Lindblad and Fornaroli received pit signals from their teams and headed into the box to fit fresh Supersofts.
On lap 31, Beganovic’s podium position came under threat, as Minì closed to within three seconds. Dürksen continued his impressive run and passed Verschoor, who pitted shortly after, as did Crawford. The latter then found himself battling Lindblad for P10.
As the final lap commenced, Staněk and Minì engaged in a battle for P3, yet their fighting cost them ground to Beganovic, raising the question of whether the Swede could retain his podium position. However, Dürksen had already secured the victory at the front, claiming a second consecutive Feature Race win with a commanding performance.
Beganovic’s five-second penalty proved costly, dropping him to P4. Staněk claimed second place, whilst Minì rounded out the podium in third.
With Staněk on the podium, he has helped Invicta Racing secure the Teams’ Championship for the 2025 F2 season!
F2 Abu Dhabi GP Feature Race results
- J. Duerksen
- R. Staněk
- G. Mini
- D. Beganovic
- O. Goethe
- R. Villagomez
- K. Maini
- R. Miyata
- A. Lindblad
- J. Crawford
- L. Fornaroli
- N. Tsolov
- R. Verschoor
- L. Browning
- M. Stenshorne
- J. Bennet
- T. Inthraphuvasak
- S. Montoya
- A. Dunne
- V. Martins
- C. Shields
- L. van Hoepen




