F2 | Feature Race | Austrian GP | Verschoor claims victory in overtake-filled race - Motorsport

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MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor delivered a dominant drive to secure his second Feature Race victory of the season and take the championship lead at the F2 Austrian GP, full report and results below.

Friday’s Qualifying session proved to be fiercely competitive, with drivers constantly trading fastest laps. Ultimately, it was Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli who came out on top, securing his second pole-position of the season. After setting the pace in Free Practice, it was championship leader Alex Dunne who headed into Qualifying as a strong favourite for pole. However, fresh off his FP1 outing with McLaren, Dunne struggled to find time during the early stages of Qualifying. Eventually, the Irishman managed to redeem himself on his final run as he slotted himself into P7—a crucial result for maintaining his championship lead.

On Sprint Race Saturday, it was Campos Racing’s Pepe Martí who would find his way to the top step of the podium. After a chaotic filled race with several collisions—including a dramatic flip for Trident’s Sami Meguetounif—the Red Bull Junior secured his second win of the season at Red Bull’s home race.

However, as Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli and ART GP’s Victor Martins start from the front-row for today’s Feature Race, both drivers eyed the top step for different reasons.

Lights out for the Feature Race at F2 Austrian GP!

It was a perfect launch off the line for pole-sitter Fornaroli as he led the pack into Turn 1. Alongside Martins, Richard Verschoor managed to lunge down the inside of the Frenchman as they headed down the road. Sticking around the outside for Fornaroli, Verschoor went side-by-side with the Italian into Turn 3. After a slower start compared to competitors around him, Martins settled behind Verschoor in P3.

Meanwhile further down the field, Gabriele Minì was seen slowing down as they headed into the penultimate corner. A likely engine issue for Minì was reported as a cloud of smoke was seen coming out of the rear of his car. Another driver who had a great start was yesterday’s race winner Martí. From P12, the Spaniard made his way straight to P5.

Parking alongside Minì in the pitlane, Ritomo Miyata came into the pits to mark the second retirement of the race. Joshua Dürksen seemed to have good pace during the first few laps of the race, however the Paraguayan slowly dropped down the field as he seemed to be struggling with a problem.

Overtakes for key points-scoring positions

The alternate strategy appeared to be working in favour of Sebastian Montoya momentarily. However, after a scuffle with John Bennett, the Colombian collided into the side of Bennett which resulted in a puncture. Capitalising on the chaos in front of him, Luke Browning had made his way through the field from P17 to P8.

Further up in front, Alex Dunne found a move down the inside into Turn 3 on Martí. However, going wide on the exit, Martí and Dunne were side-by-side headed into Turn 4 as the Spaniard reclaimed his position in P4.

Early first stops for traditional option-prime strategy runners

As Lap 7 approached, majority of drivers who were on the traditional option-prime strategy had come into the pits for their stops. Martins, Martí, Jak Crawford and Dino Beganovic were first into the pits in an attempt to undercut their competitors. Shortly after, Verschoor, Ollie Goethe, Roman Stanek, Arvid Lindblad and Dürksen were next to swap their sets of supersoft tyres for a new set of softs that ran until the end of the race. After the stops, a quick stop for Martins put the Frenchman ahead of Verschoor for the net-lead of the race.

However, unlike his fellow option-prime strategy runners, Fornaroli and Invicta had decided to stay out for an extra lap. As all eyes were on Fornaroli’s stop, it was close for the Italian leaving the pits. Although unable to stay ahead of Martins and Verschoor, ART GP and MP Motorsport made the undercut work for their drivers.

Martí, Dunne and Fornaroli fight continues

Behind the Top 3, an extremely strong fight between Martí, Dunne and Fornaroli started to boil up. Martí managed to find a gap down the inside into Turn 3, forcing Fornaroli and himself wide. Dunne capitalised on the opportunity as all three drivers headed into Turn 4 three-wide. Martí stuck an impressive move around the outside of Fornaroli to move a place up, before Dunne does the same too.

Another technical issue was seen as smoke emerged from the back of Amaury Cordeel’s car, becoming the third retirement of the race. With strong pace, Dunne managed to catch Martí and took the opportunity to overtake the Spaniard into Turn 2.

As the race continued to unfold, all drivers had now settled down into a rhythm, managing their tyres and race. Having warmed up his tyres now, Fornaroli was late on the breaks to overtake Martí into Turn 3 to reclaim his spot once again.

Battle for all three podium places continued to heat up

After the stop, Martins and Verschoor had gone unnoticed for awhile. The battle for the lead continued to heighten. A great battle between the two seasoned veterans, Verschoor managed to claim the lead from Martins. Up next, the biggest challenge for the front-runners were to clear drivers on the alternate strategy.

On-board with Montoya, it was evident the Colombian driver had sustained significant damage as his steering wheel remained at a 45 degree angle. Managing to clear Cian Shields, who was on the alternate strategy, Dunne, Fornaroli and Martí managed to make their way through quickly. Dunne’s pace continued to impress. Having caught up to Martins, the Irishman saw an opportunity to lunge down the inside of Martins into the penultimate corner. Almost colliding with each other, Martins went wide before sensibly settling behind Dunne.

Three engine-issued retirements

It was unusual race as Shields became the fourth retirement for an engine issue as well. An issue we have rarely seen this year. After a strong first stint, Martins started to struggle as Fornaroli started to catch him ever so slightly.

Meanwhile, on Lap 30, Sami Meguetounif was the first of the alternative strategy runners to stop. Two laps later, Montoya and others similarly headed into the pits as well.

P3 fight becomes four-way fight

The fight for the last step of the podium continued to fire up. Fornaroli attempted a move down the inside but Martins was quick to defend. Headed into Turn 1, the Frenchman slid over the kerb as Fornaroli chose to go around the outside to claim P3. As the scrap for P3 continued, Browning had joined the fight as well and slowly caught up to the group in front of him.

Martí almost running into the back of Martins, Fornaroli capitalised on the opportunity to then reclaim his spot on the podium. Shortly after, the Stewards had noted the incident which resulted in a 10-second penalty for Martí. Having caught both Williams Academy Drivers, Crawford had brought himself into the fight.

Meanwhile, Montoya managed to find some speed. Having pitted on Lap 32, the Colombian climbed his way through to P7. With Martins ahead of him, Montoya drove past the Frenchman to claim another place and was now up into P6.

Yellow-flag for airborne Goethe on last lap

A late yellow-flag for Goethe flew during the last lap of the race as he battled with Lindblad on the last lap. The Stewards found Lindblad to be at fault for the reason and handed the Briton a 10-second penalty.

However, out in front, it was Verschoor’s day once again as he crossed the line to claim his third win of the season. The seasoned veteran now takes the championship lead. Subsequently, after Martí’s penalty, Crawford, Montoya and Browning were promoted to P4, P5 and P6 respectively.