F2 | Sprint Race | Qatar GP | Verschoor dominates to keep championship hope alive - Motorsport

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After a hectic Qualifying at the F2 2025 Qatar GP, the drivers prepared for the penultimate Sprint Race in Lusail. As usual, the top 10 finishers in Qualifying are reversed for the Sprint Race.

As Ollie Goethe was handed a grid penalty post-qualifying, he would have started P10 for the F2 Qatar GP Sprint Race. The MP Motorsport driver was noted for impeding Martinius Stenshorne at Turn 6 during Qualifying. The FIA concluded that Goethe was at fault and as a result, he received a three-place grid penalty for both the Sprint and the Feature Race of Round 13, pushing him down to P13.

The reverse grid saw Richard Verschoor on pole sharing, the front row with Joshua Dürksen. The second row comprised Rafael Villagomez and newcomer Nikola Tsolov. Behind them were Sebastian Montoya and Alex Dunne. Roman Stanek and Victor Martins filled up the fourth row. Rounding out the top ten were Championship leader, Leonardo Fornaroli and Hitech’s Dino Beganovic. Other notable starting positions were the title contenders outside the top ten. Jak Crawford lined up back in P15, while Luke Browning suffered a P18.

Dürksen takes the lead at start

As the green flags were out and the drivers lined up in their grid positions, the night race was underway. F2’s penultimate round was set to be immensely important as every point was crucial for the five title contenders. The conditions looked to be similar to those of the Qualifying session as the drivers were ready to go for 23 laps.

With a fantastic launch off the line Durksen took the lead immediately. Nikola Tsolov showed amazing grit on debut as he stormed past Villagomez, bumping him further back. Van Hoepens slipped into the gravel trap and found his way back, barely avoiding contact with his teammate.

Jak Crawford had a much-needed brilliant start. The American fought his way up to 11th from P15 on the first lap. Verschoor attempted to steal back the lead and managed to do so on Lap 4. Villagomez kept the pressure on Tsolov. However, the Bulgarian got his elbows out to defend his top three position.

Battles behind

Further back, championship contender Browning did not manage to make progress on launch. The Brit was stuck in P18, not seeing a way through the field. Meanwhile, Goethe was noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 7. It was quickly deemed as no further action.

After taking back the lead, Verschoor appeared to push hard as he created a two-second gap between himself and Dürksen behind. Van Hoepen and newcomer, James Wharton, kept battling every lap as the two teammates find themselves with a barely there gap between them. Another pair that found themselves close together was Stanek and Fornaroli. With Fornaroli only sixth tenths behind his teammate, the imminent battle was on.

At the halfway point of the sprint, Browning tried his hardest to get past the outside of Miyata who defended hard in Turn 1. The Brit remained stuck behind Miyata for another lap before finally managing to finish the overtake successfully.

Goethe found the gravel while battling Arvid Lindblad on Lap 13. While Gabriele Miní managed to get past Victor Martins with a brilliant overtake.

Safety car deployed

Yellow flags were out as James Wharton found the gravel on his F2 debut. The two Tridents found themselves close again as Van Hoepens pushed Wharton out of the track and into the gravel. The stewards quickly called for a safety car to clear the Trident off the track.

The drivers took their chance as they stormed into the pits as the safety car was out. The safety car and the pit stop gave Browning a solid opportunity as he opted for soft tyres.

While the marshals were still clearing away the Trident of Van Hoepens, Kush Maini pulled over to the side of the track. The Alpine junior looked to have an issue as he opted to park and forced to retire, despite coming into the pit lane moments prior.

Restart and another safety car

The green flags were out and Verschoor quickly decided to run away at the restart. The restart was clean for everyone on Lap 17.

With six laps to go, the drivers had to push their hardest to get into the points. Roman Staněk found himself going wide on the soft tyres, which pulled more gravel onto the track. The Invicta driver attempted to battle Miní but could not get past. Meanwhile, Lindblad was noted for a pitlane infringement. The Red Bull Junior is to be investigated after the sprint concluded.

Another safety car was out as the AIX of Cian Shields found himself in the gravel after a spin. With three laps to go, the end of the sprint built the excitement.

Dramatic final lap

Verschoor had a slow start after the safety car went in. Villagomez attempted to overtake Tsolov, but the Bulgarian pushed him off as Villagomez stumbled onto the gravel. Quickly after Villagomez came back harder as he pushed Tsolov into the gravel trap this time around. Both drivers got bold in the final moments. Villagomez took third from him as Tsolov had to settle for P10 after what was a stunning debut.

Verschoor took the chequered flag as the race leader and secured crucial points in the title fight. With the victory at the Qatar Sprint race, he can still take the championship title. Behind him were Dürksen and Villagomez in third.

F2 Qatar GP Sprint Race results