The ninth round of the 2025 FIA F2 Championship went underway at the Belgian GP. In a weekend that saw a mix of dry and wet weather running, Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli and Roman Staněk emerged victorious and secured respective victories in the Sprint and Feature Race. Although Staněk might not have crossed the line first on Sunday, the Czech driver was lucky to have inherited the win from his initial P3 finish after Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne was handed a post-race penalty, and Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad was disqualified—securing his first win of the season.
With little to no time before we are back racing, the next round of the 2025 FIA F2 Championship will take place in Budapest this weekend. However, before that, we take a look at the winners and losers of the F2 Belgian GP.
Winners of the weekend
Invicta Racing’s Roman Staněk & Leonardo Fornaroli
With both drivers claiming a win, it was a clean sweep for Invicta Racing at the F2 Belgian GP. In the last two rounds alone, Staněk and Fornaroli have walked away from weekends with silverware and a decent amount of points to add to their tally. As such, both drivers have made significant moves up the Drivers’ Standings—with Fornaroli claiming the championship lead and Staněk entering the top ten. Compared to Fornaroli, Staněk delivered a more consistent weekend, out-qualifying the Italian to line up P3 for Sunday’s Feature Race. His recent form has been strong, with a string of point finishes—with the exception of the Feature Race in Silverstone.
The reverse-format for Saturday’s Sprint Race saw Fornaroli start from P3—having qualified P7—while Staněk lined up P7. A lightning start from Fornaroli saw him claim the lead immediately as they headed down to Turn 1. From there, the reigning F3 champion controlled the race from start to finish, securing his second consecutive Sprint Race victory. Meanwhile, Staněk crossed the line to finish P6—claiming three valuable points.
In hindsight, Invicta emerged as the biggest beneficiaries of the post-race drama. Staněk finished the wet-weather race where he started in P3 to claim his third podium in three rounds. While Fornaroli managed to improve up one spot to finish P6. However, Dunne’s time penalty and Lindblad’s disqualification reshuffled the results and significantly changed the implications of the championship fight. This now meant Staněk inherited the race-win and Fornaroli was promoted to P5. As a result, Fornaroli took over the championship lead from Richard Verschoor and now holds a narrow 3 point advantage over the Dutchman. As we head straight into Budapest, Invicta would hope this momentum and trajectory carries forward.
Ritomo Miyata
Having claimed his best Qualifying and race finishes of his F2 career, the Belgian GP was a monumental weekend for Miyata. Facing tough competition from his consistently strong teammate Victor Martins, the Japanese driver rose to the occasion and delivered a standout performance to claim his well-deserved maiden F2 podium. Miyata impressed with his one-lap pace during Qualifying as he managed to put together a stellar lap to earn his first ever front-row start—in P2—for the Feature Race. While he remained realistic about his podium chances, he was clearly determined to capitalise and make most of the opportunity.
Starting P9 in the Sprint Race, Miyata battled his way to finish P8 and collected a point to add to his tally. On Sunday, he drove a composed race but struggled to minimise his mistakes. Despite that, the 25 year-old wasn’t afraid to get his elbows out and held his own in the fight for the podium places. Though he crossed the line to finish P4 on-track, Miyata was another driver to benefit from Dunne and Lindblad’s misfortunes. Promoted to P2, the result marked his maiden podium in the series and best finish in his F2 career thus far. As a result, Miyata walked away from the weekend with 19 points—nearly tripling the tally he had before the Belgian GP.
Gabriele Minì
Before the weekend began, the Italian had managed only one point since Barcelona. But in Belgium, Minì finally turned things around, returning to the podium after a run of disappointing rounds. After qualifying P8, he started in the same position for the Sprint Race. Though his charge through the field flew under the radar, PREMA’s strategic decision to keep him out on track during the late Safety Car—rather than switching to soft tyres—proved crucial. The call paid off, and Minì secured his second podium of the season with a clean and well-managed drive.
In the Feature Race, Minì finished where he started, but overall, the weekend marked a much-needed return to form. His performance, combined with strong teamwork and race execution, delivered a confidence-boosting result and valuable points after several tough outings. Across the weekend, Minì secured a total of 14 points and currently sits P12 in the Drivers’ Standings—just outside the top ten.
Josep Maria ‘Pepe’ Martí
Although the Spaniard didn’t claim any silverware this weekend, Martí delivered a consistent weekend to show progress he’s made thus far. Throughout the season, the 20 year-old has struggled with Qualifying and often made the task of scoring points much harder than it needed to be. The Spaniard has shown glimpses of speed, having secured two Sprint wins and a podium in 2025. But, this weekend, Martí delivered one of his most complete performances of the season. For the first time in 2025, the Spaniard qualified inside the top ten, setting himself up for a strong points-scoring opportunity. His race pace looked competitive throughout the weekend. In the Sprint Race, he looked like a potential podium contender until damage to his front-wing end plate and a mistimed call to pit under a late Safety Car compromised his chances. Still, Martí salvaged a solid P5 finish.
In the Feature Race, he crossed the line to finish P5 once again. However, after Dunne’s post-race penalty and Lindblad’s disqualification, Martí was promoted to P4—boosting his points haul with a total of 16 points. As a result, Martí retains P6 in the Drivers’ Standings—just one point ahead of his fellow Red Bull Junior and teammate Lindblad.
Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning & Dino Beganovic
Although both Hitech drivers had subpar weekends overall, their recovery drives during Sunday’s Feature Race deserve recognition. After qualifying outside the top ten—Browning in P12 and Beganovic in P13—both faced their share of setbacks throughout the weekend. For Browning, an early collision with DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford forced the Briton to retire from the Sprint Race, while Beganovic slipped down the order with a five-second penalty after exceeding track limits to finish P16.
Sunday brought further drama for Browning as he spun exiting the pitlane on fresh tyres. Despite this, both drivers quietly worked their way up the field, with Browning crossing the line in P5 and Beganovic in P9. Following post-race penalties, Browning was promoted to P3, securing a podium finish, while Beganovic moved up to P7—securing important points for the team. Both drivers were capable of securing better grid spots for Sunday’s race. However, Browning and Beganovic salvaged their weekends with a great recovery drive.
Losers of the weekend
Alex Dunne
There’s only one reason the Irishman lands in the losers column this weekend: receiving a post-race penalty that costed him his well-earned victory. Without the penalty, the 19 year-old’s weekend at the F2 Belgian GP had been by far the best performance any driver had showcased during the season thus far. He begun his weekend by setting the pace during Free Practice on Friday. With a dominant display during Qualifying, Dunne stormed to claim his second pole position of the year. From that point on, the F2 Belgian GP looked poised to be a masterclass from the Irishman. On Saturday, he climbed from P10 to finish P7, collecting two points. Then on Sunday, Dunne delivered a clean race and pulled off some impressive moves at Pouhon. With the win, he was set to retake the championship lead—until it all unraveled after the race.
It was such a waste to see his weekend end on a sour note. However, the Irishman has proven in the past that he can bounce back from setbacks quickly. Moving forwards, it is weekends like these Dunne needs to claim the title at the end of the year. Currently P4 in the Drivers’ Standings, the 19 year-old is 11 points shy from reclaiming his lead. As a strong contender for the coveted F2 title, Dunne would hope his weekend at Budapest goes better.
Arvid Lindblad
Despite showing strong pace on-track, Lindblad’s weekend was ultimately derailed by a series of penalties. After leaving Austria without any points, the Briton managed to score just five during the Feature Race at Silverstone. He qualified P5 on Friday, ahead of Martí, putting himself in a promising position for a solid points haul. Lindblad started P5 in the Sprint but crossed the line to finish P9. Post-Sprint, the 17 year-old was handed a penalty for his collision with Beganovic. Subsequently, this dropped him to the bottom of the finalised classifications in P17.
In the Feature Race, Lindblad put in a standout performance, charging from P5 to finish second. However, he was disqualified post-race for a breach of minimum tyre pressures, losing crucial points that could have significantly boosted his championship position. Ultimately, the Belgian GP proved to be a weekend of missed opportunities for the Briton in his fight for the title.
Richard Verschoor
Although his 2025 campaign has been shaping up to be his best F2 season thus far, it was a weekend to forget for Verschoor. Throughout the weekend, the Dutchman often found himself in no mans land. Struggling to find any one-lap pace, Verschoor only managed to qualify P11. After sustaining damage to his car during the opening lap of the Sprint Race, the Dutchman spun at the top of Eau Rouge which caused a fuel leakage to his car. Ultimately, Verschoor’s Sprint Saturday ended prematurely and denied him the chance of extending his lead in the championship.
On Sunday, it didn’t go any better for Verschoor during the Feature Race as he fell through the field to finish P18. The fifth-year veteran headed into the weekend leading the championship, but has since then lost it. With four full seasons under his belt, Verschoor would finally hope its fifth time lucky for him. In Budapest, the Dutchman will need a stellar weekend to reclaim his lead once again.
