Roman Staněk secured his first Feature Race win of the 2025 F2 season at the Belgian GP, albeit under unexpected circumstances. The Invicta Racing driver originally crossed the finish line in third place but post-race penalties that disqualified Arvid Lindblad and demoted Alexander Dunne promoted him to victory.
While the result may have been decided off-track, Staněk’s performance in extremely difficult conditions throughout the 25-lap contest stood out as a testament to composure, adaptability, and increasingly consistent form. Coming off the back of two consecutive Sprint Race podiums, the Czech driver is beginning to assert himself as a regular front-runner in the second half of the season.
Navigating Spa’s weather chaos with precision
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is known for its complex weather patterns and dramatic elevation changes. Sunday’s Feature Race showcased both in full force. Torrential rain earlier in the day forced the cancellation of the F3 Feature Race, and although the rain eased slightly for the F2 grid, treacherous conditions persisted throughout.
For Staněk, the challenge of racing with shifting grip levels and limited visibility became a battle of mental and physical endurance.
“Yeah, it was very fun actually. At one point we couldn’t see anything up to Turn 5 because it started to rain more but it was nice. The conditions of the track were changing a lot. Also, with the tyres it was very hard to manage. Maybe one lap you had understeer; the other one you pushed just a bit more and the car went completely to oversteer. So yeah, it was all about managing the tyres and being focused because here in Spa it’s a very long lap, very hard corners so you have to really be focused on driving. But yeah, I really enjoyed it.”
Staněk’s enjoyment stemmed from the technical challenge as much as the pace. In a race where many drivers struggled to keep their cars on track, he kept his errors to a minimum and remained a constant figure in the lead battle.
A battle for the lead with Dunne
One of the defining moments of Staněk’s race came during a brief scrap with Alexander Dunne. The Rodin Motorsport driver had stopped early and rejoined just ahead of Staněk, prompting a short but tense duel for track position.
Looking back on the moment, Staněk reflected on the balance between aggression and caution, particularly with wet tyres coming into their peak operating window quickly.
“Yeah, I left him maybe a bit too much space, to be honest. But also at the same time when I went out of the box, I immediately had the tyres in the window. I think that was a bit his advantage that he could actually attack me. His tyres were not cold because they work very well in the wet, especially the first laps. But yeah, maybe I could have been a bit more aggressive, but I didn’t want to crash at the same time.”
Although he ultimately lost the on-track position, the decision to avoid unnecessary contact proved crucial. Dunne’s later penalty handed Staněk the win, validating his decision to prioritise survival over short-term gain.
Playing the long game in dangerous conditions
As rain returned during the race—particularly in Sector 1—drivers were forced to adapt once again. Heavy rain reduced visibility to near-zero in certain parts of the track, and grip levels deteriorated rapidly. While some drivers reported frustration over team radio, Staněk maintained focus and adapted as best as possible.
“Well, here in Spa, it’s quite normal that you only get rain at one place of the track. At the same time, when I was going up Eau Rouge and then the rain stopped there, the whole lap, I couldn’t wait or the first sector, I couldn’t wait for the rain to stop because I couldn’t see anything. But no, in the end, there was a safety car and then that turned into a red flag. So I wouldn’t be happy if the race was restarted because it was very dangerous at that speed.”
“Yeah. First, at the beginning of the race, the track condition was very good, it was perfect to race. We could see the track was wet just enough but then, when it was starting to rain in Sector 1, it was tricky, but at the same time you just have to wait for a Safety Car or red flag and until that point you can complain how much you want on the radio but you just have to survive because there is another [21] guys, that if you just box and you give up the race they overtake you but yeah, in the end nothing serious happened and it’s all fine.”
Strategic execution and tyre management
A key component of Staněk’s performance was the timing of his pit stop. As conditions worsened, multiple strategies played out across the grid. Some drivers opted to pit early, while others waited to capitalise on clearer windows.
For Staněk, the decision to pit came at the right moment, and his pit crew executed the tyre change without delay—helping him undercut several rivals.
“Yeah, I think we managed to pit at the perfect lap and also the crew did an amazing job with the change of the tyres and that’s why we gained a little bit of lap time. Yeah, it’s a shame that I couldn’t hold or I couldn’t fight for the lead to turn five but yeah, maybe next time.”
Even so, managing the wet tyres through fluctuating conditions required constant in-car adjustments.
“Well, I think I was struggling more with the second set than with the first set but you know usually on the wet is that you start with the car balance that is towards either understeer or oversteer or is perfect, that never happens and then you just have to drive around the problem, you know you do your best every lap with the brake balance, with the way how much you steer, how much you brake into the corner and stuff. So yeah, I was just trying to drive around the problem obviously we didn’t have the quickest pace today but still managed to finish third and it’s a good result to build on.”
Steady progress after early-season struggles
Staněk’s recent results have helped him climb the championship standings and rebuild confidence after a tough start to the year. He admitted that the first half of the campaign featured too many missed opportunities.
“Yeah, happy. Obviously, a bit late. Struggling a bit in the first part of the season. A bit unlucky. Did a lot of mistakes. So yeah, hopefully we can start off from here and go on to Budapest.”
Part of his resurgence stems from the support he now receives at Invicta Racing, which he credits with transforming his approach and helping him extract more from the car.
“Well, to be honest, it’s a difficult question. As I said [in] the press conference after the Quali, yeah, just keep working. Obviously, this is my third year and the first two years I was with Trident and that was tricky. It was very difficult.”
“I didn’t learn as much as here with these guys. They helped me massively. They have a very good racing mentality which I love and yeah, at the beginning of the year I made some mistakes, unlucky and struggled to actually perform at the top. Now it seems to be a bit better but still there is I think every day we can improve and yeah, let’s see. Thanks very much.”
Looking ahead to Budapest and beyond
With confidence growing and three podiums in as many rounds, Staněk appears to be entering a purple patch. While he remains outside the core title fight, his recent form suggests he could play a decisive role in upcoming rounds—either as a race winner or as a spoiler to the championship contenders.
Notably, he took a relaxed approach into the Belgian weekend and remained adaptable as conditions evolved.
“Yeah, coming into the weekend, I didn’t even look at the forecast because you never know so I wasn’t very bothered. No, but yeah, conditions changed here and it was good on the dry, it was good on the wet, maybe not the quickest but in the end also we managed to perform quite okay on the wet after Silverstone where I wasn’t very happy with the car balance and then we swapped for slicks and that was a disastrous one.”
As F2 heads to the Hungaroring for Round 10 of the 2025 Championship, Staněk will aim to maintain momentum and continue his upward trajectory. His breakthrough win at Spa may have come under unusual circumstances, but it underscores the value of consistency, maturity, and resilience in a championship defined by small margins.
