Zak O’Sullivan took P1 in a shortened Formula 2 Belgium Sprint race that only saw three laps of unrestricted running, with the race red-flagged after just eight laps.
The race was postponed by several hours because of the inclement weather at Spa, with drivers finally taking to the grid following the F1 qualifying session.
After a further delay to the start, the 18-lap race finally got underway at 18:25 local time.
ART’s Zak O’Sullivan lined up on reverse grid pole for the sprint opposite Dennis Hauger as the rain continued to fall.
All of the drivers took to the grid on Wet tyres for a standing start despite the hostile conditions, but Zak O’Sullivan held his nerve into Turn 1 to maintain first place when the lights went out.
Zane Maloney made an early move on Franco Colapinto to move himself up to fourth with a nice move up the inside, as drivers battled spray and slippery conditions on the opening lap.
Likewise, Formula 1-bound Oliver Bearman made big early Lap 1 moves to climb from 14th to ninth, with both Prema cars firing up their tyres and showing strong early pace.
Other big opening lap winners include Pepe Martí, Victor Martins, Taylor Barnard, and Paul Aron.
Antonelli lost an early place to Jak Crawford but applied pressure to Colapinto, whose pace started to fall away early on.
The young Mercedes academy sensation made his move into Eau Rouge on Lap 2, going side-by-side with the Williams Academy driver. Bearman followed his team-mate through to take sixth as Colapinto continued to struggle.
Maloney had a go at Richard Verschoor on the inside of Les Combes but was pushed wide by the unyielding Trident driver.
On Lap 3, Martí stopped on the track after an early visit to the pits, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car with the first retirement of the race. A lap later the full Safety Car was deployed, neutralizing O’Sullivan’s early advantage.
As marshalls struggled to clear Marti’s stricken car, the rain continued to fall under Safety Car conditions, Bearman reporting on the radio that the track was getting wetter and wetter.
The Safety Car stayed out in response to the worsening conditions, but the Red Flag was thrown on Lap 7 and drivers returned to the pit lane.
With drivers safely in, race control confirmed the race would not be resumed. The FIA confirmed visibility was the reason behind the decision. “The decision not to resume the FIA Formula 2 sprint race was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain we have experienced in the past few hours coupled with the high-speed characteristics of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit,” the body said.
“The safety of drivers, team members, volunteers, officials and spectators is our main priority.”
The shortened race means half points will be awarded to the top five finishers. O’Sullivan collecting five, Hauger four, Verschoor three, Maloney two, and Crawford one.
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