Victor Martins has claimed his first feature race win at the Formula 2 Qatar Grand Prix, as Leonardo Fornaroli claims the World Drivers’ Championship.
In a race where the championship could be decided, everything was on the line for the top five drivers. But starting in pole position, Invicta’s Fornaroli was in the prime seat to stay ahead of his championship rivals. Aiming to achieve a feat his successor, Gabriel Bortoleto, accomplished last season. Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in back-to-back rookie seasons.
Richard Verschoor was Fornaroli’s closest Championship contender, down in 10th place.
Despite setting the fastest qualifying time during Friday’s session, Oliver Goethe was demoted to fourth. Following the session, the German was found to have impeded Martinius Stenshorne at Turn 6 during qualifying. Instead, Goethe will start alongside Fornaroli’s teammate, Roman Stanek.
On their F2 Feature Race debuts, Nikola Tsolov and James Wharton started from seventh and 21st, respectively.
Early action in Qatar
As the lights went out at the Lusail International Circuit, the front row got an even start, with Fornaroli compromised as Martins claimed the lead into Turn 1. However, the Championship Leader remained on his tail through the opening lap.
Further behind, Verschoor moved up a spot to claim ninth in his bid to keep the championship fight alive until Abu Dhabi.
At the end of the second lap, Martins managed to stretch a lead of over a second over Fornaroli behind.
Dunne emphasised pre-race that he had nothing to lose in this championship battle. As the Irishman completed Lap five, he made a brilliant overtake on Stanek, moving him just seconds behind Fornaroli in second place.
It appeared that the Invicta Racing duo of Fornaroli and Stanek were struggling on the soft compound tyre. In such a monumental weekend for the team, this added pressure was not welcomed by the team who immediately called for a pit stop on Lap 6.
Meanwhile, Martins was called in a lap later. A slow pit stop from the ART team could have been problematic for the Frenchman. However, Martins left the pit lane, maintaining a three-second gap to Fornaroli behind. Despite fighting for eighth at the moment, the pair are fighting for the net lead of the race.
At the front of the field, Dino Beganovic was lapping seven-tenths faster per lap than the rest of the field. Whilst on the alternative strategy, the young Swed threw a curveball into the mix for race winners.
Safety Car drama in Qatar
Victor Martins had kept his three-second lead, however, as he completed his out lap, Fornaroli and Dunne began closing in on the veteran.
Further back in the field, Stanek complained of understeer everywhere on track. In such a high-speed track, it is often that the front tyres take the biggest blow. Seconds later, Stanek is overtaken by Verschoor.
Safety Car was deployed on Lap 15, as Goethe’s bad weekend continued. The Red Bull-backed driver parked up mid-race with a terminal issue, forcing him to retire at a weekend that promised so much.
Under Safety Car conditions, it was revealed that both Dunne and Nikola Tsolov were awarded a five-second time penalty due to an unsafe release.
It was a quick Safety Car, as the restart was scheduled for Lap 17. With an intervention so short, the field were unable to all catch up; thus, Beganovic was able to withhold his race lead.
Lead battle intensifies
On Lap 21, the battle for the net race lead continues to heat up. Following the Safety Car intervention, Martins was able to break the DRS of Laurens Van Hoepen. However, the Frenchman was unable to make it past the TRIDENT driver, thus, allowing Fornaroli to come closer to this fight.
But that wasn’t all. Arvid Lindblad, who pitted under the Safety Car, gained half a second on the duo of Fornaroli and Martins on Lap 23. If the pair are unable to clear the drivers ahead, they risk losing the race lead to the Campos racing driver on fresher tyres.
However, Lindblad was soon put under pressure by fellow rookie Alex Dunne, forcing the Brit to drop three seconds behind Fornaroli, who had managed to break the DRS of Martins.
The following lap saw Dunne move back into the net podium places. However, with a five-second penalty, the rookie will need to clear his rivals immediately.
Meanwhile, after a heroic 28 Lap stint for Beganovic, he was called into the pit lane for his mandatory pitstop. Described as a race-winning drive without a race win, the rookie came out of the pit lane in 12th place.
Unfortunately for Jak Crawford, it appeared that his championship run was over. The DAMS driver, who had been consistent all season, had his hopes crushed. On Lap 29, the American sat in 14th, a long way away from his championship rival in fourth.
Final stint for the championship
With three laps remaining in the feature race, Fornaroli has managed to break the DRS of Martins, who is now in the race lead following pit stops.
Despite having the championship sealed with a secind place finish, Invicta are pushing their driver to the max to bring homje a championship with a hard-fought race win.
However, on the final lap of the race, Martins demonstrated his talent by keeping the Formula 2 title holder behind. Claiming his maiden F2 victory after two seasons.
Leonardo Fornaroli capped off an amazing season as the F2 champion, with a second-place finish. Closely behind, Dunne claimed the final spot on the podium, securing a five-second gap to Lindblad behind.
READ MORE – Richard Verschoor controls Qatar F2 Sprint for commanding victory
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