Joshua Duerksen has claimed the final 2025 Formula 2 victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Roman Stanek and Gabriele Mini rounded out the podium.
Invicta Racing have capped off yet another ground-breaking season with the Constructors’ Championship, with Hitech Grand Prix claiming its first Constructors’ top three finish, narrowly missing the coveted title.
Roman Stanek lined up on pole position for the second time this year, as Invicta fought to keep the Constructors’ title theirs.
With series graduates Jak Crawford and Leonardo Fornaroli starting behind the Czech driver, the race was set to be a fitting end to the 2025 season.
There was early drama before drivers made it to the grid. Nikola Tsolov was noted for an unsafe release on the laps to the grid.
Meanwhile, Crawford was also noted for a starting infringement; he was given a ten-second stop-go penalty
As the lights went out for one final time, it was an even getaway from the front row. Stanek was able to pull out a lead immediately over Crawford behind.
However, it was yet another unfortunate start for Fornaroli, who was immediately overtaken by Dino Beganovic. Fornaroli’s woes did not stop there, as later in Lap 1, he was overtaken by Duerksen.
Crawford’s bad luck this season was intensified as he was put dead last at the end of Lap 2, due to a penalty which derailed his race.
Meanwhile, Alex Dunne and Victor Martins collide at Turn 6. Unfortunately, both drivers were forced to retire, as Cian Shields was unable to avoid Dunne’s Rodin. Thus, bringing out an early Safety Car.
The biggest mover in the early stages has been PREMA’s Gabriele Mini, who has moved up to sixth place in just 2 racing laps.
Safety Car restarts
On the restart, Stanek led the pack away, but was immediately under pressure from Beganovic behind. Further back, Luke Browning had to be defensive immediately after the restart, as Rafael Villagomez was quickly on the attack. Browning was forced down into 10th.
Mini continued his climb up into the top five, as Ollie Goethe ran wide, giving up sixth position in the process.
On Lap 8, the first pit stops are made, with the leaders coming into the pits. Stanek and Beganovic are brought back onto the track in the same positions they pit. However, the Swede is immediately placing Stanek under pressure. By the end of the lap, Beganovic moved into the net race second.
AIX waited a lap to pit Duerksen, which paid dividends as the Paraguayan driver came out into the net lead of the race.
Lap 10 saw a Virtual Safety Car as Sebastian Montoya was stopped on track, marking the end of his 2025 season. However, on Lap 12, it was shifted to a full Safety Car. Putting the drivers on the alternate strategy on the back foot.
Fornaroli led the pack away on Lap 14, immediately pulling away from Lindblad and the rest of the pack. Further behind, Crawford made moves following his early penalty and went up into the top five.
Both Hitech GP drivers were given a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This was incredibly damaging for Beganovic, particularly since he was in net second place on Lap 17. Ultimately, this made their chances of winning the Constructors’ Championship harder.
Fight for the lead
Although behind a pit stop, Fornaroli and Lindblad remained fighting for the race lead on Lap 18. The pair were able to begin pulling a gap between themselves and the net race leader, Durksen. Whilst the five-second gap was not enough to pit and claim the lead, with fresher tyres, both drivers still looked a chance of claiming the race win.
Duerksen had been struggling to get past Martinius Stenshorne since the second Safety Car restart. However, on lap 19, the AIX driver was able to sail past into seventh.
Lindblad and Fornaroli continued fighting for the lead of the race; however, in the fight, they have lost significant time to those behind.
The F1-bound rookie was able to claim the race lead through the Marina section of the Yas Marina circuit. With 10 laps remaining, both Linblad and Fornaroli are yet to pit.
Jak Crawford had a brilliant recovery drive, making his way past Fornaroli into second. However, the Italian was able to counter the move and reclaim his second place.
On Lap 26, Crawford makes the same move and is able to hold off the switchback from the Italian.
On Lap 31, the race leaders are called into the pit lane for their mandatory pit stop. Linblad and Fornaroli exit the pit lane outside the points in 12th and 13th.
However, as the rest of the drivers pit, Lindblad is moved up into the final points paying spot.
For the second year running, Duerksen has claimed a Feature Race victory in Abu Dhabi. Rounding out the podium were Stanek and Mini, as Beganovic was awarded a five-second penalty post-race, finishing in fourth.
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