A chaotic sprint race in Barcelona saw Kush Maunu steer clear to claim a dominant, ever-important Formula 2 victory in Spain.
The ART driver was trailed by rivals Gabriele Mini and Nikola. The pair shared an intense battle throughout the race for the final places on the podium, in a crucial round early in the championship.
Qualifying yesterday set the grid for the F2 Sprint, with Noel Leon and Maini locking out the front row. Leon, who claimed a spectacular Monte Carlo victory last time out, will be aiming for a similar fate. However, Maini’s F2 experience may give him an advantage, particularly with extreme tyre degradation expected.
Behind the front pair, it was an all-rookie row two with Colton Herta and Nicola Varone. Both aiming for landmark weekends early in their F2 careers.
Lights out for F2 in Barcelona
As the lights went out, it was Maini who had a faster start, immediately claiming the lead of the race. However, Leon was close behind, opting for a wider line into Turn 1, making a move for the lead. But the Indian driver was able to keep his lead throughout the opening lap.
Nikola Tsolov challenges his Campos team-mate around Turn 3, almost making contact with the Mexican. However, he yields the place and stays third, with Herta close behind. The American is charging forward, aiming to claim his maiden F2 podium in his rookie season. But the former IndyCar driver was immediately under pressure by Championship leader Gabriele Mini.
On the second lap, Mini was able to sail past Herta, moving himself into fourth.
Meanwhile, further back in the field, a bad weekend continued for Joshua Durksen. The Invicta driver made contact with one of his rivals and sent himself on an excursion through the gravel. Fortunately, he was able to keep the car running and continued in the race. Albeit from last place
Out front, Campos’ intense battle for second continued, with the Red Bull-backed driver pressuring his team-mate for second place. Tsolov patiently waited until Lap 3, Turn 1, where the Bulgarian made a crucial move to begin the chase after Maini. ‘
The fighting between Tsolov and Leon allowed Maini to detach himself from the rest of the field. The ART Driver created a gap of 3.5 seconds to his closest rival.
Lap 6 saw Mini pass Leon, moving his way into the podium places. The championship leader was left to chase after his closest title rival, Tsolov, aiming to limit the points differential between the pair.
Leon appeared to be struggling in the early stages of the race. The Mexican driver dropped from pole position to fourth in a matter of seven laps. To make matters worse, Herta continued to pressure the rookie throughout the following laps, with the American hoping to secure a top-four finish.
Tomorrow’s pole sitter, Rafael Camara, found himself three places higher than his starting position. The Brazilian quietly made his way through the field, breaking into the points-paying positions. Following a disastrous weekend in Monaco, Camara needs to make up lost ground in the championship.
Tyre degradation evident early in Barcelona
Just 11 laps into the race, many drivers began to experience the harsh tyre degradation the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has to offer. Maini, who held a lead of over four seconds, began to drop pace to Tsolov behind with intense graining on his front-left tyre in particular. But as the laps progressed, Tsolov was unable to make his mark on the experienced driver, Resuming Maini’s over 4 second gap.
After 10 laps of waiting, Herta finally made his way into the top four during the race. Getting past Noel Leon into Turn 1.
Further back in the field, there was an intense battle unfolding for sixth place. Rafael Villagomez was fighting against Camara intensely for several laps. The Brazilian shaped a move down into Turn 1, however, he did not have enough track to keep the position. Thus, forcing him to leave the track and rejoin behind Villagomez.
The close battle between the pair created a DRS train from sixth place, down to 17th. Namely, Dino Beganovic remained behind the pair, ready to pick up easy positions if the two collided with one another.
The battle came to an end after Villagomez received a 5-second penalty for track limits infringements. Camara then made his way past his rival with ease, setting his sights on Noel Leon, who was seven seconds up the road.
Importantly, other drivers have also begun to receive track limit penalties. Namely, Roman Bilinski, who was awarded a 10-second penalty for five different track limit infringements across the race.
Dash for the final podium places
As six laps remained in the race, Mini ramped up his charge for second in the Sprint. As the Italian finally broke DRS, he began to place increasing pressure on his championship leader in front. Whilst only a one-point difference between second and third, there will be a two-point swing in the championship if Tsolov beats Mini.
Mini shapes a move on Lap 22 on Tsolov. However, the Bulgarian keeps his rival behind. All while these two are battling it out with one another, Herta has been brought into podium contention.
The following lap saw Mini make a desperate lunge on Tsolov into Turn 1. After brief contact between the pair, the Italian emerged in second place, immediately putting Tsolov under pressure from Herta behind. It did not take long for the Cadillac-backed driver to capitalise, moving into the podium positions just a few corners later.
With seemingly stronger tyres than those around him, Herta quickly set his sights on Mini ahead. As the race entered its closing stages, Mini found himself under intense pressure, while race control noted the earlier incident between Mini and Tsolov for investigation.
Behind them, Tsolov and Leon were locked in a fierce battle for fourth position, with championship leader Rafael Câmara looming just behind and ready to pounce on any mistake.
However, the fight for the podium took a dramatic twist on the final lap. Chasing Mini through the middle sector, Herta locked up and ran straight into the gravel, later describing the mistake as “unacceptable.” The error proved costly, dropping him from third to fifth in the space of a few corners. Ending his hopes of a first F2 podium.
Out front, Maini was untouchable. The Indian driver sealed a dominant victory, crossing the line 7.2 seconds clear of the field to claim a commanding win. Behind him, it was a championship-focused podium as Gabriele Minì secured second place ahead of Nikola Tsolov in third.
READ MORE – Formula 2 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP – Sprint Race Results
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