Leonardo Fornaroli kept his Formula 2 title hopes alive with a commanding drive to victory in the Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps, seizing the lead at Turn 1 and holding firm through early chaos and Safety Car interruptions.
Fornaroli dominated from the front, displaying both composure and speed to hold off pressure from Amaury Cordeel and the looming threat of drivers on Soft tyres late in the Sprint.
Behind the Invicta Racing driver, Victor Martins and Gabriele Mini fought hard to secure a podium spot, navigating through the chaos of the opening lap and the ensuing multiple stoppages.
Oliver Goethe started from pole position for the Sprint, with Cordeel lining up alongside him on the front row.
Alex Dunne, who set the fastest time in Friday’s qualifying, started from 10th, while his title rivals Richard Verschoor and Jak Crawford both began outside the top 10.
Fornaroli seizes early lead as title rivals clash in chaotic start
With the formation lap complete, the Sprint Race got underway — and Fornaroli immediately surged into the lead from third on the grid, overtaking Cordeel and Goethe into Turn 1.
But drama quickly unfolded behind, as title rivals Verschoor and Crawford came to blows on the exit of the opening corner.
Both drivers tangled with Luke Browning’s Hitech as the trio went three-wide in a frantic start.
Crawford and Browning ran wide, the latter unable to continue due to the extensive damage to his car.
Verschoor continued briefly but spun going up Eau Rouge, the result of sidepod damage and fluid leakage sustained in the earlier contact.
The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 1, with both Verschoor and Crawford limping back to the pits — the American was able to continue with repairs, but MP Motorsport driver suffered a premature end to his Sprint hopes.
Racing resumed at the start of Lap 4, with Leonardo Fornaroli maintaining his lead ahead of Cordeel and Goethe.
Martins held fourth, followed by Pepe Marti in fifth, Arvid Lindblad in sixth, Mini seventh and Ritomo Miyata in eighth.
However, Dunne made a decisive move on Miyata at the end of the Kemmel Straight to snatch the final point-scoring position.
Further drama followed as debris flew off Mart۪̉s Campos, with the left front wing endplate detaching from his car.
Martins and Cordeel collide in Spa Sprint Race
On Lap 6, Cordeel got close to the Invicta car but was unable to make a move for the race lead. At the same time, race control decided to note the Italian for a Safety Car infringement.
The next lap, Mini initially got past Lindblad, but into the braking zone of Les Combes, the British driver held onto sixth place.
Goethe came under pressure from Martins behind for the final spot on the podium as he lost the rear of his MP Motorsport car at Radillion.
The Frenchman made the move stick around the outside at the end of the Kemmel Straight on Lap 9.
Martins continued his charge and by Lap 11, he had got within DRS range of Cordeel for second place.
But disaster struck for the Belgian at his home track, as the pair made contact whilst Martins swooped around the outside into Les Combes.
With the contact, Cordeel locked up and came to a stop in the gravel, the Rodin Motorsport driver missing out on a first podium in F2.
The Safety Car came out, allowing the midfield to change tyres onto the Soft tyres, only Fornaroli, Martins, Goethe, Mini and Cian Shields opted not to pit for fresh tryes.
Campos doubled stacked, which caused Lindblad to have a slow stop, dropping him down the order to 11th.
Onto Lap 14, the Safety Car returned to the pits and Fornaroli continued to lead the Sprint Race.
Marti on a late charge with Soft tyres
With the slipstream, Mini stormed onto the podium ahead of Goethe whilst Marti made quick work of Shields for fifth.
By the end of the lap, the AIX Racing driver had dropped down the order and out of the points.
Replays showed that Linblad had gone deep into Turn 1 on the restart and made contact with Dino Beganovic, both drivers getting away with no damage.
Dunne moved past Roman Stanek for sixth on Lap 15, while Marti began reeling in the race leaders ahead.
The Irishman sent another lunge at Turn 1, this time on Marti, but couldn’t make the move stick, which allowed Stanek back past Dunne.
Fornaroli stretched his lead to just under two seconds on the penultimate lap, on course for his second victory of his F2 career after his maiden win at Silverstone last time out.
Another Safety Car allowed him to soak in the atmosphere whilst the marshalls cleared a stricken Trident car of Sami Meguetounif on the Kemmel Straight.
Martins secured an impressive second place from sixth on the grid and Mini took his first podium of the season to complete the top three.
Goethe settled for fourth, while Marti, on the Soft tyres, finished fifth and couldn’t mount a late podium challenge.
Similarly, Stanek came home sixth, with Dunne seventh and Miyata securing eighth — claiming the final points in the Spa Sprint Race.
READ MORE — Alex Dunne delivers masterclass to take F2 pole position in Spa qualifying
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