Alex Dunne showcased his skill and composure in challenging wet conditions to claim a hard-fought victory in the Formula 2 Feature Race at Spa-Francorchamps.
Navigating heavy rain and slippery track conditions, Dunne not only secured his third win of the season but also took over the lead in the Drivers’ Standings, edging ahead of his closest rivals as the title battle intensifies.
Arvid Lindblad came home in second from fifth on the grid, improving his position in the championship, and Roman Stanek completed the podium at Spa.
The McLaren development driver started the race from pole position, with Ritomo Miyata lining up alongside him on the front row.
Championship leader — and one of Dunne’s main title rivals — Richard Verschoor began the race down in 11th, just outside the top 10, while Jak Crawford started even further back in 14th.
Verschoor held a six-point lead over Crawford in the Drivers’ Standings before the Feature, with Dunne a further six points adrift.
Following his Sprint Race victory on Saturday, Leonardo Fornaroli leapfrogged the Rodin Motorsport driver in the standings, moving up to third — just seven points behind Verschoor.
Dunne leads the charge amid heavy rainfall
Race control announced that the formation lap would take place behind the Safety Car, due to wet-weather conditions similar to those that led to the earlier cancellation of the Formula 3 Feature Race.
With all 30 drivers on wet-weather tyres, the race got underway, but visibility was poor due to the heavy spray — particularly as the field charged onto the Kemmel Straight for the first time.
After two extra formation laps, race control determined that it would be a rolling start once it was deemed safe enough to go racing.
Dunne prepared to lead the field as he floored it out of Blanchimont, running slightly wide into the Bus Stop Chicane but managing to retain the lead.
Behind him, Stanek snatched second place from Miyata into Turn 1. However, a big snap of oversteer going up Eau Rouge unsettled the Invicta Racing driver, allowing the ART man to reclaim the position by the end of the Kemmel Straight.
By the end of Lap 1, Dunne had pulled out a lead of nearly two seconds. Behind him, Fornaroli moved up to sixth after passing Pepe Marti, while Amaury Cordeel slipped three places from his starting position of ninth.
That shuffle allowed MP Motorsport team-mates Oliver Goethe and Verschoor to gain ground and move further into the top 10.
The rain started to intensify once again on Lap 2 as the spray began to worsen amid the heavy rainfall.
Fornaroli had a moment at Radillion, which allowed Marti to get past on the Kemmel Straight and retake the position.
Victor Martins, running in fourth, was closely pursuing Stanek as he looked to secure another podium finish at Spa.
Verschoor drops out of the points amid wet-weather struggles
Meanwhile, Verschoor lost 10th place to Luke Browning on Lap 4, slipping out of the points in the increasingly treacherous conditions.
The gap between race leader Dunne and Miyata dropped back down to just over a second as the Dutchman lost yet another place to Dino Beganovic.
By Lap 6, Gabrielle Mini got a good run onto the Kemmel Straight and passed Fornaroli for seventh on the track.
Beganovic eventually passed Goethe for 10th place as the Hitech duo continued to storm through the midfield.
Out front, Dunne’s lead shrank to seven-tenths on Lap 7, while several drivers at the back of the field opted to make their mandatory pit stops for a second set of wet tyres.
Among them were Sami Meguetounif, Kush Maini, and Sebastian Montoya.
Stanek joined the fight to make it a three-way battle for the race lead as Browning passed Fornaroli for eighth place on track.
Lindblad closed in on Martins for fourth place and the Frenchman received two five-second time penalties for track limits — multiple drivers receiving black and white flags for violations.
Beganovic passed Fornaroli for ninth place on Lap 10 as the Italian got a bad exit out of Les Combs. The Hitech driver dived into the pits shortly after, along with Mini, Fornaroli and Verschoor.
Dunne holds firm at the front amidst the pit stop shuffle
During the pit stops, Mini lost a few positions as Stanek, Martins, and Marti followed into the pit lane shortly after.
Martins served his 10-second penalty, dropping further down the order, while Beganovic overtook Marti through Turns 10 and 11.
With heavy rain returning, the race leaders responded by diving into the pits. Browning, however, spun while rejoining the track on his fresh set of wet tyres.
Dunne re-emerged ahead of Stanek and came under immediate pressure but managed to hold his position, with Miyata now slotting in behind the leading duo.
Lindblad, Marti, and Beganovic followed in close pursuit, as the rest of the field switched to fresh wets — everyone except Goethe, who delayed his stop until the end of Lap 14.
However, Dunne was kept waiting until Pouhon before finally making his move to take the lead on track.
Meanwhile, Miyata overtook a struggling Stanek at the Bus Stop Chicane, with Lindblad following suit. Browning recovered to sixth after his spin and was closing in on Marti in fifth.
On the exit of Pouhon, Miyata spun off the track and dropped back down to fourth, promoting Stanek back onto the podium.
Dunne held a four-second lead over Lindblad as Fornaroli bravely overtook Beganovic for seventh place on Lap 17.
At the same time, Browning and Marti went wheel-to-wheel as the British driver completed the move into the final corner.
Montoya spin brings out the Safety Car
The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 18 as Montoya spun coming up Eau Rouge and stalled the car out of Radillion.
Yet by reaching that distance, full points were a guarantee for the drivers, Dunne hoping for no restart to clinch a pivotal win for his title bid.
Verschoor dived into the pits for another stop with a last throw of the dice for MP Motorsport to salvage some points.
Several rearguard drivers adopted the same strategy as the track started to dry through the middle sector, while persistent wet patches in the first and final sectors posed a tricky challenge for the drivers to manage.
On Lap 21, under Safety Car conditions, the marshals had another car to recover as Goethe’s MP Motorsport car started adding to the spray with smoke pouring out the back.
He came to a stop on the Kemmel Straight and was quickly handed a piece of wood to prevent the car from rolling backwards.
With another car to be retrieved, the race was red-flagged heading onto Lap 22, almost certainly not to be resumed.
The announcement came as Dunne emerged as the winner of the Spa Feature Race, a huge boost to his title aspirations.
Lindblad and Stanek rounded out the podium, with the Campos driver scoring significant points to strengthen his championship standing.
Miyata missed out on a podium finish in fourth, Browning with a superb drive to finish fifth from 12th on the grid.
Marti came home in sixth, Fornaroli seventh, Mini eighth, Beganovic ninth, and Martins rounded out the top 10 for the Feature Race at Spa.
READ MORE — Leonardo Fornaroli fuels title charge with F2 Sprint Race victory at Spa
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