British Grand Prix – F2 Sprint Race: Vesti victorious ahead of Pourchaire

The rain is out at Silverstone at the start of this F2 sprint race. Championship leader Frederik Vesti starts in pole position ahead of two French drivers: Isack Hadjar in 2nd and Théo Pourchaire, Vesti’s main rival, in 3rd. The start is going to be crucial and it is being launched behind the safety car due to the amount of water on the track.

Frederik Vesti gets a perfect start ahead of Hadjar and Pourchaire. But a thunderclap, Ayumu Iwasa is slowing down in the first corners. Huge blow for the Japanese who is in the title race. Meanwhile, Oliver Bearman overtakes Enzo Fittipaldi in the first lap to take 4th place. But at the end of this first lap, the safety car is deployed: Benavides is in the wall after contact with Clément Novalak. Iwasa goes to the pits to see what’s wrong with his car. But he rejoins the race more than a lap behind.

At the restart, Bearman makes a move on Théo Pourchaire. The British driver is on fire at home. In the next lap, Hadjar is overtaken by Bearman. No hesitation and great commitment from the rookie. With Vesti in 1st and Bearman in 2nd, Prema Racing occupies the top two positions.

But Oliver Bearman missed at the end of the 6th lap and Isack Hadjar took advantage of it to regain 2nd place. Théo Pourchaire now threatens the British driver and manages to overtake him. Bearman loses pace and confidence after his mistake. Jack Doohan also poses a threat to him.

Théo Pourchaire launches an attack at mid-race and puts pressure on Isack Hadjar: less than a second between the two French drivers. But the Art driver overheats his tires and falls back behind Hadjar.

In the 11th lap, there was a magnificent battle between Bearman and Doohan for 4th place. A few moments later, Théo Pourchaire overtakes Isack Hadjar and starts chasing his rival Frederik Vesti. However, there is an 8-second gap between them. Further back, Arthur Leclerc is making a great comeback and enters the points.

The battle between Bearman and Doohan is intensifying: the British driver slightly loses control of his car and pushes Doohan off the track. Australia is calling for a penalty.

Isack Hadjar loses his rhythm and is attacked by Bearman: they are side by side in Copse, it’s impressive. Oliver Bearman makes the pass. Jack Doohan is lurking to take 3rd place as well. Enzo Fittipaldi, Victor Martins, and Arthur Leclerc also join the battle. Doohan overtakes the struggling Hadjar with his tires, and the battle continues with Bearman. The British driver defends his 3rd position with all his might. But at the end of the 17th lap, Bearman pushes too hard against Doohan and locks up his wheels: he drops to 6th place.

Starting from pole position, Frederik Vesti comfortably takes the win ahead of Théo Pourchaire. Jack Doohan completes the podium after a wheel-to-wheel battle with Oliver Bearman. Fittipaldi, Hadjar, Bearman, Martins, and Leclerc round out the top 8 of this sprint race.