Saudi Arabia Grand Prix: Frederik Vesti takes the victory, Victor Martins makes a mistake
A chaotic race, where pressure and tire management were constant. Victor Martins, in a good position to win, spun out, allowing Frederik Vesti, starting in 6th place, to take the victory. Théo Pourchaire returns empty-handed.
Once again, the show on the six-kilometer-long circuit of Jeddah did not disappoint.
Author of a superb pole on Friday, Victor Martins (Art GP) experienced a difficult start, at the expense of his neighbor on the front row Oliver Bearman (Prema).
From the 7th lap, the first drivers wearing soft tires make a pit stop to switch to medium tires. Jack Doohan (Invicta Virtuosi Racing) and Frederik Vesti (Prema) then attempt the undercut on the leading men, and the latter gains an advantage in the pit lane over the Australian. Bearman and Martins do the same on the following lap and come out ahead.
On the 10th lap, the battle for first place intensifies, Martins attempts a maneuver on the British driver at the first corner who closes the door on him, but the following lap, the French driver repeats and forcefully overtakes. Vesti, with a strong pace, takes advantage to claim second place from his teammate.
Bearman and Martins lose big
On the 16th lap, Bearman, struggling with his tires, spins out in turn 22 and loses three positions. Thirty seconds later, Martins also loses control of his car in the first sector and has to retire, giving the lead to the Danish driver who had started 6th on the grid.
On an unconventional strategy, Richard Verschoor (VAR), Arthur Leclerc (DAMS), and Isack Hadjar (Trident) came into the pits late, and managed to make it into the top ten, which is synonymous with earning points.
In the end, Frederik Vesti wins his first main race in Formula 2, ahead of Jack Doohan and Jehan Daruvala. Ayumu Iwasa finishes fourth, followed by Denis Hauger and Richard Verschoor who started in 20th place.
The rest of the ranking is composed of Enzo Fittipaldi, Arthur Leclerc, Isack Hadjar, and Oliver Bearman who are scoring points.
At the championship, Ralph Boschung takes back the lead in the standings, despite finishing an anonymous 18th. Théo Pourchaire (13th) moves up to second place and will have to quickly forget about this race with zero points scored over the weekend, in order to bounce back in Melbourne in two weeks.
Your Top 10 from the Feature Race! ✨#SaudiArabianGP #F2 pic.twitter.com/RPA3VgG9nz
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) March 19, 2023
