Australian Grand Prix F2: Iwasa wins a crazy race, Pourchaire and Leclerc on the podium

The very first Australian Grand Prix for Formula 2 was filled with spectacle and intensity. After Dennis Hauger’s victory in the Sprint race, where incidents were not lacking, the long race (33 laps) also had its fair share of surprises and disappointments.

Too much rush.

If at the start, the first corner goes without too much trouble for Ayumu Iwasa, who started from pole position ahead of three French drivers (Pourchaire, Martins, and Hadjar), the third corner is the scene of a confrontation for 5th place between Oliver Bearman (Prema) and Zane Malonney (Carlin). The British driver will receive a five-second penalty for forcing the Barbadian driver off the track, which caused him to lose two positions to Arthur Leclerc (DAMS) and Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport).

Two laps later, Juan Manuel Corea (VAR) has to go through the pit lane following an unsuccessful overtaking attempt on Clément Novalak (Trident) at turn three, trying to outbrake him on the inside.

After his abandonment in the Sprint race, Australian Jack Doohan, who started 15th, continues his comeback. In the fourth lap, he overtakes Jehan Daruvala to gain 11th place. However, in attempting to repeat the maneuver on Crawford a few moments later, the local driver sends the American into the wall, forcing him to retire and bringing out the safety car.

Top ten in the seventh round: Iwasa, Pourchaire, Martins, Hadjar, Bearman, Leclerc, Hauger Maloney, Vesti, and Crawford.

Safety car and pit stop waltz

The race neutralization is barely announced when Victor Martins dives into the pit lane to get rid of his soft tires and switch to mediums. The Alpine driver is followed by Daruvala, Stanek, Verschoor, and Boschung.

One lap later, Hadjar does the same, but is released too early by his team, and he comes to scalp the rear right tire of Bearman which punctures and loses all hope of scoring points.

The rankings are then shaken up with a new provisional leader, Frederik Vesti (Prema), who has still not stopped, just like Roy Nissany in 2nd place ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi and Kusk Maini just ahead of Iwasa, who has just switched to mediums.

The thirteenth lap sees the race restart and Hadjar, who overtook Martins during the pit stops, applies pressure on Pourchaire. Nissany blocks with his PHM Racing car and allows Vesti to escape in the lead.

As we approach the halfway mark, Fittipaldi tries to overtake the Indian at Turns 9 and 10, wheels make contact and Nissany loses seven places. A few seconds later, he hits Hadjar in the penultimate corner, who rejoins the track in 16th position.

While Iwasa and Pourchaire use their fresh tires and gradually overtake the drivers who haven’t pitted yet, Vesti manages to hold on to his old tires and matches the pace of the two men, even exchanging the best sector times with them. The Norwegian, Hauger, displays an impressive rhythm, as demonstrated by his overtaking move on Martins shortly after the restart.

Nissany once again brings out the safety car

At the start of the 26th lap, Nissany performs an astonishing maneuver by putting his front right wheel on the grass in the middle of the straight line, spins around, stalls, and retires. This mistake causes the safety car to come out for the second time, and Vesti takes advantage of it to pit, just like Fittipaldi. The cold tires at ambient temperature cause them to skip the first turn, but while the Dane only goes onto the grass, the Brazilian spins around and while trying to get back on track, hits the wall, resulting in the rear right suspension becoming fragile and ultimately breaking 100 meters further, sending him into the wall.

The safety car turns off its lights at the end of the 30th lap, and the standings are then composed of: