Belgian Grand Prix F2: Fittipaldi victorious in Spa sprint race, Pourchaire on the podium
Enzo Fittipaldi has won his first career Formula 2 race: the sprint race of the Belgian Grand Prix. Starting on the second row, he benefited from a stroke of luck but also deserved his victory with a great overtaking maneuver. Pourchaire finishes on the podium. Victor Martins is 5th.
Update at 6 pm: Richard Verschoor was disqualified by the race stewards for not complying with the technical regulations after the sprint race of the Belgian Grand Prix of Formula 2.
Enzo Fittipaldi made the Brazilian national anthem resound on the podium of the first Formula 2 race of the Belgian Grand Prix. This is Enzo’s first victory in Formula 2. He finishes ahead of Richard Verschoor and the Frenchman Théo Pourchaire.
Climbing from third place, Enzo Fittipaldi benefited from the surprising retirement of Daruvala, who was leading the race. The MP Motorsport driver had his headrest come loose during the race, after 3 laps. The headrest is an essential safety feature, and Daruvala had to retire once this element left his cockpit, thus losing a potential victory in the sprint race.
So leader, Richard Verschoor suffered greatly from the degradation of his tires and was overtaken in a beautiful duel by Enzo Fittipaldi towards the end of the race, who had completed 17 laps on the long Ardennes track today.
Théo Pourchaire enjoyed a cautious but effective start that quickly propelled him to 4th place, and he successfully held off Dennis Hauger to eventually inherit the podium thanks to the leader’s retirement. He gained some additional points in the championship, especially due to Vesti’s underperformance, his main competitor in the standings.
Frederick Vesti, currently leading the F2 championship, finished the race in 7th position after trailing behind Pourchaire for a long time. After the safety car came out on track at the beginning of the race due to a collision, Vesti couldn’t resist Dennis Hauger and eventually saw Victor Martins overtake him in the final laps, followed by Jack Doohan.
Note also the impressive performance of Victor Martins, P5 after starting 8th.
The ranking of the F2 sprint race in Belgium:
Résultat de la course sprint de #F2: Pourchaire sur le podium, première victoire au mérite de @enzofitti, @VictorMartinsFR P5 ! pic.twitter.com/p8RlAp95bv
— Motors Inside F1 (@MotorsInside) July 29, 2023
