Abu Dhabi F2 Grand Prix: Vesti wins the sprint race and closes in on Pourchaire
Frederik Vesti won the sprint race of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in F2 ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi and Richard Verschoor. The Danish driver is now 17 points behind Théo Pourchaire before the final Grand Prix of the season on Sunday.
« You have nothing to lose. You have to win this one. » The words of Frederik Vesti’s engineer were unambiguous: the Dane had to win this Saturday to take points from Théo Pourchaire in the fight for the title. Starting 2nd on the grid, he perfectly managed his race to claim the 10 points of victory.
After a successful start, Prema driver let Fittipaldi, Verschoor, and Hadjar fight for the lead, while behind, Juan Manuel Correa spun after a collision with Victor Martins. The safety car was deployed, allowing Arthur Leclerc to catch up to the pack, as the Monegasque had failed to start at the lights out and remained immobile in his spot for several seconds.
After five safety car laps, Enzo Fittipaldi restarted the pack. The Brazilian quickly built a lead of over one second ahead of Isack Hadjar in second place. On the ART GP side, Victor Martins had to return to the pits to change his wing following his collision with Correa and resumed the race in last place.
Théo Pourchaire, on the other hand, started a strong comeback from his 14th starting position to finish in 7th place and earn 2 points. The Sauber protégé finished in a group led by his compatriot Isack Hadjar. The Hitech driver, who replaced Max Verstappen in the RB19 during Friday’s free practice 1, lacked pace to aim for the podium. Holding on to 2nd place for a long time, he first conceded to Vesti and then to Verschoor, before Hauger passed him on the final lap. He finished 5th.
Before Sunday’s Grand Prix, Vesti is 16 points behind Pourchaire. Mercedes’ protege will start 9th in the main race, while the Frenchman will start 14th.
Résultats course sprint F2 pic.twitter.com/RRM4DxiIj5
— Motors Inside F1 (@MotorsInside) November 25, 2023
