Sprint race: Oliver Bearman wins again
After a period of inactivity, despite a successful stint in F1, Oliver Bearman finally won this season's F2 Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix. On the French side, Isack Hadjar and Victor Martins had a difficult race.
As a reminder, the grid is reversed compared to yesterday’s qualifications. We will have to wait until tomorrow and the main race to see the poleman, Dennis Hauger, start from the first place on the grid.
A great start
At the lights out, Oliver Bearman made an exceptional start from second place on this reverse grid. The British driver had already built a significant lead by the end of the first lap. Pepe Marti from Team Campos tried to close the gap towards the end of the race, but Oliver Bearman had too much of a lead. Marti was counting on a drop in the leader’s pace… which was not significant enough to take the victory from him. Kush Maini started from pole position in this Sprint race but completely missed his start and race: he finishes 7th, over 13 seconds behind the winner. Paul Aron completes the podium: he makes a superb move in the standings and extends his lead at the top of the F2 championship.
Victory after the hardships in F2
Oliver Bearman, Ferrari reserve driver, finds victory again. It had been since September 2023, at Monza in Italy, that he had not stepped on the highest step of the podium. His best result of the season until now was a 4th place, during the main race in Monaco. His teammate at Prema, the young talent Kimi Antonelli, finishes 15th. The F2 Prema team has been struggling a lot since the beginning of the year, this success will surely bring some relief to the team members.
The French inside
On the tricolor side the balance sheet is disappointing for this first race of the weekend. Isack Hadjar was in great shape yesterday. Unfortunately, his engine broke during qualifying, possibly depriving him of a pole position. He started seventh in this sprint race with a new engine. He only went down in the rankings over the course of the 28 laps: he finishes 13th. A bad move in the championship for the one who was Paul Aron’s runner-up before this Austrian weekend.
On his side, Victor Martins finishes 10th. He had set the 13th time in qualifying. The winner of the Barcelona Sprint race last weekend failed to repeat such a result. He will try to achieve a good performance tomorrow. He had already retired in the first lap in Spain during the main race. Scoring points would already be a success.
