F2 main event: Bortoleto wins, Hadjar on the podium
At the end of a lively race, the Brazilian driver scored his first F2 victory. Isack Hadjar finishes third behind Franco Colapinto. He moves closer to first place in the championship.
After yesterday’s Sprint race, the F2 drivers are back for the main race at the Red Bull Ring. Isack Hadjar is Paul Aron’s runner-up in the championship: he is 16 points behind. During a Sprint race won by Oliver Bearman, the Frenchman had a tough Saturday. He needs to react if he wants to keep his title hopes alive. He starts 7th, Victor Martins 13th, and Paul Aron 5th.
The course timeline
At the lights out, poleman Dennis Hauger stalls! The race will be restarted, the drivers head out for a formation lap. Dennis Hauger loses the advantage of his pole position, what a shame. He is not the only one to have problems at the start, there are 4 who have stalled: the clutch is very delicate on these F2 cars.
A good start for Hadjar
Isack Hadjar gets off to a good start, quickly moving up to 5th place, right behind his rival Paul Aron. He is nestled in his exhaust pipes, but the Estonian driver defends wonderfully well. Despite the insistent pressure from the Frenchman for several laps, the championship leader does not crack. It’s finally Isack Hadjar who eases off the pressure a bit, just before his pit stop.
For the French driver, Victor Martins has taken a good start. He climbed 3 positions and is now in 10th place. He remains under pressure from the drivers behind… and gradually falls back in the hierarchy. During a short virtual safety car period, Pepe Marti stops and makes a great move. He gained around 4 seconds on all the drivers in the field.
Aron penalized, Bearman gives up.
On the 17th lap, Paul Aron is penalized by 5 seconds! He would have defended by changing direction too many times during his battles with Isack Hadjar…. Yesterday’s winner, Oliver Bearman, abandons: engine problem for the reserve driver of Scuderia Ferrari.
After the pit stop phase, Isack Hadjar quickly finds himself behind his teammate, Pepe Marti. He struggles to overtake him. Paul Aron, who emerged from the pits behind the Frenchman, is coming back… Pepe Marti is informed of the situation on the radio and helps his teammate overtake. However, the Frenchman is nervous: he complains of having damaged his tires too much while behind his garage neighbor. He is clearly fighting for victory this Sunday.
Franco Colapinto still hasn’t stopped by the 31st lap! He’s trying a strategic move. It doesn’t pay off in the end as he comes out in 8th place after his pit stop on the 33rd lap. But he’s making a strong comeback with his new tires! It’s not over for the Argentine!
Big tension between the 2 Campos drivers
Isack Hadjar is stuck in second position and is unable to catch up with Gabriel Bortoleto, the race leader. There are 5 laps left, with a 2-second gap. Pepe Marti asks to swap positions again: Isack Hadjar doesn’t pull away. Franco Colapinto has already caught up and overtakes Marti! The Argentine is right behind the Frenchman now… and passes him at the beginning of the final lap.
It is the Brazilian driver Bortoleto who wins in Austria. The F3 2023 champion delivered a solid race without really being troubled. Pepe Marti complains on the radio: he was faster than his French teammate at the end of the race… The 2 Campos drivers are frustrated. Isack Hadjar still scores big points in the championship by finishing 3rd. He takes back 11 points from Paul Aron and now only has a 5-point deficit. Victor Martins finishes 12th.
