F2 – Austrian Grand Prix – Race: Verschoor wins and takes the championship lead, Dunne disqualified

Richard Verschoor claimed his third victory of the season at the Red Bull Ring, taking the lead in the Formula 2 drivers’ championship. The Dutchman from MP Motorsport delivered a controlled race after gaining an advantage during the pit stops.

An animated departure

Leonardo Fornaroli perfectly negotiated his takeoff from pole position to maintain the advantage at the first corner. Verschoor, having started from third place on the grid, quickly displayed his offensive intentions. By the third corner, the MP Motorsport driver launched an attack on the Italian from Invicta Racing, but Fornaroli resisted thanks to the inside line.

Further back in the pack, Pepe Martí delivered an outstanding first lap, jumping from twelfth to fifth position. Meanwhile, Alex Dunne began his progress from seventh place, overtaking Joshua Duerksen on the third lap thanks to DRS.

The strategy that changes everything

The first pit stops completely reshuffled the deck in this race. Victor Martins, who had dropped back at the start, gambled on the undercut as early as the seventh lap by putting on soft tires. Verschoor adopted the same strategy a lap later. This gamble proved successful for the Dutchman, who came out ahead of the Frenchman.

For his part, Fornaroli had chosen to bide his time until the ninth lap, but this wait cost him the lead in the race. Indeed, when the Italian returned to the track, Martins and Verschoor had already passed him, relegating him to tenth place.

Verschoor takes the lead

The duel between Martí and Dunne resumed with even more intensity after their respective pit stops. The Spaniard from Campos Racing held strong against the Irishman’s attacks on the tenth lap, but the latter persisted in his attempts. Dunne finally managed to take the lead on the eleventh lap, giving Verschoor the opportunity to widen the gap to three seconds.

The turning point of the race occurred on the fifteenth lap. Verschoor had caught up with Martins and, in a daring maneuver on the outside at the fourth turn, seized the theoretical lead of the event. This decisive action then sealed the outcome of the race.

An intense finish for the podium

While Verschoor managed his lead at the front, an intense battle was underway for the third step of the podium. Fornaroli had made a strong comeback and was threatening Martins, who was under pressure from Martí. On lap 33, the Italian managed to find an opening and passed the ART driver, but Martins immediately counterattacked on the outside.

The 35th lap brought a new twist. Martí decided to try his luck on Martins at the exit of the first corner, but the two drivers then collided, allowing Fornaroli to overtake them both at once and take third place. This collision immediately became the subject of an investigation by the stewards, and Martí subsequently received a ten-second penalty.

Meanwhile, Luke Browning, having started from seventeenth position, had managed a nice climb up to fifth place. The last laps saw Jak Crawford and Sebastián Montoya join the fray, with the American DAMS driver managing to climb up to sixth position before the finish.

Dunne disqualified after strike

Verschoor crossed the checkered flag as the winner, ahead of Dunne and Fornaroli. However, the provisional podium was altered in the hours following the event. The technical commissioners found that the skid block on Dunne’s Rodin did not meet the minimum regulatory thickness of 4 millimeters and disqualified him.

This exclusion completely upset the final ranking. Consequently, Crawford inherited third place, Montoya fourth, and Browning completed the top 5. Martí, with his ten-second penalty, finished seventh ahead of Martins.

New leader in the championship

This victory propels Verschoor to the top of the championship with 114 points, now leading Dunne by 24 points following his disqualification. Crawford climbs to third place with 85 points, followed by Fornaroli (83 points) and Browning (81 points).

In the constructors’ standings, Campos Racing maintains its first position with 144 points, but MP Motorsport is dangerously close at 126 points. Hitech occupies third place with 111 points, ahead of Rodin (110 points) and DAMS (106 points).

The championship will continue at Silverstone from July 4th to 6th, where Verschoor will try to confirm his takeover.

Main Race Standings Austrian Grand Prix 2025