It’s on a fresher track that the Formula 2 drivers drove this afternoon. Great battles and expected events went on as Leonardo Fornaroli proved he is the worthy successor of Gabriel Bortoleto.
As usual in Formula 2, the festivity began even before the formation lap. Dino Beganovic stalled and didn’t have the opportunity to get back before the end of the last car. He then had to start from the pitlane instead of P3. Kush Maini took first place away from Leonardo Fornaroli, but the Italian was not ready to let it go. He went on the outside line and took his first place back. Richard Verschoor and Alexander Dunne both had a terrible start and lost positions.
Let’s the fun begin
Behind them, these first three laps were all about battles. Gabriele Minì and Josep Maria Martì were strongly battling for P12, with the Italian driver keeping the upper hand. In the meantime, Kush Maini lost the DRS to Leonardo Fornaroli and had Sebastián Montoya really pressing behind him. A gap between P7 and P8 was created, with Arvid Lindblad leading the train. The RedBull junior driver, who made his Formula 1 debut in Free Practice 1, battled with his fellow Brit Luke Browning. A small contact between them almost gifted Richard Verschoor P9.
A contact between Alexander Dunne and Gabriele Minì made the Irish driver lose his tyre, after the McLaren junior closed the door on the Italian. He lost a lot of time and this mistake cost him the rest of his race. Surprisingly, the steward decided the contact between them was the Italian’s fault and added a 10-second penalty to his time. The debris between this contact created a yellow flag on sector 2. Richard Verschoor overtook Arvid Lindblad on lap 10. Montoya overtook Maini on lap 15 for second place.
Battling for the better position
Roman Staněk tried to overtake the Indian driver as well but didn’t manage to pass, which almost gave an opportunity to Durksen behind him. A battle between the two Campos drivers made Martì go wide in Copse corner. It later gave the opportunity to Minì to take P11. Maini defended his position and created a huge DRS train, going from P3 to P11. Max Esterson tried to gain a position but spun twice, making him last on the grid. Staněk finally overtook Maini but outside of the track limit, therefore, he had to give the position back. Something he didn’t have enough time to do before the end of the race, which could result in a penalty.
After a battle that lasted almost all the race, both Williams Academy drivers, Victor Martins and Luke Browning touched, making the Frenchman lose two positions. Oliver Goethe and another RedBull junior driver made contact, sending the German driver into a spin. It was also close on the finish line between Jak Crawford and Joshua Durksen, with the AIX Racing driver taking the P5 in the last second. Ritomo Miyata made a mistake towards the end of the last lap and finished last. Leonardo Fornaroli won the Silverstone sprint race with a 1.4-second margin. Sebastián Montoya is once again on a podium. Roman Staněk is the last driver on the podium, giving a double podium for the Invicta Racing team.