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Tag: F2
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Facile win for Lundgaard; Jehan Daruvala take P7
Mugello, 13 Sept 2020: ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard dominated the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race, securing a second win in the Championship with a 14s advantage over Charouz Racing System’s Louis Delétraz. DAMS’ Jüri Vips scored his first F2 podium finishing in third, just a half-second off the Swiss driver.
Indian racer and Red Bull Junior Jehan Daruvala finished P7 on Sunday. “P7 from P10 on the grid… Was up to P5 at one point but just lost the tyres closer towards the end… Two good starts in both races so that’s a positive step up… Looking forward to Sochi in a couple of weeks,” said the Mumbai born Carlin racer.
Lundgaard made amends for a disappointing Feature Race, when he lost the win late on to Nikita Mazepin’s fresher tyres after a Safety Car had crushed the Dane’s advantage out in front. His Sunday was a complete contrast. Starting from third, he thundered to first off the line and from there the win never looked in doubt.
The Dane’s victory earns him third in the Drivers’ Championship, with Robert Shwartzman out of the points and dropping to fourth in the standings.
Mazepin also suffered contrasting fortunes, as he collided with teammate Luca Ghiotto, ending the Italian’s race and earning himself a 10s time penalty.
Pole-sitter Artem Markelov’s race ended in disaster. The HWA RACELAB driver struggled for pace and dropped down to third place, before getting forced into the pits for a new front wing after colliding with Mick Schumacher.
Schumacher was able to stretch his lead at the top of the standings with a fourth-place finish, with his main rival, Callum Ilott, back in sixth.
AS IT HAPPENED
Jehan Daruvala who had issues with the car the whole season had an engine change and is showing positive signs and looks forward to Sochi. A Daruvala image @Twitter Markelov got a good start from reverse grid pole, but Lundgaard had a better one. The Dane angled his ART down the side of the Russian and towards the inside line, just about forcing himself ahead at the exit of Turn 1.
Vips stuttered off the line on his first front row start and instantly dropped down to fourth place behind Delétraz, while Schumacher kept it clean and held on to fifth.
Lundgaard had garnered a strong 2s lead over Markelov by the end of the first lap alone, but the Dane would need to be wary of wearing out his rubber. As he stretched his lead, Markelov’s focus switched to Delétraz behind. The Swiss driver made light work of the passing the HWA racer, pulling off a tidy move at the first turn.
Vips attempted to follow Delétraz through, but tapped tyres with Markelov and wobbled, remaining in third. The Estonian gathered himself together and went again, making a similar move work on the next tour of Mugello.
Markelov told his team he wouldn’t give up, but the HWA racer collided with Schumacher and was forced to dive into the pits with front wing damage.
Schumacher’s main title rival, Ilott, had been making moves from 12th and climbed up to ninth, ahead of Marcus Armstrong. Meanwhile, Shwartzman lost a place to Ilott’s teammate, Guanyu Zhou, who was putting on a storming drive from 20th.
Having finished one-two in the Feature Race on Saturday, Mazepin and Ghiotto’s Sunday was entirely different. The Italian racer attempted a move on his teammate, but the Russian locked up and the two collided. Ghiotto was dumped into the gravel trap and forced to retire, before Mazepin was handed a 10s-time penalty for causing the crash.
Spotting the collision, Lundgaard would have suffered unpleasant flashbacks from Saturday, when his lead of the race was crushed by a Safety Car. The Dane will have been relieved to see only a Virtual Safety Car on this occasion, allowing him to retain his 11s gap at the front.
Little changed at the restart, although Zhou did manage to find a way past Armstrong to line up behind Ilott in eighth. The duo then gained a further place from Felipe Drugovich who suffered from a wide moment. Zhou kept on moving, first picking off Ilott, and then gaining fifth from Daruvala as well.
Yuki Tsunoda briefly nabbed the final points’ position from Drugovich, but was forced into the pits by Race Control, having suffered damage to his front wing earlier in the race.
Just two laps remained and Lundgaard continued to look comfortable out in front, but Delétraz was clinging on to second by the skin of his teeth with Vips right behind him. The Estonian made an attempt at the first turn of the penultimate lap, but couldn’t make it stick, despite possessing fresher rubber.
Lundgaard crossed the line first for a controlled victory, as Delétraz followed in second 14s later, hanging on ahead of Vips. Schumacher took fourth, brushing off a late challenge from Zhou. Ilott nabbed sixth after a late pass on Daruvala, with Marino Sato taking his first points in F2, with P8.
Schumacher now has 161 points at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, with Ilott in second on 153. Lundgaard is third with 145, five ahead of Shwartzman. Mazepin is up to fifth on 127. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA are first with 301 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 261 points, and Hitech on 216. ART are fourth, with Carlin fifth.
KEY QUOTE – CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD (ART GRAND PRIX)
“P1 today, and redemption for yesterday when I was leading the whole race until the Safety Car ruined it. I think that we showed the pace that we had today, and I am just happy to come away with 17 points.
“I said to the team before we went on track, it is 17 points or nothing today and we came away with all 17, so I am very happy.”
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Mazepin scores 2nd F2 win; Jehan Daruvala takes a point
Mugello, 12 Sept 2020: Nikita Mazepin scored his second FIA Formula 2 win from 14th on the grid in an incredible Feature Race at Mugello. The Russian capped off a Hitech Grand Prix one-two, with Luca Ghiotto claiming second on home soil ahead of Charouz Racing System’s Louis Delétraz.
Indian racer Jehan Daruvala took a point finishing P10 after another difficult day. “It was a tough race today. Radio dint work, so I had no idea when to pit. When I did so, Yuki was already in the pits so we had to double stack and I lost a lot of time. Positive thing is that on the prime tyres the pace was really good,” tweeted Daruvala about the race.
The race was turned on its head by the Safety Car as Giuliano Alesi’s stricken HWA RACELAB machine was recovered from the gravel trap. Mazepin was gifted a golden opportunity for victory on the alternate strategy. The Russian driver found himself in third place after the Safety Car with fresh soft tyres.
The Hitech racer made light work of passing long-time race leaders Christian Lundgaard and Ghiotto, who were both on heavily degraded hard tyres. Ghiotto was able to cling on to second ahead of Delétraz, but poleman Lundgaard plummeted to sixth having dominated most of the race.
There was also a shift in the Drivers’ Championship as Mick Schumacher stole first place from Callum Ilott, becoming the third different leader in 2020. Ilott had looked on course to retain his lead but suffered front wing damage during a SC restart and was forced to pit, dropping him out of the points.
The third of the Championship’s top three, Robert Shwartzman, saw his own title hopes take a battering as well, as the PREMA racer was forced to retire.
AS IT HAPPENED
Starting from the front of the grid for the first time in F2, Lundgaard tore into the distance when the lights went out and broke away from the pack. Dan Ticktum held on to second, but Ilott suffered a disastrous start from P3 and was swallowed up by the field and fell to seventh.
Ghiotto got the best start of the lot, hurling his Hitech machine from seventh and up to third ahead of the first turn, finding a gap down the right and then diving through the middle.
The top ten was shuffled in the opening laps, as Felipe Drugovich fired up to fourth ahead of Marcus Armstrong, and Ilott regained a place from Jack Aitken to nab sixth. Yuki Tsunoda made a move himself and nabbed P8 from Carlin teammate Jehan Daruvala.
On the hard Pirelli tyres, Mazepin enjoyed a solid start to the race from 14th and had fought his way up to P9 – the highest of the drivers on the alternate strategy – by the time the pit window opened. Race leader Lundgaard was the first to ditch the softs for the hard rubber, returning at the back of the field.
Ticktum inherited the race lead as he attempted to eke more out of his soft Pirellis, but the decision looked to be the wrong one as Ghiotto fizzed ahead of him. The pair then pitted on Lap 10 and returned behind Lundgaard.
The Dane started picking off the field on his return to the track, as Ghiotto got stuck behind Nobuharu Matsushita, costing him valuable time. The Italian eventually got through and was followed in tow by Ticktum and Ilott, who were fiercely locked in battle.
Tsunoda joined the British duo’s fight, having made a move past Armstrong. Ticktum came out on top, while Ilott lost a place to Tsunoda. Meanwhile, Lundgaard was warned on the radio to look after his tyres, but had a Ghiotto-shaped shadow following in his wheel tracks.
Robert Shwartzman dived into the pits and returned with fresh soft boots, but he’d not get the opportunity to use them, as he was forced to pull off the road and retire – a big dent to his Championship hopes.
Lundgaard was handed back the race lead when Mazepin pitted on Lap 22, but Ghiotto had fresher tyres and was hot on his heels from second. Ghiotto’s job was made a whole lot easier by the emergence of a Safety Car after Giuliano Alesi slowed to a stop on the gravel trap.
Lundgaard held on at the restart, but Ticktum was thrown wide after a coming together with Tsunoda. The Briton got going again but had fallen to 11th. The Carlin driver was served with a 5s time penalty, ending his chance of points.
Theirs wasn’t the only collision, as Aitken, Guanyu Zhou and Schumacher all collided in the midfield. The German survived, but Zhou and Aitken both stopped on track with damage, bringing out another Safety Car.
Ilott was caught up in the chaos and suffered damage himself, forcing him into the pits for a new front wing and dropping him to last. Schumacher was fortunate, holding on to sixth to take the Championship lead.
The other beneficiary of the carnage was Mazepin, who had been gifted third while wearing a shiny new pair of soft tyres.
The front three went three-wide at the restart as Mazepin made a stunning move for first place, clinching the position at the exit of Turn 1. The second Hitech of Ghiotto leapt to second, as all of Lundgaard’s hard work was undone. The Dane’s tyres had nothing left to give and he continued to fall down the order, eventually falling to P6.
Mazepin held on with ease at the chequered flag, but his teammate was clinging on to second by the skin of his teeth. Ghiotto was desperately defending from Delétraz and the Swiss driver’s fresher, faster soft tyres.
The Italian managed to cling on to P2 across the line, with Delétraz forced to settle for third place. Drugovich finished fourth, with Schumacher in fifth and Lundgaard in sixth. Jüri Vips took his first points in F2 with seventh, ahead of Artem Markelov, who took his first points of 2020. Armstrong ended up in ninth, with Daruvala tenth.
Schumacher now sits first in the drivers’ standings on 153 points, four ahead of Ilott. Shwartzman is third on 140 points, with Lundgaard fourth on 128. Mazepin is one point further back in fifth. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA are first on 293 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 251. Hitech Grand Prix are third, with ART Grand Prix fourth and Carlin fifth.
KEY QUOTE – NIKITA MAZEPIN (HITECH GRAND PRIX)
“I am over the moon with the result. Starting P14, realistically, you need to be very careful setting your goals for the race. To win the Feature Race, the main race, with my teammate in second place, which makes it a double for Hitech, is a dream come true. We could not have even dreamed of this the night before.
“I had a very frustrating Friday and it makes it difficult to go to sleep when you are not satisfied with the job that you have done. I won the race from P14, and it was extremely fun inside of the car, but also tough at the same time. I am sure that it was also great to watch. Thankfully it happened, and thank you for the support.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Artem Markelov will have the chance to take his third points finish of the season from reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race on Sunday at 11.55am (local time).
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Dan Ticktum disqualified; Callum Ilott promoted to F2 Sprint victory
Monza, 6 Sept 2020: Briton Dan Ticktum has been disqualified from today’s FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at Monza after it was not possible to take a fuel sample of 0.08%kg from his DAMS’ car after the chequered flag.
The Technical Delegate’s report stated that the sample extracted was 0.05kg, which is a breach of the technical regulation. All competitors must ensure that a 0.8kg sample of fuel can be taken from the car at any time during the event.
As a consequence, Car 2 has been disqualified from the results, which means that Ticktum loses the Sprint Race win. As such, Championship leader Callum Ilott inherits the victory, whilst Christian Lundgaard is promoted to P2.
Mick Schumacher moves up to third, ahead of Louis Delétraz, Robert Shwartzman, Jehan Daruvala and Jack Aitken. Nikita Mazepin jumps to P8 and takes the final point available.
Ilott now leads the Championship with 149 points, six ahead of Schumacher, and nine ahead of Shwarztman. Ticktum falls from eight to ninth, behind Deletraz.
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Dan Ticktum put on a Monza masterclass to clinch a comfortable second win of the season in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race, finishing nearly 4s ahead of Callum Ilott, who retrieved the Championship lead from Robert Shwartzman.
The Russian not only lost first, but also second in the standings, as PREMA teammate Mick Schumacher followed up his Feature Race win on Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the Sprint. Shwartzman did manage to wrestle his way to sixth from P9 in the race, but it wasn’t enough, and he falls to third place in the standings behind his fellow Ferrari Academy drivers.
ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard continued his strong turnaround of form, completing the podium in third place for the second race in succession, having scored just one points finish from the five races prior to Monza.
Having started on reverse grid pole, Louis Delétraz slumped to a fifth-place finish, as his search for a first F2 win continues.
AS IT HAPPENED
Deletraz got a good getaway from pole, but Ticktum got a better one from second, dragging his DAMS into the lead ahead of the first corner. There was little movement behind them, as Ilott, Yuki Tsunoda and Lundgaard all stood firm and held on to third, fourth and fifth.
Feature Race winner Schumacher had gotten a move on, launching off the line from eighth and up to sixth place. The PREMA racer was unrelenting and gained another position from Lundgaard on the second lap.
The PREMA ace was up to fourth by Lap 3, as Tsunoda’s Carlin suffered from technical issues and slowed to a near stop. The Red Bull junior did manage to get going again, but dived into the pits for a check-up, and was eventually forced to retire.
There was a similar issue for Zhou. The UNI-Virtuosi racer had just managed to get ahead of Schumacher, out-breaking him at Turn 1, but slowed significantly just half a lap later. The Renault junior crawled back to the pits, but retired as well.
Shwarztman was making moves. Having started the day in ninth, the Russian was up to sixth, directly behind his teammate Schumacher, who had also lost a place to Lundgaard, during his battle with Zhou.
Ticktum was sitting pretty out in front, with Deletraz too busy defending from Ilott. Eventually, the Briton was able to fling his UNI-Virtuosi down the side of the Charouz on the first straight to leap up to second.
Deletraz got a good getaway from pole, but Ticktum got a better one from second, dragging his DAMS into the lead ahead of the first corner. There was little movement behind them, as Ilott, Yuki Tsunoda and Lundgaard all stood firm and held on to third, fourth and fifth.
Feature Race winner Schumacher had gotten a move on, launching off the line from eighth and up to sixth place. The PREMA racer was unrelenting and gained another position from Lundgaard on the second lap.
The PREMA ace was up to fourth by Lap 3, as Tsunoda’s Carlin suffered from technical issues and slowed to a near stop. The Red Bull junior did manage to get going again, but dived into the pits for a check-up, and was eventually forced to retire.
There was a similar issue for Zhou. The UNI-Virtuosi racer had just managed to get ahead of Schumacher, out-breaking him at Turn 1, but slowed significantly just half a lap later. The Renault junior crawled back to the pits, but retired as well.
Shwarztman was making moves. Having started the day in ninth, the Russian was up to sixth, directly behind his teammate Schumacher, who had also lost a place to Lundgaard, during his battle with Zhou.
Ticktum was sitting pretty out in front, with Deletraz too busy defending from Ilott. Eventually, the Briton was able to fling his UNI-Virtuosi down the side of the Charouz on the first straight to leap up to second.
KEY QUOTE – DAN TICKTUM (DAMS)
“A pretty positive day for me today, with a second win in F2. It has been a very up and down season so far, but I think we have consistently been moving in the right direction and I think we are nearly there. You can always be better, but I feel like the car is a lot closer to the window now – or perhaps even in it.
“I am really happy with the result today: I was able to control the race once I had gotten a good start. I would like to win a Feature Race, I said that in Silverstone, but a win is a win. The big positive is the pace that we have in the car. We will see what Qualifying is like next week and hopefully I’ll be on top in the other race.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Having retaken the Championship lead, Ilott will not want to surrender it again, but Schumacher is the man on form and will have his eyes locked firmly on the prize. Shwartzman has some making up to do from third after a disappointing Round 8, but will be able to do so in less than a weeks’ time, when F2 heads to Mugello for the ninth round of racing.
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Mick Schumacher takes maiden F2 win; Jehan Daruvala in points
Monza, 5 Sept 2020: It was a case of seven times lucky for Mick Schumacher, who has blown the drivers’ title fight wide open with his first victory of 2020, and his first-ever in a Feature Race. The Ferrari junior took his fourth consecutive podium finish, and his seventh overall this season, to move within three points of first place in the standings.
Indain racer Jehan Daruvala finished P10 taking the last point.
Italian Luca Ghiotto overcame a difficult start to take his third F2 podium on home soil in Monza, ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard.
Schumacher owes much of his victory to a sublime start off the line, as he fired up from seventh to second before the opening corner.
The German was then aided by a disastrous pitstop for pole-sitter Callum Ilott, who had looked so assured out in front, but stalled in the pits and plummeted down the field from P1. Ilott managed a sterling recovery drive, but was forced to settle for sixth place.
His P6 finish ties him in first place for the Championship lead with Robert Shwartzman, who finished P9 having started from 16th.
AS IT HAPPENED
Ilott kept his cool at the start, gliding off the line and neatly into the first corner, but all eyes were on Schumacher when the lights went out as the German got a dream getaway. He flung his PREMA around Nikita Mazepin and Roy Nissany off the line from seventh, and then weaved to the left and around the outside of three more to rob second place.
Yuki Tsunoda and Ghiotto endured dire getaways from second and third in comparison, and were swallowed up by those around them to drop them down to fifth and sixth, respectively.
Ilott had been unable to pull away from the pack in the opening laps and had Schumacher right behind him. The Ferrari juniors went side-by-side into Turn 1, but the UNI-Virtuosi driver clung on before Schumacher was told on the team radio to ease off his tyres.
Ilott pulled away ahead of his pitstop and dived in for a change on Lap 12, with the lead then almost 2s. But his race began to unravel as his stop was a disaster. The change was clean, but he stalled on the release and the team were forced to jumpstart his car. This handed Schumacher the lead, and dropped the Briton all the way down to the back of the pack.
Ilott’s stop wasn’t the only drama going on, as Nissany and Mazepin went wheel-to-wheel into the first chicane, resulting in the Hitech racer taking a trip into the gravel and falling to P9. From here, things got worse for the Russian driver as his car appeared to enter safety mode and he dropped down to 17th.
Those on the alternate strategy began to pit on Lap 19, and Dan Ticktum swung in from first place and returned in P10, just ahead of Ilott who was working his way back through the field. Schumacher retook the race lead and began to work on building a gap between himself and second-placed Lundgaard.
Ilott had firmly regrouped and regathered following the slow pitstop, refusing to let it define his race. He looked like a man possessed, setting purple sector after purple sector in his attempts to recover, first dispatching of Ticktum, and then Marcus Armstrong, within a matter of laps.
This put him in the wheel tracks of his title rival, Shwartzman, who could do nothing to defend from the unrelenting Briton. Ilott angled his Virtuosi towards the Championship leader heading into Turn 1, and then fired past for P6 – despite them both having the aid of DRS.
Ilott was far from finished. The Charouz machine of Louis Delétraz was next, as the Briton edged into fifth and lined up behind Tsunoda. Ilott’s teammate Guanyu Zhou was making moves as well, relegating Shwartzman to eighth, before shooting ahead of Delétraz too.
Ghiotto was enjoying a recovery of sorts himself, getting over his slow start to return to his starting position of third with three laps to go. The Italian reeled in Lundgaard and dived ahead of the Dane for second.
Schumacher retained first at the chequered flag with a gap of just over 3s to Ghiotto, with Lundgaard taking the final podium place. Tsunoda hung on to fourth, after Ilott’s tyres waned and he dropped behind Zhou. Ticktum was to seventh, followed by Delétraz, Shwartzman and Jehan Daruvala.
Shwartzman and Ilott are now tied in first place in the Championship on 134 points, just three ahead of Schumacher in third. Tsunoda drops to fourth on 123 points, ahead of Lundgaard who leaps to fifth with 104 points. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA Racing now lead by nearly 30 points, with 265 to UNI-
KEY QUOTE – MICK SCHUMACHER (PREMA RACING)
“I am very happy with the result today. I think that the team did a mega job to get the car out again after yesterday’s incident in Qualifying. When you are pushing, you are obviously trying to improve yourself and I went a bit over the limit and therefore ended up in the wall.
“It was a long night for the boys, so I really wanted to get good points for them. I didn’t think that I was going to win, but I wanted good points and a good race for the guys. They stayed up until 2am yesterday and worked on the car to get it ready. They did that and they did it in style, so I am very, very proud of them.
“This race is for them. We as a team really deserve this one. It was a really good race, everything just worked, and I am really, really happy.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Delétraz will start from reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race tomorrow at 11.10am (local time), but all eyes will be on the trio of title contenders, with just three points separating them.
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Robert Shwartzman leads Prema 1-2; Jehan Daruvala P16
Spa Francorchamps, 30 August 2020: Robert Shwartzman returned to the top of the FIA Formula 2 Championship with his third victory of the season in the Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing nine seconds ahead of his teammate Mick Schumacher in a PREMA one-two.
Indian racer Jehan Daruvala had a forgettable day once again and finished P16 following a 10-second penalty that was applied after the race.
Callum Ilott began the day in first place in the standings but suffered an early retirement in the very first lap after a coming together with Yuki Tsunoda.
With Ilott out of contention, Shwartzman knew that the Championship lead was on offer, but needed to keep the risk low and the points high. The Russian made the most of an early collision between race leaders Roy Nissany and Dan Ticktum to fire into first, and closed out a controlled victory from there.
Ticktum battled on determinedly after the collision, but couldn’t hold on to a points’ finish, eventually falling back to ninth at the flag, while Nissany’s day ended in retirement.
Ilott’s teammate Guanyu Zhou had a much better time of things, taking his fifth podium of the year behind the PREMAs in third.
AS IT HAPPENED
Mich Schumacher takes a brilliant second during the sprint race of the Formula 2 Championship at Circuit de Spa on Sunday. Photo by Clive Mason via Getty Images This was as good as it got for the Charouz Racing System driver, who then started to drop down the order, opening up an intense battle for the final podium spot. Guanyu Zhou was the first to stake his claim, but Schumacher’s own attempt was far more convincing, as he wrestled ahead of the UNI-Virtuosi man for third.
Shwartzman had scuttled off down the road by this point, building up a 7s lead over Ticktum, who was busy watching those behind him in his rear-view mirrors.
The DAMS’ driver looked to be standing his ground, but locked up under the pressure of Schumacher’s challenge and opened himself up to a move. The PREMA racer remained patient and eventually got ahead down the Kemmel Straight. Zhou followed through one lap later, taking the final podium spot.
The top three eased to the chequered flag, with Nikita Mazepin taking fourth and Luca Ghiotto fifth, followed by Delétraz and Christian Lundgaard. Artem Markelov scored his first points of 2020 in P8, while Ticktum fell back in the closing laps and ended the day in ninth, out of the points.
Shwartzman now leads Ilott in the Drivers’ Championship by exactly 10 points, with 132 in total. Tsunoda remains third on 111, with Schumacher fourth and Mazepin fifth. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA sit first with 238 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 214 and Hitech Grand Prix on 152. Carlin are fourth ahead of ART Grand Prix.
KEY QUOTE – ROBERT SHWARTZMAN (PREMA RACING)
“I have finally gotten back to first place – it had been a while since Hungary. I am really happy, and I want to say a big thank you to the team. They did a really great job and the car has been good all weekend. Yesterday, I made a mistake which influenced our result a bit.
“Today, I had a decent start and was P3 out of Turn 1. The guys in front were quite aggressive so I was being a bit cautious with them. They crashed and collided, and I used that opportunity to get past them.
“After that, I just kept up my pace and I am really happy to have the win and the fastest lap as well.”
F2 Sprint race, Top-three: 1. Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing, 42:44.391; 2. Mick Schumacher, Prema Racing, 42:53.416; 3. Guanyu Zhou, UNI-Virtuosi, 42:55.584.
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Tsunoda promoted to Feature race victory: F2
Spa, 29 August 2020: Nikita Mazepin crossed the line first, but it was Yuki Tsunoda who clinched a second FIA Formula 2 victory in the Feature Race at Spa-Francorchamps. A late time penalty for the Hitech Grand Prix driver dropped him down to second in dramatic circumstances.
The duo had diced back and forth for the entire race after a slow pitstop lost Tsunoda track position and gave Mazepin the provisional race lead. Tsunoda tried several moves to pass the Russian late on, but Mazepin clung on for the chequered flag before the Stewards felt his defending had been a little too strong. Mazepin was given a 5s time penalty for forcing the Red Bull junior off the road, costing him the win and dropping him to second.
Mick Schumacher took a cool and controlled fifth podium of 2020, steering clear of any drama to boost his own title chances and put him within 28 points of the Championship lead.
Robert Shwartzman clinched fifth and took a chunk out of Callum Ilott’s lead at the top of the standings, with the UNI-Virtuosi man finishing back in 10th.
AS IT HAPPENED
Ahead of the Feature Race, the motorsport community united in loving memory of Anthoine Hubert, who tragically passed away in Spa-Francorchamps one year ago. Anthoine’s mother Nathalie joined Juan Manuel Correa and members of the F2 paddock, along with several Formula 1 drivers and team members, in a minute’s silence on the grid to pay their respects to the late Frenchman.
Tsunoda got a clean getaway from pole, but so did Mazepin from second and the Russian pulled up alongside him heading into the first turn. Going wheel-to-wheel, the Carlin racer had the inside line and held his nerve, braking latest and retaining the position.
Having missed the opportunity to steal first, Mazepin was suddenly drawn into the crowd behind him and Nobuharu Matsushita fizzed ahead for P2.
It was a mixed start for the top 10, Shwartzman was sluggish off the line and fell to seventh, as his teammate Schumacher lunged ahead into fourth place. Louis Delétraz was another to get away well and found himself in fifth at the exit of Turn 1. Meanwhile, Championship leader Ilott had already made up two places to P10.
Having momentarily slipped back, Mazepin reclaimed second from a helpless Matsushita on Lap 3. The MP Motorsport driver’s soft Pirellis were already looking battered and bruised and he lost further places to Schumacher and Delétraz.
Matsushita’s day then got even worse. The Japanese driver had been reeled in by teammate Drugovich and the Brazilian attempted to dart to the right of him, but he ran out of room and the two came to blows. Drugovich attempted to back out of the move but clipped the right rear of Matsushita, destroying the tyre and sending him spinning into the barriers. Matsushita clambered safely out of the car, with a Virtual Safety Car deployed, but his day was over while Drugovich required a fix-up in the pits.
Mazepin and Schumacher were the first to drop the soft tyres for mediums. Tsunoda followed from first a lap later, but his stop was a poor one and he lost track position to Mazepin, who was now leading the drivers on the prime strategy. On the alternate strategy, Guanyu Zhou inherited the race lead with a 5s gap over second-placed Pedro Piquet. The UNI-Virtuosi driver was amongst the last on the medium tyres to pit, returning in P6, but he instantly lost three places to Luca Ghiotto, Dan Ticktum and Piquet due to cold rubber. His teammate Ilott followed through not long after.
Zhou’s pitstop handed Mazepin the lead for the first time, but Tsunoda was only just over a second behind and fast gaining on him. It took him two laps, but the Carlin racer caught the Russian and attempted a daring move down the inside, but Mazepin refused to surrender the place, giving Tsunoda no choice but to back out and bounce across the kerbs.
Zhou’s tyres were finally warm, as he got a move on and regained the positions he’d lost after his pitstop. The Renault junior picked off Ilott first, before lunging ahead of Ghiotto as well.
Roy Nissany was also on the charge. The Trident man’s decision to opt for the alternate strategy was paying dividends, as he fired past Ilott and eyed up Ghiotto as well before making a DRS-enthused move on the Hitech driver down the inside for P8.
Mazepin thought he had begun to edge away at the front, but Tsunoda was clearly just biding his time and he caught up again with two laps ago. Attempting a near identical move to the first on the Hitech driver, Tsunoda inched ahead but was forced wide again which returned him to second.
Mazepin crossed the line in first but was swiftly informed of a crushing 5s time penalty for forcing the Carlin driver off the road during the aforementioned move, promoting Tsunoda up to first and dropping Mazepin to second.
Nothing changed behind them, as Schumacher closed out his fifth podium of the season. Delétraz settled for fourth, ahead of Shwartzman, Ticktum and Zhou.
Nissany sealed his highest ever F2 finish in P8, followed by Ghiotto and Ilott. In the Drivers’ Championship, Ilott remains in first with 122 points, seven ahead of Shwartzman. Tsunoda is up to third on 111 points, while Schumacher is fourth and Mazepin fifth. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA Racing are back on top with 209 points, five ahead of UNI-Virtuosi. Hitech Grand Prix are third, ahead of Carlin and ART Grand Prix.
KEY QUOTE – YUKI TSUNODA (CARLIN)
“I am really happy to take P1 in the Feature Race. This is 100% for Anthoine Hubert. A big thanks to Carlin, Red Bull and Honda. It was not an easy situation, and I was a little bit unlucky during the pitstop, but after that I just pushed until the end as much as I could.
“Like Hubert last year, he pushed every lap, every race, and I just drove like him. I maybe couldn’t win in the race, but the final result is P1 and I am really happy with that.”
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Tsunoda takes 2nd F2 pole; Jehan Daruvala to start on P9
Spa Francorchamps (Belgium), 28 August 2020: Carlin’s Yuki Tsunoda was in scintillating form around Spa-Francorchamps, taking pole for the second time this season in FIA Formula 2 Qualifying. The Red Bull Junior finished a tenth faster than Nikita Mazepin, who squeezed every drop of power out of his Hitech Grand Prix machine in his attempts to beat Tsunoda.
Mazepin settled for a career best Qualifying of P2, ahead of Nobuharu Matsushita, who will start in the top three for the first time this year.
The rain that struck Formula 3 Qualifying earlier in the afternoon had passed by the time F2 got out there, which allowed the grid to feed out onto a dry circuit. Jüri Vips’ first Qualifying session couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start, as the DAMS’ driver was forced to pull off the road and stop with an issue without setting a time. The stewards wheeled his car behind the barriers and his day was done.
After swift work from the marshals, Roy Nissany completed his first full tour of Spa as the times began to come in. Teammate Marino Sato topped the early standings, with a time of 1:58.959.
The session was brought to a brief halt when the rear of Guilherme Samaia’s Campos started smoking. The Brazilian was quickly out of his machine, and the flames were put out, but his day was over and a red flag was required to get it moved.
The field were in a hurry to set some fast laps when running resumed and Tsunoda got the best of the lot, at the end of the first full run for everyone. The Carlin racer lapped two tenths faster than his nearest rival Mick Schumacher.
Mazepin was already on for his best Qualifying of the year at the halfway point, but he returned from his tyre change wanting even more. He briefly held P1, after a stunning middle sector, but Tsunoda looked to be on another level around Spa. The Red Bull junior found even more pace from his Carlin to reclaim first from the Russian.
Matsushita followed up his stunning Feature Race win in the previous round at Barcelona with his best Qualifying of the year in third place, only two tenths off the pace.
Robert Shwartzman settled for fourth, as Felipe Drugovich made it two MP Motorsport machines in the top five. Guanyu Zhou clinched sixth, ahead of Schumacher, Louis Delétraz, Jehan Daruvala and Luca Ghiotto.
Championship leader Callum Ilott finished outside of the top three for the first time in 2020 and will start the Feature Race back in P12.
Tsunoda will be looking for his second win of the season in the Feature Race tomorrow, when the lights go out at 3.45pm local time.
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Facile win for Felipe Drugovich; Daruvala hopes to turn the tide
Barcelona, 16 August 2020: Felipe Drugovich dominated the Barcelona Sprint Race for his second FIA Formula 2 win of the season, finishing 9s ahead of Luca Ghiotto. The Hitech Grand Prix driver couldn’t touch the MP Motorsport man for pace but comfortably held on to P2 for his second podium of the season, ahead of Mick Schumacher.
It was a forgettable week-end for Indian racer Jehan Daruvala who ended up last in the Feature Race on Saturday after starting P12 and could only finish P17 in the Sprint race on Sunday. With the season at the half-way stage, Daruvala, however, is not letting the guard down and is looking forward to make amends and work with he team turn the tables. “Half the season is done… It really has been tough… I have been through times like these before… I believe In myself and will work hard with my team to get back to where I want to be. Thank you for all the support!,” the Mumbai-born racer tweeted.
In a race where most of the grid struggled to manage their Pirelli tyres, Drugovich bombed ahead of pole-sitter Ghiotto off the line and kept it calm and controlled out in front, showing no sign of any detrimental wear.
Schumacher had a mixed start to the race, which had initially seen him challenge for the lead before falling to P4. The German forced his way ahead of Callum Ilott for his fourth podium of the season.
Despite heavy degradation, Championship leader Ilott was able to cling on to eighth and the final points position. Robert Shwartzman wasn’t so lucky, finishing out of the points in 13th.
AS IT HAPPENED
Sean Gelael was unable to take part in the race following an incident on the last lap on Saturday, which led to a back injury. The Indonesian is expected to make a full recovery.
Ghiotto was sluggish off the line, Drugovich wasn’t. The Brazilian flung down the right and into the lead ahead of the first corner. Schumacher initially enjoyed a solid getaway himself from third, and attempted to fire down the middle for first but couldn’t find a way through, ending up losing a place to Ilott.
Drugovich was in a league of his own out in front, building up an impressive early advantage of 3s inside of the opening four laps. Having gotten comfortable, the MP Motorsport driver eased off on the throttle to preserve his rubber.
Louis Delétraz had been stalking the rear wing of Shwartzman in a fight for eighth, but their brawl was brought to an abrupt halt thanks to a mammoth overtake from Nikita Mazepin. The Russian swung to the right and hurtled down the side of him on the main straight and into the first corner. The Charouz Racing System driver was clearly struggling with degradation, which allowed Christian Lundgaard to follow Mazepin through four laps later.
If Shwartzman thought this had given him some breathing space, he was wrong. Mazepin managed what Delétraz could not, braving a late brake at the first turn and edging ahead of the Russian.
Drugovich had extended the gap to eight seconds, as Ilott reeled in Ghiotto. The door was open and Ilott dived down the inside on the main straight to spark a wheel-to-wheel brawl with the Italian. Ghiotto managed to close the door and narrowly retained the lead, with Schumacher following the pair, ready to pounce on any mistakes.
In the end, the PREMA racer wouldn’t need one. Ghiotto got a move on and escaped the clutches of Ilott, which robbed the UNI-Virtuosi racer of DRS and allowed Schumacher to ease past at the first corner.
Yuki Tsunoda had snuck up on Guanyu Zhou and nabbed fifth from the UNI-Virtuosi driver in a move that appeared all too easy down the main straight. He followed this up with an overtake of Ilott for fourth, who was struggling with degradation.
Ilott wasn’t the only one, as his teammate Zhou was forced into the pits for fresh Pirellis, which cost the Renault junior a points finish. Jack Aitken and Dan Ticktum also had to go in for a change of boots.
Drugovich coolly took the chequered flag for MP Motorsport’s second win of the weekend – the first time any team has won twice on the same weekend in 2020. Ghiotto kept hold of second ahead of Schumacher and Tsunoda.
Matsushita stole fifth, ahead of Mazepin in sixth. Pedro Piquet made a late charge to seventh for his first points in F2. Ilott dropped back to ninth on the final lap, although a late time penalty for Lundgaard promoted him to eighth.
Ilott extends his lead over Robert Shwartzman in the Drivers’ Championship by one point to 121, ahead of the Russian on 103. Lundgaard remains third on 87, followed by Tsunoda and Schumacher. In the Teams’ Championship, UNI-Virtuosi remain first with 197 points, ahead of PREMA on 182. ART Grand Prix are third with 121, followed by Hitech and MP Motorsport.
KEY QUOTE – FELIPE DRUGOVICH (MP MOTORSPORT)
“Amazing race for me. I started P2 and got the jump past Luca into Turn 1. After that, the car was just amazing, basically the same as yesterday. It is a shame we couldn’t capitalise on that yesterday, because of the Safety Car, otherwise, we were pretty much in the same spot or second.
“Shame about that, but this pretty much makes up for yesterday and I am really happy, and really happy for the team, because for sure, we have made a big step forward this weekend.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Championship battle is heating up ahead of the third triple-header of the season in just under two weeks’ time. Ilott and Shwartzman will reconvene at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, for Round 7.
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Nobuharu Matsushita wins Feature race starting from P17
Barcelona, 15 August 2020: Nobuharu Matsushita won his first race of the season in incredible fashion, rising all the way from 17th to first, thanks in part to some clever strategic work from MP Motorsport. A well-timed pitstop handed him the opportunity, but his racecraft ensured the job was done as he finished ahead of Robert Shwartzman and Guanyu Zhou.
For most of the afternoon, pole-sitter Callum Ilott had looked certain to seal a third victory of the year, but the UNI-Virtuosi driver ended up in fifth after a chaotic climax.
A late safety car period forced a number of the grid to pit for a second time, including Ilott. This shuffled the pack and allowed the podium finishers the opportunity to get ahead of him, which they gleefully took.
Championship contender Christian Lundgaard’s weekend didn’t get any better after a disappointing Qualifying yesterday, as he finished in 11th place and out of the points.
AS IT HAPPENED
Shwartzman secured his first front row start in an F2 Feature Race on Friday and made his getaway count, sending it furiously off the line to fire ahead of pole-sitter Ilott. The UNI-Virtuosi driver was too busy fending off Mick Schumacher around the first corner.
The PREMA man – the highest placed driver starting on the hard Pirellis – had thundered down the left from fifth place and was attempting to nab second from the Championship leader. The duo nearly kissed tyres the exit, as Ilott just about clung on.
Shwartzman was given an early breather at the front as fellow F3 graduate Marcus Armstrong skidded into the gravel trap and came to an abrupt halt to bring out the safety car.
The field got back underway cleanly as Ilott fought out of DRS range from Schumacher and got back to battling Shwartzman. It took him a couple of laps, but Ilott was closing in on his title rival and eventually launched past the Russian down the main straight and into the first corner to reclaim the lead.
Yuki Tsunoda nipped ahead of Jack Aitken and into seventh before leading the Campos driver into the pits to ditch the soft tyres on Lap 7. Having lost the lead, Shwartzman followed a lap later, while Ilott remained out until Lap 9, clearly comfortable with his management of the Pirellis.
Schumacher had been handed first when those on the primary strategy pitted, but his attempts to build a gap at the front before his stop were hampered as he slipped a little due to a lack of grip, and ran wide. He kept it together, thanks to some razor-sharp reactions.
Degradation was always likely to play a defining role in Barcelona, and with track temperature hitting 47 degrees, that was certainly proving to be the case. PREMA’s decision to run Schumacher on the alternate strategy was causing the German some problems. His Pirellis were heavily degraded, with Ilott just 4s behind, and he was forced to dive into the pits on Lap 23, with more than 10 to go.
Schumacher returned way back in 13th, with Ilott returning to P1. The German was then handed the opportunity to rest his soft tyres as Sean Gelael and Giuliano Alesi touched tyres, spinning the HWA RACELAB machine and bringing him to a halt to spark another safety car period.
UNI-Virtuosi rolled the dice and pitted Ilott for a second time for a fresh set of soft tyres. Felipe Drugovich, Shwartzman and Zhou all joined him in pitting again. Ilott returned in P2, behind Tsunoda, who opted not to change.
Tsunoda clung on when racing resumed, but Ilott did not. Coming almost out of nowhere, Matsushita benefitted from the SC period, pitting just before the collision and returning in third. Having done everything right until this point, Ilott surrendered second to Matsushita at Turn 4, and then lost a further place to Shwartzman.
Tsunoda could only hold on for so long though, as both Matsushita and Shwartzman forced their way through just before a third safety car period, after Roy Nissany lost control and dumped his car into the wall at Turn 3.
Racing resumed with just one lap to run, and Matsushita calmly held on to first place ahead of Shwartzman. Zhou managed to dash ahead of Tsunoda for the final podium place, with Ilott dropping down to fifth. Schumacher managed sixth, followed by Drugovich, Luca Ghiotto, Dan Ticktum and Louis Delétraz.
Ilott retains his grip on the Drivers’ Championship with 120 points, but Shwartzman has leapt to second and closed the gap to 17 points. Lundgaard falls to third with 87 points, ahead of Zhou and Tsunoda.
In the Teams’ Championship, UNI-Virtuosi lead with 196 points ahead of PREMA Racing on 172. ART Grand Prix are third, ahead of Hitech Grand Prix and Carlin.
KEY QUOTE – NOBUHARU MATSUSHITA (MP MOTORSPORT)
“I am really happy. I have been struggling for pace this season at times, but we had mega pace today. The Safety Car was perfect timing, but I will get confidence from this race. Starting from P8 tomorrow, I think I can have another good race and will keep pushing.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Ghiotto will be attempting to win for the second time in 2020 on Sunday, when he starts from reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race, at 11.10am local time.
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Callum Ilott takes pole again: F2
Championship leader Callum Ilott sealed his second successive pole position in FIA Formula 2, ahead of title rival Robert Shwartzman. The UNI-Virtuosi racer finished just one tenth faster than the PREMA man, and clinched what could prove to be four crucial points in the race to the crown. Ilott’s teammate Guanyu Zhou finished just 0.2s off pole himself in third.
Temperature was always going to be a factor in Qualifying, with the track hitting 47 degrees as Nikita Mazepin led the cars out onto the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Russian was the first man to set a flying lap, and the first to put a quick time on the board, running just above the 1m 30s mark.
Shwartzman set the benchmark time thanks to a strong first sector, punching round in 1:28.862. His title rival Ilott couldn’t quite match him for pace, diving into P2 ahead of the second PREMA of Mick Schumacher – the three of them separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Ilott’s teammate Zhou had opted to remain in the pits at the start of the session, and headed out onto the track as the rest of the grid returned to the pits for a tyre change. The UNI-Virtuosi racer’s decision proved to be a good one as he posted a tour quick enough for P2, just a hundredth of a second off provisional pole.
Ilott was the first back out onto the circuit, on fresh soft Pirellis, and found an extra half a second. He smashed the second and third sectors to take provisional pole with nine minutes to go. The Ferrari junior returned back to the pits with 1:28.381 on the board, and clambered out of his car to watch on as the rest of the field attempted to better his time.
Shwartzman and Felipe Drugovich both found more pace around the track but couldn’t match the Briton’s time, diving into second and third, 0.1s and 0.3s short of pole.
The tyres didn’t have enough life in them for another push lap and the field all headed back into the pits, bar Zhou, who had returned late after running in the gap earlier. With the track completely to himself he found more pace, but like those before him couldn’t match Ilott, running 0.2s slower and sealing third.Drugovich finished in fourth, ahead of Schumacher, Yuki Tsunoda and Jack Aitken. Free Practice pacesetter Dan Ticktum took eighth, ahead of Mazepin and Louis Delétraz.
Ilott has the opportunity to further stretch his lead at the top of the standings in the Feature Race tomorrow, at 4.45pm local time.
