At the intense F2 sprint race at Yas Marina Circuit, Spanish driver Pepe Martí took his maiden win, securing 11 points ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto and Paul Aron. While the championship battle is still ongoing, this race definitely tilted the tables towards Brazilian driver — Bortoleto.
The championship title fight is coming to an end this weekend in Abu Dhabi. With the sprint race session taking place, fans were mainly focused on the Championship Title Contenders — Gabriel Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar and Paul Aron. While Bortoleto and Aron came 2nd and 3rd respectively, it was a tough battle for Hadjar
The grid was set in reverse order of qualifying with Amaury Cordeel in pole position, followed by Joshua Durksen and Ritomo Miyata.
Kimi Antonelli of Prema Racing, has been feeling unwell and on doctor’s advice, he did not race in today’s sprint race. He will rest and recover ahead of tomorrow’s Feature Race.
Laps 1-10
It’s lights off and away we go. Pepe Martí gets an amazing launch over the line as the others have lock up at turn one, causing him to become the race leader. Durksen makes a move on Cordeel who fell to P2.
Kush Maini takes second place during Lap one, overtaking Cordeel, after starting the race at P8. Victor Martins rams into Miyata, who causes the collision. Martins was pushed to the back of the grid and the collision was taken under investigation.
Paul Aron is driven off the track, while Hadjar climbs to P10. Bortoleto climbs to fourth while Hadjar is constantly aiming for P9. Miyata received a 10-second penalty for causing the collision with Martins.
Bortoleto is looking for the move into P2, which is currently held by teammate, Kush Maini. Bortoleto utilises the DRS and takes over Maini, making him second in the race — which will enable him to gain 8 very valuable points as he leads the championship by 0.5 points.
Damage to Hadjar’s front wing, as a result of the tight squeeze from Maini in lap one, can be seen. Cordeel hits Maini in the rear end, while Aron simultaneously takes over Durksen reaching P5. Cordeel is now in 3rd position. Maini is taken over by Aron, giving the Estonian driver P4 in the race, a few seconds behind his teammate.
Oliver Bearman takes over Maini utilising DRS, followed by Beganovic who also manages to take over the Invicta driver. Maini falls from P2 to P8 in the matter of a few laps.
Hadjar and Jak Crawford also take over the Indian driver as he continues falling through the grid. Oliver Goethe avoids damage with Luke Browning as he overtakes Goethe and reaches P10.
Laps 10-23
Beganovic is “defending for his life” against Hadjar. Hadjar temporarily overtakes before the rookie F2 driver takes back his position. Track deletion for Bearman, as he is on his last strike before penalty. Black and white flag shown for Bearman as he exceeds track limits.
Tyre degradation has begun on Lap 15, where we also see black and white flag for Max Esterson. Big Lock-up for Cordeel at Turn 13 which reduces the gap between him and his teammate, Aron. Aron takes over Cordeel with a fine move on the inside and reaches P3 in the race.
Contact between Cordeel and Durksen, which is under investigation, causing a DNF for Joshua Durksen who is currently driving for AIX racing. Bearman exceeds track limits once again and is finally taken under investigation, which results in a 5-second penalty for the English Driver who is set to drive in Haas next year.
Bortoleto has a bit of lockup in turn 12 as he tries to catch up to race leader Pepe Martí. John Bennett receives a penalty while Beganovic climbs to P5, taking over Cordeel who is in the Hitech car. Cordeel is hit with a 10-second penalty as he caused the collision between him and Durksen.
Richard Verschoor takes over Goethe, his teammate, to P10. However, Goethe takes ahead and manages to cling on to the place. Cordeel has a lockup while Hadjar climbs to 6th. Bearman tries to make a move on Aron with hopes of scoring higher to avoid impact on his points from the penalty. However, he fails to do so. Martí and Bortoleto have a 2-second gap.
The Maiden Win
A maiden win for Pepe Marti 🥳
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) December 7, 2024
Meanwhile, P2 for Gabriel Bortoleto extends his championship lead over Isack Hadjar to 5.5 points going into the season finale 📈🍿
P3 wasn't enough for Paul Aron to keep his championship hopes going 😢#F2 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/vbs2ciw3d4
Pepe Martí, the 19-year-old Spanish Driver, takes the chequered flag, and it is a maiden win for the driver in Formula 2.
Bortoleto places second while Aron places third, both getting a podium win. Bortoleto gains 8 points from the race which puts him in the lead of the championship. Aron is officially out of the championship contention, although the Estonian driver did drive really well in the sprint race, he only gained a mere 6 points which weren’t enough for him. Hadjar on the other hand gets 3 points.
The much awaited final feature race of the series takes place tomorrow at Yas Marina, and as the championship win will be determined tomorrow, fans are on the edge of their seats.
Tomorrow we will have Victor Martins from ART Grand Prix Racing starting at pole position followed by championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto.
