After a shortened, weather-affected Sprint Race, the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race will get underway at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The track, though relatively cool with a temperature of 23.2 degrees Celsius, is dry, a stark contrast to yesterday’s conditions during the Sprint Race. The drivers are currently out on track, waiting to begin the formation lap.
As the order to begin the formation lap is given, Hitech Pulse Eight’s Paul Aron (ARO), starting today’s feature race on pole, leads the drivers around the 7.004 km track. He is followed by Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto (BOR), starting beside him in second, and Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar (HAD), just behind them in third.
The order on the starting grid is ARO, BOR, HAD, CRA, ANT, MAL, COL, VER, HAU, OSU, ACO, MAI, FIT, JCO, BEA, MIY, JMA, VIL, BAR, DUR, STA and VMA. The drivers have now all returned to their starting positions after the formation lap.
The lights go out at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Aron gets a good start of the line, keeping the lead, while Hadjar gets ahead of Bortoleto down the Kemmel Straight. But there’s chaos behind them as Prema Racing’s Oliver Bearman (BEA) collides with Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney (MAL), subsequently spinning into Campos Racing’s Josep Maria Martí (JMA). Both Bearman and Martí have crashed into the barrier at Turn 1. Maloney is also out. This crash brings out the safety car. The collision will be investigated after the race.
Aron leads the pack behind the safety car. He, and Prema Racing’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ANT), have been noted for a technical infringement. No further details on this yet. It will be investigated after the race. As the drivers get into the third lap of the race, the announcement is made that the safety car will be coming in at the end of the lap.
The safety car has come in. Aron judges the restart perfectly. He pulls ahead of Hadjar, quickly gaining a half-a-second lead ahead of the pack. Hadjar keeps P2, with Bortoleto in P3, DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford (CRA) in P4, Trident’s Richard Verschoor (VER) in P5, Prema Racing’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ANT) in P6 and ART Grand Prix’s Zak O’Sullivan (OSU) in P7.
Another yellow flag is out now with ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins (VMA) and Van Amersfoort’s Rafael Villagómez (VIL) in the gravel. Villagómez was squeezed wide at Les Combes by AIX Racing’s Taylor Barnard (BAR). He dipped a wheel into the gravel and subsequently spun across the track, colliding with Victor Martins, who had been making his way back onto the track after running wide at Turn 7. Both go into the barrier, bringing out the yellow flag which was quickly upgraded to the second safety car of the race. Barnard is uninvolved in the collision and will continue his race.
The safety car comes in at the end of Lap 6. With the mandatory pitstop window now open, MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger (HAU) comes in for a tyre change. It appears that he is the only driver to opt to do so, with the others opting to stay out for now. Back on track, Aron keeps the lead, ahead of Hadjar. However, into Lap 8, Hadjar sets the fastest lap and put himself right behind Aron. He uses DRS to get to P1 down the Kemmel Straight. Aron does not immediately challenge to re-take the position. Instead, he is told to box. Hadjar continues on.
Into the ninth lap, and Verschoor gets ahead of Crawford to take P7. Crawford is immediately called in for his pitstop. Hadjar has not been told to come into the pits. He does but Bortoleto continues on in the lead. Hadjar is aiming to come out ahead of Aron, and he does. However, he needs to bring up the temperature in his tyres and Aron can easily get within DRS range. With the DRS advantage, Aron can soon get back ahead of Hadjar. He’s now up into P8 but with those ahead of him still needing to make their mandatory pitstop, he could regain the race lead if he can keep his position. However, Hadjar is putting up quite the challenge. Meanwhile, Bortoleto and Maloney have completed their pitstops.
As the drivers get into the twelfth lap of the race, the current standings are VER, ANT, MAI, ACO, BAR, JCO, MIY, ARO, HAD, BOR, CRA, OSU, HAU, MAL, DUR, and STA. JMA, BEA and COL were forced to retire early on after their first-lap collision brought out the safety car, while VIL and VMA retired in Lap 4 after their collision. It appears that Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Fittipaldi (FIT) will be the sixth retirement of the race. He came into the pitlane for his tyre change but stalled in his pit box. The driver has been trying to get the car started but has been unsuccessful so far. He gives up and is now out of the car.
Back out on track, Aron sets the fastest lap. He is still ahead of Hadjar, but Hadjar is within DRS range. He can use this to get ahead of Aron down the Kemmel Straight in Lap 13. Likewise, he quickly pulls ahead of Aron, getting over a second ahead of the Estonian. Behind them, Maloney overtakes Hauger for P12. Just over half of the race has been completed by the 16 drivers still on track.
Out in front, Verschoor leads the pack with Antonelli close behind him, within DRS range. Neither driver has had their mandatory pitstop yet, however. Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini (MAI), who had been just behind them in P3, and who had also opted to hold out on his mandatory pitstop, has now been called into the pitlane. He goes onto soft tyres, having completed his previous laps on the medium.
With just about 10 laps remaining, Antonelli and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Amaury Cordeel (ACO) come into the pitlane. Antonelli has a slow stop, and he loses position to Cordeel. Meanwhile, into Lap 17, Bortoleto has caught up to Aron. He has DRS going down the Kemmel Straight and can get ahead of Aron. Bortoleto is now chasing down Hadjar and appears to have better pace as Hadjar is being held up by Barnard and Correa. Into Lap 18, Bortoleto is within DRS range of Hadjar. However, he is too far behind to get ahead on the Kemmel Straight and has to keep his place behind the Campos Racing driver.
Behind them, Aron appears to be struggling for pace after significant tyre degradation. He is now too far behind Bortoleto and Hadjar to be much threat of to them but is himself under threat from Crawford. As Aron and Crawford battle for third, a brief yellow flag is called in Sector 1. There are no collisions this time. Instead, the marshals simply need to remove some debris on the track. This is quickly done, and the track goes fully green once again.
Maini is noted for track limits as the drivers get into Lap 20. Ahead of him, Aron is still battling Crawford for third, with the Estonian holding on to his positional despite the continued challenges. Meanwhile, Hadjar has built up a gap of about 1.5 seconds ahead of Bortoleto. He appears to be pulling ahead as the drivers get into the final laps of the race.
With only five laps left, the current standings of the drivers still in the race are HAD, BOR, ARO, CRA, OSU, MAL, VER, MIY, ANT, ACO, DUR, HAU, MAI, BAR, JCO and STA. There have been no new retirements since Fittipaldi’s.
Into Lap 22, Verschoor gets ahead of Maloney for P6, while Cordeel gets ahead of Antonelli for P9. While some challenges are still being made, the action on track has calmed down quite a bit, with the drivers opting to preserve their tyres through the final stint of the race.
Hadjar leads the pack across the line to get the final lap underway. He is now over two seconds ahead of Bortoleto. Behind them, however, Aron appears to be slowing down on the Kemmel Straight. He soon comes to a stop, and it appears that he will not be finishing the race. He will be classified P16.
Hadjar now crosses the finish line to claim his hard-earned victory. He extends his lead in the driver championship. Bortoleto crosses just behind him to secure P2. With Aron not completing the race, and subsequently ending the race without points, Bortoleto goes second in the driver’s championship. Crawford now comes across the finish line, securing the final podium position.
The final standings are HAD, BOR, CRA, OSU, VER, MAL, MIY, ACO, ANT, DUR, JCO, HAU, BAR, STA, MAI, ARO, FIT, VIL, VMA, COL, BEA, JMA. There were seven retirements from the race – COL, BEA and JMA after an opening lap collision, VIL and VMA after a Lap 4 collision, FIT after a stall in the pitlane in Lap 12, and ARO in the final lap.
With their Belgian Grand Prix now complete, the FIA Formula 2 drivers will have several weeks away for summer break. They will return to action in Monza from August 30 to September 1.
