F2 Austrian Sprint Race 2026: Bennett Takes Maiden Win With Last-Lap Switchback on Montoya

John Bennett took his maiden Formula 2 victory at the Red Bull Ring with one of the moves of the F2 season so far, a switchback on Sebastián Montoya at Turn 4 on the final lap that ended a 28-lap hunt. Montoya held second for PREMA Racing, Rafael Villagómez third for Van Amersfoort Racing, Alexander Dunne fourth. Rafael Câmara was handed a five-second post-race penalty for causing the Lap 1 collision with Inthraphuvasak, dropping him from sixth to ninth and handing Nikola Tsolov eighth and one championship point. Gabriele Minì leads the championship on 90 points, Tsolov ten behind in second.

Key Points: F2 Austrian Sprint Race 2026

• Bennett takes his maiden F2 victory with a last-lap switchback on Montoya at Turn 4, ending a 28-lap chase
• Multi-car collision at Turn 3 on Lap 1 eliminates Inthraphuvasak, Goethe, Duerksen and Fittipaldi before the race is properly underway; Herta retired later, triggering the VSC on Lap 21
• Câmara handed a five-second post-race penalty for causing the Lap 1 collision with Inthraphuvasak, drops from P6 to P9; he keeps one point for fastest lap, which the time penalty doesn’t remove
• Tsolov inherits eighth and one championship point after recovering from the Lap 1 contact that dropped him to the back of the field
• Minì leads the championship on 90 points, Tsolov second on 80, Câmara third on 73, Dunne fourth on 72

Race Recap

The Start: Bennett Leads, Chaos Follows

Bennett got a great launch from second on the reverse grid, clearing Montoya on the run to Turn 1. Further back, the race was already unravelling. At Turn 3, Câmara made contact with the rear of Inthraphuvasak’s ART Grand Prix car and sent him into a spin. Goethe went into the path of the spinning car. Fittipaldi had nowhere to go and didn’t finish. Beganovic was also caught up but pitted for a new front wing and continued. Separately, Duerksen and Tsolov collided at the same corner. Tsolov resumed; Duerksen didn’t. Inthraphuvasak, Goethe and Fittipaldi all failed to complete a lap.

Villagómez Leads, Montoya Takes It Back

Racing resumed on Lap 4 with Bennett leading from Montoya, Villagómez third and closing. Montoya sat 0.2 seconds behind Bennett on Lap 7 and tried through Turns 4, 5 and 6 without finding a way past. Their battle gave Villagómez the gap he needed. The Mexican went to the inside of Bennett at Turn 4 on Lap 8 and took the lead. Montoya recovered it shortly after, and by Lap 10 the order was Montoya, Bennett, Villagómez, Câmara, Dunne and Minì. Nobody got away. Nobody got clean air.

Dunne moved on Câmara at Turn 4 on Lap 17, taking fourth. A Virtual Safety Car on Lap 21 for Herta’s retirement briefly compressed the field. When racing resumed on Lap 22, Minì and Câmara went side by side through Turns 4 and 6, Minì taking fifth on exit. Tsolov, working back through the order after the Lap 1 contact, passed his Campos teammate León at Turn 4 on Lap 25 to move into the top ten.

The Final Lap: Bennett’s Moment

In the closing laps Bennett was 0.6 seconds behind Montoya and back in DRS range. Montoya covered Turn 3 on the final lap. Bennett cut back for Turn 4 and the inside was his. He crossed the line for his maiden Formula 2 victory. Montoya held second, Villagómez third, Dunne fourth, Minì fifth, Bilinski sixth, Maini seventh, Tsolov eighth after the post-race Câmara penalty was applied.

The Câmara Penalty

The result wasn’t finished when Bennett crossed the line. Câmara was found wholly to blame for the Lap 1 collision with Inthraphuvasak at Turn 3, breaching Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2(d) of the FIA International Sporting Code. The stewards noted mitigating factors, including the opening lap context and the number of cars competing for space producing a concertina effect. They applied the lesser five-second penalty rather than ten seconds. With the time added, Câmara fell to ninth. Everyone behind him moved up one position, Tsolov inheriting eighth and one championship point.

Sprint Race Classification: F2 Spielberg Sprint Race 2026

Championship Picture: F2 Spielberg Sprint Race 2026

Minì leads on 90 points, Tsolov ten behind in second on 80, Câmara third on 73, Dunne fourth on 72, León fifth on 54. In the Teams’ Championship, Campos Racing lead on 134 points, Rodin Motorsport second on 120, MP Motorsport third on 102.

Coffee Corner Take

Bennett’s win was earned over 28 laps of patience, not one move. He led early, lost the position in traffic, spent the middle of the race tucked behind Montoya with no clean way past, and waited. When the gap appeared at Turn 4 on the final lap, he didn’t hesitate. TRIDENT have had the pace to be in these conversations before. Spielberg is where it finally paid off.

The race that existed on paper before the penalty looked different. Câmara sixth on the road with the fastest lap point was a reasonable afternoon after a difficult opening lap. The stewards took most of it away. Wholly to blame, five seconds applied, he fell to ninth. The mitigating factors got him the lesser penalty rather than ten seconds. He keeps one point for fastest lap. The fastest lap point was the only thing left.

Tsolov gets one point from a race that could have given him none. He was caught in the Lap 1 contact with Duerksen, dropped to the back, worked back through the field and crossed the line ninth in the provisional order. The penalty moved him to eighth and added one point to the damage limitation.

Minì finished fifth, banked four points, and kept the championship lead at ten. He’s been doing this all season. Collect what’s there, don’t lose ground when the race goes sideways around you. The lead stays. The approach doesn’t change.

Dunne’s fourth is the result that deserves more attention than it’ll get. No drama, no penalty, no crash. He moved on Câmara cleanly, held the position for the rest of the race, and collected five points. He’s one point behind Câmara in the championship now and still in the title argument without needing a headline result to stay there.