Miyata Survives Chaos to Claim Maiden Win at the F2 Madrid Sprint Race

Ritomo Miyata claimed his maiden FIA Formula 2 victory in the first ever Madrid Sprint Race, leading every lap from pole and controlling two Safety Car restarts to win by 2.678 seconds. The Sprint grid had already changed heavily before lights out. Colton Herta was withdrawn by Hitech after falling ill, separate from a Restricted Period breach on Car 4 that had already earned it a pit lane start penalty. Nico Varrone, Kush Maini, Sebastián Montoya and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak were all moved to the back of the Sprint grid after qualifying, through Red Flag penalties, the 107% rule and Inthraphuvasak not taking part in the session. Emerson Fittipaldi held on for his maiden F2 podium in second, with Laurens van Hoepen completing the podium for TRIDENT.

Key Points: F2 Madrid Sprint Race

• Miyata wins the first ever F2 Madrid Sprint Race from pole, leading every lap for his maiden FIA Formula 2 victory, Hitech’s first win since Baku 2025
• Colton Herta withdrawn by Hitech after falling ill, separate from a Restricted Period breach on Car 4 that had already earned it a pit lane start penalty for Saturday’s Sprint
• Varrone, Maini, Montoya and Inthraphuvasak all demoted to the back of the Sprint grid: two after Red Flag rulings, one for missing 107%, one after taking no part in Qualifying at all
• Two Safety Cars shape the race: Maini and Varrone make contact at Turn 7 on Lap 1, Tsolov brushes the wall at Turn 20 after his fight with León
• Fittipaldi holds off a fast-closing van Hoepen for second, his maiden F2 podium. Van Hoepen completes the podium for TRIDENT
• Tsolov leads the Drivers’ Championship on 177 points despite retiring, with Câmara second on 169. Campos Racing lead the Teams’ standings on 296

Race Recap: F2 Madrid Sprint Race

Before the Start: Herta Out, Four Demoted

Car 4 was worked on during the Restricted Period without an approved exception, a breach of Article 21.6 a of the FIA Formula 2 Sporting Regulations. The stated consequence was a pit lane start for Colton Herta in Saturday’s Sprint. Hitech then withdrew him from the race entirely, after the American fell ill. The two facts are separate. The breach earned the penalty. The illness is why he never took the pit lane start at all. Everyone behind Car 4 on the grid moved up one place.

Qualifying had already cost four other drivers their grid slots. Nico Varrone lost his fastest time after the Stewards ruled him the sole cause of the session’s second Red Flag, a breach of Article 33.5, and lined up 19th. Kush Maini lost his own fastest time for causing the first Red Flag, the same breach, and started 20th. Sebastián Montoya failed to set a time inside 107% and lined up 21st. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak did not take part in Qualifying at all and started 22nd.

The Start: Miyata Leads, Fittipaldi Follows

Miyata made a clean getaway and led into Turn 1 ahead of Fittipaldi. Noel León held third ahead of van Hoepen, who started on the Soft tyre alongside Gabriele Minì and Mari Boya while the rest of the field chose Hards. The midfield was busy from the opening laps, Rafael Câmara through on Dino Beganovic for seventh at Turn 5, Alexander Dunne diving inside Roman Bilinski for eighth at Turn 8.

First Safety Car: Maini and Varrone Collide

The Safety Car came out at the end of Lap 1. Maini and Varrone made contact at Turn 7, sending the Van Amersfoort Racing car spinning into the barrier. Separately, at the opening corner, Sebastián Montoya and John Bennett collided. Montoya continued. Bennett returned to the pits and retired with damage, his race over after two laps.

Van Hoepen Closes In

Racing resumed on Lap 5. Dunne went to the outside of Câmara at Turn 5, the Invicta driver holding the position, then defending again when Dunne tried the same move a lap later. Further up the order, van Hoepen was working his tyre advantage against León, diving inside at Turn 13 without success before trying again at the Turn 5 chicane on Lap 9. León briefly reclaimed the place at Turn 8 after running off track, then was told to give it back a couple of laps later. Fittipaldi had pulled to within 1.1 seconds of Miyata, but van Hoepen was faster still, setting the race’s fastest lap to that point.

Second Safety Car: Tsolov Into the Wall

León’s teammate Tsolov tried a move on him at Turn 1 on Lap 13, held off, and by then the pack behind, Stenshorne, Câmara, Dunne and Boya, had closed into the fight. Tsolov, on the radio asking Campos to let him through to chase van Hoepen, tried Turn 5, went off track to make the move stick, then handed the place straight back. A few corners later his race ended anyway, a brush with the wall at Turn 20 spun him around and brought out the second Safety Car.

To the Flag

Miyata led the field back to green on Lap 18 with van Hoepen immediately pressuring Fittipaldi for second. The TRIDENT driver pulled out a 1.3 second gap over the pack behind and set the fastest lap of the race in the process. By Lap 20 he had DRS and was within 0.3 seconds of Fittipaldi, but the Brazilian held the position to the flag.

Miyata controlled the final restart and pulled clear to win by 2.678 seconds, Hitech’s first victory since the 2025 Baku Sprint Race. Fittipaldi held on for second, his maiden F2 podium. Van Hoepen completed the podium in third ahead of León in fourth and Stenshorne fifth. Câmara kept Dunne behind him for sixth, with Boya taking the final point in eighth.

Final Classification: F2 Madrid Sprint Race

Fastest lap went to Cian Shields, a 1:49.161 on Lap 21, though it was Miyata’s 1:49.209 on Lap 19 that carried the fastest-lap bonus point, the top ten cut-off for eligibility.

Championship Standings: F2 Madrid Sprint Race

Dunne sits fourth on 120, León fifth on 119, one point further back after finishing fourth on the road. Campos Racing lead the Teams’ Championship on 296 points, Invicta Racing sit second on 247, Rodin Motorsport third on 186, just ahead of MP Motorsport, with ART Grand Prix fifth on 151.

Up Next

The drivers have one more chance to score in Madrid, returning Sunday morning for the Feature Race. Lights out is set for 11:25 local time.

Coffee Corner Take

Miyata’s win didn’t need the mess around it. Pole to flag, two restarts, no wobble.

Five cars were compromised before lights out. Herta out sick, nothing to do with the penalty already sitting on his car. Four more dropped to the back through qualifying rulings, two after causing red flags, one for missing the 107% requirement and one after not taking part in the session at all. Then two genuine accidents once the race actually got going. Madrid’s first Sprint had drama enough of its own, and none of it laid a glove on the man out front.

Fittipaldi’s second matters more than the timesheet suggests. First F2 podium, defended with van Hoepen closing at half a second a lap through the closing stint.

Tsolov’s championship lead survived a DNF today because of the points he had already built earlier in the season. He still leaves Saturday as the driver everyone else is chasing.