In a thrilling turn of events, Arvid Lindblad has made history as the youngest Formula 2 winner ever, triumphing in the Jeddah Sprint Race! He finished second but was elevated to the top of the podium after Richard Verschoor received a five-second penalty for forcing another driver off the track. This penalty dramatically dropped Verschoor from first to fourth place, marking a monumental occasion for Campos Racing, which celebrated its first-ever one-two finish in the Championship standings. Meanwhile, Alexander Dunne from Rodin Motorsport clinched the final podium position, rounding out an exhilarating race.
Here’s a recap of the race:
– Pole-sitter Verschoor had a strong start, maintaining his lead while Martí overtook Gabriele Minì to secure second place, passing him on the outside of Minì at Turn 1.
– Lindblad also had a promising first lap for Campos, climbing from sixth to fourth place and closing the gap to Minì as they approached the final corner of the first lap.
– However, Lindblad’s progress was temporarily halted when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to an incident involving Cian Shields’ AIX Racing car. Shields hit the barrier at Turn 1 and came to a stop on the side of the track.
– Racing resumed on Lap 3, and both Campos drivers demonstrated exceptional speed. Lindblad used the DRS to overtake Minì on the final corner of Lap 3, while Martí made another move on the outside at Turn 1 to take the lead of the race on Lap 4.
Verschoor, however, returned the favour on the next lap by executing a similar move on the Campos driver to reclaim his position. However, his overtake later resulted in a five-second time penalty due to being deemed to have forced Marti off track to complete the manoeuvre.
As the race progressed to Lap 6 of 20, the drivers began to settle down, managing their Medium tires effectively.
In the lead, Verschoor had extended his advantage to 1.5 seconds over Martí, who was now under pressure from Lindblad. Behind them, Minì held off the challenges of Roman Stanek and Alexander Dunne.
The change for P2 occurred on Lap 8 when Martí ran wide at Turn 8, allowing Lindblad to seize the position. The Spaniard went off-line again at the final corner, but this time, Minì overtook him. However, the Campos driver regained the lead with the assistance of DRS on the Main Straight.
Minì subsequently lost fourth place to Stanek at Turn 27, but their battle paved the way for Dunne to close in. The trio formed a three-wide formation into Turn 1, and the Rodin Motorsport driver emerged victorious to secure P4.
Minì managed to maintain his fourth-place position, but Stanek bided his time before executing a daring move down the inside at the opening corner on Lap 12.
As Lap 15 commenced, Jak Crawford utilised DRS to overtake Leonardo Fornaroli into Turn 1, propelling the DAMS Lucas Oil driver up to seventh place.
The American driver was in a state of exceptional performance, closely trailing Minì throughout the entire lap.
Verschoor attempted another move into Turn 1 but collided with the PREMA driver, causing him to spin into a stoppage that brought out the Safety Car. Action resumed on Lap 18, with Verschoor maintaining his lead over Lindblad. However, Minì’s struggles persisted, as Fornaroli overtook him for P6 on the Main Straight.
DRS was enabled on Lap 19, but Verschoor still held a 1.2-second advantage over Lindblad as they approached the second sector.
On the final lap, Verschoor’s penalty was confirmed, meaning that while the MP driver crossed the line first, Lindblad followed and secured P1, becoming the youngest winner in the Championship’s history. Teammate Martí secured second place ahead of Dunne.
Verschoor dropped to P4, while Minì managed to overtake Fornaroli on the final lap to claim P6. Martins rounded out the points standings in eighth.
KEY QUOTE – Arvid Lindblad, Campos Racing
“I’m incredibly happy with the result today. I’m the youngest ever F2 race winner. I want to express my deepest gratitude to the team. It was an incredible journey from P6 to P1. It’s unfortunate that Richard received a penalty, but I’m thrilled to have won and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Alexander Dunne and Josep Maria Martí are currently tied at the top of the Drivers’ Standings with 31 points each. Leonardo Fornaroli of Invicta Racing is third with 28 points, one point ahead of Richard Verschoor in fourth. Luke Browning of Hitech TGR completes the top five with 25 points.
In the Teams’ Championship, Campos Racing has taken the lead with 49 points.
HiTech TGR leads the standings with 37 points, a point ahead of Invicta Racing in third place. MP Motorsport follows in fourth position with 33 points, while Rodin Motorsport completes the top five with 31 points.
The FIA Formula 2 action resumes on Sunday with the Jeddah Feature Race. Will we witness another new winner in 2025, or will one of the drivers secure their second victory of the year?
