After the F2 feature race in Australia was cancelled last time out, the 2025 F2 season got underway in earnest after Saturday’s sprint.
Victory for Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne marked the first time the Irishman has topped the podium in Formula 2. He was joined on the podium by Luke Browning, who made the alternative strategy work to earn second for Hitech TGR, ahead of Leonardo Fornaroli. The Invicta Racing driver overcame the disappointment of his sprint disqualification to grab the final podium spot.
Race Story
Leonardo Fornaroli got the perfect start off the line, but wheelspin halted the progress of Victor Martins as he fell down the grid, ending up all the way back in seventh by the time the pack arrived at turn 1. Dunne moved his way up into second place ahead of Roman Stanek and Rafael Villagómez. The Mexican driver had managed to move undetected up to third by the time the cars entered Turn 10. Meanwhile, Josep María Martí was making the most of his soft tyres, maximising the early grip to go from P11 all the way to fifth.
The top eight all opted for the same soft tyre strategy, with the top hard tyre runner being Joshua Duerksen in P9, with the hard tyre being the alternative strategy. Martins was eager to make up for that poor start and by lap 5 was back up to fifth with a great overtake at the turn 8 hairpin.
Dunne finally managed to get within one second of leader Fornaroli on lap 7, moving into DRS range just as the pit window started to open, closing the gap to just half a second.
Lap 6 saw a great battle between Martí and Villagómez, with Martí thinking he had done enough to grab third place, but the Van Amersfoort Racing driver’s turn 4 cutback saw him remain in third place for the time being.
Lap 10 saw a turn 4 overtake assisted by DRS between Stanek and Villagómez, with Stanek making the move stick to move once more into the top 5 positions. Martins was the first of the top runners to blink and make the move to pit for the hard compound tyres, making his stop and coming back out in P17. This prompted a flurry of stops as teams moved to cover it off, with Stanek, Browning, and Duerksen all pitting the following lap, but the undercut worked for Martins as they all emerged behind him. Browning was making the most of having the faster soft tyres, passing Stanek on Lap 15.
Fornaroli and Martí pitted at the start of Lap 16 for their mandatory stops and left as they entered, rejoining the track between seventh-placed Martins and Browning in P10.
It was this set of pit stops that prompted race leader Dunne to come in, as he made his mandatory stop, emerging from the pits crucially ahead of Martins in the lead once more, having fitted the hard tyres.
Another Turn 4 pass saw Browning move up to fourth with a move on Martí on Lap 18, and by Lap 21, he had made his way into the final podium position. There was then the battle of the Williams Racing Development Drivers, as Browning closed in on Martins with 10 laps to go and made the most of the soft tyres, easily dispatching him for second place.
This was the end of the Browning charge though, as Dunne extended his lead to a comfortable six seconds. Fornaroli’s hopes of a podium weren’t over, as he was able to close in on Martins in third, making the move with just five laps to go. Martí managed to get past Martins and try to put pressure on Fornaroli for that final podium place but couldn’t make a last-lap overtake into Turn 4 stick, leaving Fornaroli to secure the final podium place.
Neither could catch Dunne though, who earned his maiden F2 win by over eight seconds from Browning. Fornaroli held onto third ahead of Martí, while Martins fended off Richard Verschoor and Dino Beganovic for fifth. Arvid Lindblad put in a strong drive to finish eighth from P16 on the grid, while Gabriele Minì and Duerksen rounded out the points in P9 and P10.
KEY QUOTE – Alexander Dunne, Rodin Motorsport
“Super happy with the win. I think the team did a mega job and the car was in the exact sweet spot. So I’m super, super happy and looking forward to Jeddah next week.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Just five points cover the top five in the Drivers’ Championship, as Fornaroli leads the way on 26, a single point ahead of Dunne and Browning, tied on 25 points apiece. Martí follows in fourth on 23, with Verschoor rounding out the top five places on 21 points.
Hitech TGR lead in the Teams’ Standings with 37 points, ahead of Campos Racing, second on 31. Invicta Racing are just one point back in third, ahead of MP Motorsport on 27, and Rodin Motorsport on 25.
UP NEXT
FIA Formula 2 is back in action next weekend around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Round 3 gets underway from 19-21 April.
