The most awaited moment
It was the most anticipated wish of most Italian fans to be able to attend the Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s first win in his debut year in Formula 2perhaps in a race dominated by the 17-year-old from Bologna in extremely complicated track conditions. In the end, that’s exactly what happened in the Silverstone Sprint Raceinitially interrupted by the red flag for the flood on the historic British circuit and then characterised by the entry of several Safety Cars. A race in which Antonelli did not make the slightest mistake, repeatedly pulling away from his closest pursuers and also achieving the fastest lap of the race. All factors that have certainly not been seen frequently from a driver who is the reigning champion of the European Formula Regional and who landed directly in F2 without even passing through Formula 3.
Race report
As in Formula 3 this morning, then postponed due to bad weather conditions, also in Formula 2 the rain became increasingly intense in the laps following the rolling start, with Antonelli remaining firmly in the lead ahead of Maloney and Maini. The Bolognese’s teammate, Oliver Bearman, on the other hand, fared badly, having damaged his front wing in an attempt to overtake Bortoleto for fourth place. The bad weather, however, became increasingly critical from the 2nd lap onwards, to the point that Race Direction opted for the suspension of the race during the fourth lap. From there, waiting for the rain to reduce in intensity, the Sprint restarted behind the Safety Car at 14:40 Italian time, and once again with Antonelli doing well to extend his lead over Maloney.
However, already on lap eight, the safety car re-entered the track once again due to contact between championship leader Paul Aron and José Maria Marì, both of whom were forced to retire, as was tomorrow’s Feature poleman Isack Hadjar, in this case due to a spin at Copse. The race was also over for Bearman, betrayed by a technical problem. With the green flag shown on lap 13, Antonelli did not make the slightest mistake in holding on to the lead, extending his gap on Maloney to eight seconds and also setting the fastest lap of the race. An impeccable performance that allowed Toto Wolff’s protégé to secure his first overall victory in Formula 2, in a race that ended with the spectacular internal battle between Maini and Bortoleto for third positionwith the Brazilian taking the podium with an overtaking move on his teammate on the final corner of the final lap.
F2 / Great Britain 2024, Sprint Race: Finishing Order
POS. | PILOT | TEAM | TIME/GAP |
1 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Press | 1:02:34.856 |
2 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | +8.683 |
3 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta | +10.895 |
4 | Kush Main | Invicta | +11.257 |
5 | Frank Colapinto | MP Motorsport | +18.064 |
6 | Jack Crawford | DAMS | +18.791 |
7 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | +20.191 |
8 | Roman Stanek | trident | +20.932 |
9 | Taylor Barnard | AIX Racing | +21.367 |
10 | Miyata Return | Rodin | +24.232 |
11 | Richard Verschoor | trident | +25.773 |
12 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | +28.071 |
13 | Enzo Fittipaldi | From Amersfoort | +29.749 |
14 | Raphael Villagomez | From Amersfoort | +32.521 |
15 | Amaury Cordeel | Hi-tech | +33.104 |
16 | Joshua Durksen | AIX Racing | +33.960 |
17 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART Grand Prix | Withdrawn |
18 | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | Withdrawn |
19 | Oliver Bearman | Press | Withdrawn |
20 | Paul Aron | Hi-tech | Withdrawn |
21 | Josep Maria Martí | Fields | Withdrawn |
22 | Isaac Hadjar | Fields | Withdrawn |
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