We needed a show of strength from Théo Pourchaire in Austria. It took a weekend topped off with at least one victory to reduce the gap in the standings from Felipe Drugovich and attempt a comeback against the Brazilian.
Only a second place came in the Saturday Sprint Race. Not much, especially considering the fourth obtained in the same race by the leader of the classification who thus responded to the attempted assault in the championship of the transalpine.
What happened to that driver who in his debut year in Formula 3 drove everyone crazy and who on his debut in Formula 2 stunned the observers with a pole in Monaco – and a clear success in the Feature Race – obtained with half a second of benefit? Desperately Seeking Théo …
F2, Austria: Druvogich accountant in the Sprint Race
An anonymous and emotionless Sprint Race. This is how Spielberg’s first race of the weekend can be summarized, which saw Marcus Armstrong command operations from the first to the last lap without Théo Pourchaire ever managing to worry him.
The Hitech GP driver, who started from pole thanks to the inversion of the grid, managed the Saturday race in the best possible way, immediately putting a safety margin on the Frenchman of the ART Grand Prix and thus obtaining the second success of the season after the one won at Imola again in the Sprint Race.
A stage victory that is good for the morale of the New Zealander and the Hitech GP, but which instead left Pourcharie with a minimum of bitterness in the mouth.
The French talent, indicated at the beginning of the season as the obligatory favorite for the title, even in Austria has never seemed able to exploit the potential of his car to the maximum, being forced to settle for second place – put at risk by a Doohan in pressing – which helped him to recover only a few points on a Drugovich in an accountant version.
Felipe Drugovich
Photo by: Dutch Photo Agency
The Brazilian, aware of the important advantage in the standings accumulated thanks to an amazing start to the championship, raced in a sprint race to avoid unnecessary risks. Quickly got rid of Verschoor, the Brazilian of MP Motorsport settled in fourth position so as not to let go until the finish line ..
The rest? Not much, really. The emotions of the Sprint Race were really minimal and what was seen in the race will certainly not be remembered by lovers of the category …
F2, Austria: Verschoor suspended, Sargeant wins, Pourchaire is shipwrecked
The official result of the Red Bull Ring Feature Race arrived hours after the conclusion of the race and turned what was seen on the track. If on the track it was Richard Verschoor who dominated in front of Jehan Daruvala, thanks to the risk of starting with slick tires despite a slightly wet asphalt, in the end the success was inherited by Logan Sargeant who thus repeated the victory of 7 days earlier at Silverstone and now surprisingly occupies the second position in the standings with one point ahead of an anonymous Pourchaire.
The weather played a fundamental role in the result of Sunday’s race. The rain, which fell abundantly during the night, gave way to the sun at the end of the Formula 3 race and the asphalt of the Red Bull Ring was partially dry just before the start of the Feature Race.
The riders arrived on the grid with the doubt about which tire to fit between slick and wet and only a few attempted the dry Pirellis.
Among these was Richard Verschoor who, thanks to this choice, tried to give the Trident team the second success of the season. Tried because the Dutchman crossed the line in first position after having clearly dominated the race, but was then disqualified because the minimum amount of fuel required was not found on his car.
Verschoor was careful in the first laps of the race to stay out of trouble and wet trajectories and was helped in his feat by the safety car entering the track in the opening stages which thus provided a fundamental assist to the strategy adopted by the team’s men. Italian.
Richard drove a solo race, taking first place even in the mandatory pit, but once he crossed the finish line it was immediately clear that the victory would not be confirmed when he pulled his car to the side of the track and then returned to the park. closed in the back seat of the Aston Martin DBX.
Nothing Daruvala was able to do to try to counter the excessive power of the Dutch. The PREMA Indian, among other things, lost the second step of the podium due to a penalty of 20 ” imposed because the men of his team wiped the starting pitch before the start and thus fell to twelfth position.
Jehan Daruvala, Prema Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The penalty inflicted on Daruvala allowed Pietro Fittipaldi to climb to second position and Roberto Merhi to conquer the third step of the podium. The Campos Racing Spaniard was the real protagonist of the Sunday race.
Called to replace the injured Boschung, and returned to the wheel of an F2 single-seater after 4 years of absence, Merhi made the most of every opportunity presented to him and only yet another step over the curb when he was struggling with Daruvala cost him a (at table) victory that would have been well deserved.
However see an experienced pilot. but away from F2 for several years, fighting for the top positions should make us reflect on the quality level offered by the category this year …
You may have noticed that we have not mentioned Drugovich or Pourchaire so far. Both had a nightmare Feature Race. The Brazilian, started with rain tires, immediately went into crisis when the track dried and was immediately relegated to the back of the group, while the Frenchman, who seemed competitive in the initial stages, paid for a slow pit and then closed the race at shoulders of the direct rival in the league.
Also in this case Pourchaire was unable to take advantage of a bad day for the Brazilian to try to reduce the gap in the standings in a decisive way and now he is behind Sargeant who seems to have found the necessary confidence after Silverstone. Theo, if you are there, take a shot.
#Austria #Pourchaire #scratch #Sargeant #takes #advantage