Like Formula 1, Formula 2 also goes on vacation, but it does so with a new championship leader. After Frederick Vesti’s zero after losing the car even before the start of the Feature Race, Theo Pourchaire took over the lead in the general standings and now finds himself twelve points clear of the Danish Prema.
The Frenchman of ART regained the lead thanks to a good second place in the Feature Race won by Jack Doohan, while the success of the Sprint Race went to Enzo Fittipaldi, good at capitalizing on the opportunities in the finale.
Thanks to Sunday’s success, the Australian member of the Alpine Academy has now moved up to fourth place in the standings, overtaking Victor Martins. Negative weekend, however, for Ayumu Iwasa, who left Belgium with just two points.
Sprint Race: success for Fittipaldi in a decisive finale
In a Spa that held many surprises, Enzo Fittipaldi took his first Formula 2 victory in the Belgian sprint race, taking the lead on the penultimate lap and defeating Richard Verschoor, with the latter then disqualified after the race. The start of the race was delayed by 35 minutes after the previous Formula 1 sprint shootout was postponed due to heavy rain.
Joshua Mason, making his F2 debut for PHM Racing by Charouz this weekend, was stranded on the grid, resulting in a 10-second time penalty for a starting procedure infraction. After a second formation lap, the race got underway.
After lining up third on the starting grid, the Brazilian driver kept his position behind poleman Jehan Daruvala and Richard Verschoor. Despite having initially taken control of the race, Daruvala was forced to retire during the second lap with a broken headrest, handing the lead to Verschoor.
Enzo Fittipaldi, Rodin Carlin
Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd
On lap ten, Verschoor was two seconds ahead of Fittipaldi, while Pourchaire was third another two seconds down. Meanwhile, Bearman and Leclerc collided on lap 13 at Les Combes, with the Briton going onto the gravel and losing two places, dropping to 13th.
Although the Dutchman built up a lead of two seconds, Fittipaldi reacted promptly, taking the lead thanks to the help of the DRS during the sixteenth lap. The Brazilian quickly built up a second lead so that Verschoor slipped out of the slipstream and could not exploit the mobile wing himself, crossing the line for victory for eight podiums over the course of his career.
Hauger took fourth place, with ART driver Victor Martins fifth ahead of Doohan. Vesti finished sixth, while Iwasa, Boschung and Leclerc rounded out the top 10.
However, after the race, Verschoor’s car was found to be using a throttle map not compliant with article 3.6.5 of the Technical Regulations for both the formation lap and the start of the race. As a result, the Dutchman lost second place, promoting ART Grand Prix’s Theo Pourchaire and MP Motorsport driver Dennis Hauger to the podium. Furthermore, Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung moved up to eighth place, the last position to score points.
![Enzo Fittipaldi, Rodin Carlin](https://cdn-1.motorsport.com/images/mgl/YBenjr72/s1000/enzo-fittipaldi-rodin-carlin-1.jpg)
Enzo Fittipaldi, Rodin Carlin
Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Sprint Race – Second victory for Doohan
Winner of the Feature Race was Jack Doohan, who took his second consecutive Formula 2 race victory at Spa, snatching the lead from new championship leader Theo Pourchaire with two laps to go.
The Virtuosi driver started from eleventh position on the starting grid, lining up with the medium compound tires to adopt the alternative strategy. Doohan then moved up the standings, making it as high as ninth before the Safety Car came in, but a well-timed pit stop dropped him back to second.
He eventually took the lead with two laps to go on the Kemmel Straight and, despite a tense moment between the two at Les Combes, was able to repeat the victory he achieved in Hungary last weekend, with Enzo Fittipaldi third.
![Jack Doohan, Invicta Virtuosi](https://cdn-2.motorsport.com/images/mgl/01W3dKDY/s1000/jack-doohan-invicta-virtuosi-1.jpg)
Jack Doohan, Invicta Virtuosi
Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Pourchaire’s second place puts him back at the top of the standings after title rival Frederik Vesti (Prema) crashed before even making it to the starting grid, which prevented him from starting the race after losing his car under braking in turn 5.
Due to the spin of Vesti and Martins during the starting laps, the start was delayed by five minutes, even if the Frenchman was not injured. Not having his team-mate on the grid gave poleman Ollie Bearman (Prema) a solid lead from the start, with Pourchaire finishing second ahead of Rodin Carlin pairing Zane Maloney and Fittipaldi.
The Safety Car intervened almost immediately after contact between Iwasa and Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport) at Les Combes, with the former suffering suspension damage. The race then resumed on lap four, with Maloney and Fittipaldi battling for third place. The Brazilian prevailed, while Martins took advantage of the situation to take fourth place.
Further back, Arthur Leclerc was spun at Eau Rouge by Roy Nissany, who received a 10-second time penalty. At the end of lap 11 the first series of stops began, including that of Hadjar, who hit the wall at the exit of the pits due to the extremely slippery section, requiring the entry of the VSC
After a long duel, Bearman and Pourchaire stopped and switched positions, as the ART mechanics were very fast during the pit stop, handing over control of the race to the Frenchman. The safety car then intervened again on lap 16, allowing Doohan to stop for soft tires and exit behind Pourchaire and ahead of Bearman.
On lap 22, at Les Combes, Martins collided with Bearman in his attempt to take third position and the Briton received a five-second penalty. The comeback Doohan then took the lead the following lap on the Kemmel Straight with the help of the DRS, passing Pourchaire on the softer, fresher tyres.
Fittipaldi then passed teammate Maloney on the last lap to take fifth but was promoted to third after Martins and Bearman served their penalties.
The latter finished in seventh position after serving his fine, with Kush Maini eighth for Campos Racing and Trident’s Roman Stanek and Ralph Boschung completing the top ten.
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