David Beckmann drove his heart out to stand on the second step of the podium, in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race 2.

Whilst not being able to prevent Jüri Vips from passing him 10 laps into the race, he maintained second position ahead of a charging Jehan Daruvala, to take his second podium of the 2021 season.

The Charouz driver took a swift lead on Lap 1 from reverse pole sitter, Bent Viscaal.

Braking into Turn 4 a little sooner meant the German could attempt an outside pass on the Trident rookie.

“Bent braked a bit earlier, so I went a bit earlier and sent it in Turn 4. 

“It was not something really special. My tyres were warmer, my brakes were better and I could brake a little later.

“That helped me a bit I think.”

After taking the lead, Beckmann managed to stay ahead after two full Safety Cars, until the third [Virtual] Safety Car restart. 

Lap 10 saw Jüri Vips sail past the Charouz driver under DRS. He later admitted that Vips was, ‘so quick.’

This weekend has highlighted to Beckmann that has some work to do regarding restarts.

Also, learning from a difficult Monaco weekend, the German felt he perhaps didn’t do enough in the Principality.

“Monaco was not a good weekend. I wasn’t aggressive enough in the races, because I didn’t really have something to lose.

“It’s not easy to overtake [in Monaco] compared to here.”

Keeping the sensitive carbon brakes warm wasn’t easy under the Safety Car in today’s Sprint Race 2. The front brakes being harder to get up to temperature.

“It was easy to lock up the tyres.”

With Daruvala bearing down on him, Beckmann had to use the last sector to keep the chasing Indian driver out of striking range:

“It was tough to keep Daruvala behind me. The tow is big here.”

Beckmann is already looking ahead to tomorrow’s Feature Race where he starts in 13th place. With his new found confidence from today, can the Charouz driver gain more vital points for himself and the team?

Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited