Jüri Vips stormed to the finish line in the closing stages of the FIA Formula 2 Jeddah Sprint Race for a photo finish with Jake Hughes.

With two full Safety Cars and a Virtual, there was barely time to light up the tyres in the closing stages of a chaotic afternoon. Hughes’ tyres were dropping off, and after the final restart, Vips found himself gaining on the VAR car:

“It’s quite intuitive, it’s going into the last corner. I never really know what’s the right thing to do, you just sort of react at the time to what Jake’s doing.” 

With a complimentary ode to Hughes, when describing the final lap, Vips stated:

“He covered the inside line, so I had nothing to do. I don’t think it’s possible really against an experienced guy like Jake, to overtake on the outside of the last corner. I thought my only chance was really to cut back and try with DRS. It worked surprisingly well. I didn’t expect that to be honest as I didn’t get past him before, but it was a nice surprise let’s say.”

Choosing the medium tyre for the race, the Hitech team ultimately made the right decision:

“We had the fastest lap, so the car was really good. It was on an overtake as well. It was the last lap and I saw Jake was on the softs. I saw him potentially struggling. So I was pushing flat out.”

Vips is in second place in the Drivers’ Championship, just seven points behind leader, and former team mate, Liam Lawson.

“The car was really really good and we’ll try to keep it up for tomorrow. Maybe a few tweaks to do but I think generally we’re in a very good spot.”

Vips starts the Feature Race in P8; On paper a mountain to climb. But in reality, Vips has already shown he’s more than capable of a podium when down the field.

Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited