Oscar Piastri won the FIA Formula 2 Championship after a superb performance in Abu Dhabi driving to third place from P10.
The Australian has driven incredibly all year with bags of pure pace and a cool head under pressure in his rookie season.
He has swept all before him in recent times enjoying three championships in a row as he progressed through the ranks.
Jehan Daruvala won the first Sprint Race in a dominant lights to flag victory for Carlin ahead of Felipe Drugovich and the newly crowned F2 champion Piastri.
Daruvala got a great start from pole position keeping the lead into Turn 1 while Dan Ticktum suffered a poor getaway and dropped to P4.
Felipe Drugovich started well and challenged Daruvala for the lead on the first lap at the final round of the season.
Championship leader Piastri produced an awesome start improving from P10 to P6 by the end of Lap 1 as he closed in on the F2 crown.
Daruvala built up a slim advantage over Drugovich in the opening laps as the field began to string out.
Ticktum’s poor start was compounded on Lap 3 when both PREMA drivers Shwartzman and Piastri swept past him.
Daruvala and Drugovich continued to pull away from the rest of the field seeking out their lead over the rest of the field.
Shwartzman continued his charge up the order on Lap 6 with a textbook pass on Kiwi Liam Lawson into Turn 6.
Piastri pulled off a carbon copy of his team mate’s pass as he dispatched Lawson a lap later to move into fourth place.
Daruvala and Drugovich continued to trade punches up front with the Brazilian tantalisingly close to the race leader but he could not find a way past his rival.
Ticktum suffered a lock up into Turn 12 as he tried to attack Hitech’s Lawson for P5 which didn’t do his front tyre any favor.
Daruvala remained cool under pressure resisting every attack from his nearest challenger as the PREMA’s began to close up to the battle for the lead.
Drugovich attempted the move into Turn 9 but the race leader kept up his stout defence of the lead with the Brazilian apparently more comfortable halfway through the race.
The two PREMA’s closed up to the leading battle critically looking after their tyres while Daruvala and Drugovich battled for the lead.
The leading quartet of Daruvala, Drugovich and the PREMA duo put in sublime performances and were comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.
Race leader Daruvala picked up the pace setting the fastest lap and began to stretch an advantage of Drugovich in a crucial stage of the race.
Bent Viscaal tapped Christian Lundgaard at the newly revamped Turn 9 with a few laps to go, fortunately both drivers we able to continue in Race 1.
Piastri battled his way past his team mate to move into third place and the all important championship position.
The Australian pulled off a perfect late braking move at Turn 6 to help wrap up his F2 crown in what has been an incredible rookie season for him.
Daruvala was flawless in Sprint Race 1 in a clinical drive to win his second race of the season.
Marcus Armstrong will start on pole for Race 2 with F2’s newly crowned champion Piastri beginning the second race from eighth place.
SPRINT RACE 01
Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Ltd