Frederik Vesti extends his championship lead after winning in tricky, mixed conditions in the Barcelona Sprint Race.
With the amount of standing water on the track, the formation lap would be led by the Safety Car, followed by a rolling start.
Behind the Safety Car came reverse grid pole-sitter, Amaury Cordeel. Further back there was contact between second and third. Vesti tried to overtake Jak Crawford but was forced wide and onto the escape road at Turn 1.
Vesti continued and eventually got second place as a result of a puncture for Crawford’s Hitech which later saw him retire from the Sprint.
On Lap 3, Vesti took the lead from Cordeel after a wide moment for the Belgian. The championship leader spoke to insideF2 earlier in the day, expressing his confidence for the Sprint Race.
Victor Martins followed suit, finding his way to P2 with a move to the inside of Turn 1, Cordeel seemingly struggling for pace in the rain.
A moment for Cordeel on Lap 12 saw him passed by his team mate, Jack Doohan, he continued the race in sixth, a small margin ahead of tomorrow’s pole-sitter, Ollie Bearman.
In attempt to take P15 from Juan Manuel Correa, Roman Stanek spun at Turn 1 after contact with the American driver. Stanek tried to go around the outside but was hit mid-corner as a result of understeer from Correa. He dropped down to P20 but didn’t sustain any damage.
On Lap 17, Kush Maini pitted for slick tyres, he was followed by a few more drivers outside of the points. No driver posted times that were significantly faster until Lap 19 where Jehan Daruvala went 2 seconds quicker than Vesti in the lead.
Correa found himself stuck in the gravel in Sector 1, bringing out the Safety Car on Lap 20. He lost the rear of his VAR due to a lack of grip during the crossover period. The leaders all took advantage to pit for slicks.
The Safety Car period ended on Lap 23. Théo Pourchaire’s tyres warmed up quick enough for him to pass two cars ahead of him with only a minute + 1 lap remaining. He started the penultimate lap just 1 second behind Vesti.
Vesti held off Pourchaire’s charge and took the chequered flag in Barcelona, extending his championship lead ahead of his rival in second, both on track and in the standings.
However, Daruvala and Roy Nissany didn’t see the chequered flag. A late overtake attempt from Nissany put the pair in the gravel on the final lap.
Image: Formula Motorsport Limited
