VICTOR MARTINS WINS F2 FEATURE RACE IN QATAR AS FORNAROLI TAKES THE TITLE
Victor Martins wins the F2 Feature Race in Qatar with a dominant drive. He makes a very good start, takes the lead immediately, and stays in front for the whole race.
But the biggest celebration is for Leonardo Fornaroli. The Italian driver becomes the 2025 Formula 2 Champion with one race still left. After winning Formula 3 in 2024, he proves once again that he is one of the best young drivers.
Dunne finishes on the podium as well, while Lindblad uses the Safety Car to gain positions. The good recoveries from Browning and Crawford aren’t enough to keep the championship fight alive until Abu Dhabi.
Oliver Goethe gets a penalty and drops three places, giving pole position to Fornaroli, who starts next to Martins. Behind them are Goethe and Stanek. Dunne starts behind them, while Crawford and Browning start again from the back.
Martins makes an excellent start and takes the lead. Dunne moves up to fourth place. Villagomez fights with Verschoor and comes out ahead. Tsolov also starts well.
Dunne overtakes Stanek and reaches third place. He then starts to chase Fornaroli. Martins continues to pull away at the front. The hard tyres begin to work better, especially for Beganovic, who enters the Top 10.
On lap 7, Fornaroli, Dunne, Montoya, Verschoor, Durksen, and Miyata stop for tyres. They come out in the same order they entered. Goethe then overtakes Stanek. On the next lap, Martins also pits, along with Goethe, Stanek, Villagomez, and the other soft-tyre drivers.
Martins comes out still in the lead, and the order returns to normal. Verschoor makes a great move on Villagomez. Miyata is forced to retire. Tsolov and Dunne will likely get penalties for unsafe release in the pits.
Beganovic, now leading because he hasn’t pitted yet, sets several fast laps. Fornaroli tries to reduce the gap to Martins. Verschoor keeps pushing and also overtakes Stanek. After the busy early laps, the race calms down.
Browning moves up to a virtual third place by passing Bennett. Then comes a big surprise: Goethe’s engine stops. Very unlucky for the German driver, who was running fourth. A Safety Car is needed.
This situation is bad for the drivers who stayed on hard tyres for a long time. Lindblad decides to pit, as do Maini and Shields. Lindblad comes out in a virtual third place, behind Martins and Fornaroli, but now must finish the race on soft tyres.
The race restarts, and Tsolov and Dunne receive 5-second penalties. The drivers on hard tyres try to build a gap, but Martins quickly catches the leaders.
With 10 laps left, the positions stay mostly the same. Crawford overtakes Minì as he tries everything to delay Fornaroli’s title. The hard-tyre drivers try to extend their stints.
Dunne attacks Lindblad again, but Lindblad defends well. Fornaroli’s strategy is clear: attack when the remaining drivers make their pit stops. On the next lap, Dunne finally gets past Lindblad.
With five laps to go, Beganovic pits and returns to the track ahead of Crawford, giving him a good chance for points. Van Hoepen also pits. Browning and Bennett pit as late as possible.
Martins wins the race, with Fornaroli second and Dunne third. Lindblad and Montoya complete the Top 5. Then come Verschoor, Tsolov, Stanek, Beganovic and Browning. Crawford finishes 11th, which confirms Leonardo Fornaroli as the new Formula 2 Champion.
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