In an exciting race held at the Red Bull Ring, John Bennett has sealed his first victory in Formula 2 with an incredible overtake on Sebastian Montoya in the last lap of the race.
From the beginning, both drivers maintained an intense duel, with Montoya losing the first position to Bennett, who executed a masterful maneuver on the inside of turn 1. In third position, Oliver Goethe was pressuring Rafael Villagomez near the early laps, but an unfortunate collision caused the German driver to end up spun out in the same corner.
The situation became even more complicated when several drivers, including Nikola Tsolov and Tasanapol Inthraphuvusak, became involved in an incident caused by Rafael Camara, who made contact with Inthraphuvusak; this caused him to fall onto Goethe, triggering a chain reaction that resulted in the safety car being deployed for three laps.
Upon resuming the race, Camara tried to make up ground and overtook Gabriele Mini, the championship leader, in turn 3. Mini, for his part, had a complicated moment, allowing Alex Dunne to slip in behind him, with both drivers battling for position.
On lap 8, Montoya managed to regain the initiative, trying to overtake Bennett on the inside of turn 4. However, the latter did not back down and continued pressing, with Laurens Van Hoepen, Bennett’s teammate, gradually dodging incidents after the Hitech car of Colton Herta came to a stop in front of him.
In the final moments of the race, Bennett executed a decisive maneuver on the outside of turn 4, reclaiming the lead just before starting the final lap. Maintaining control until the end, he crossed the finish line with a 1.496-second gap over Montoya, who was pressured by Villagomez until the end.
Alex Dunne finished fourth, with Mini struggling not to lose more positions, and Camara even being overtaken during the intense battle for the lead. With this victory, Bennett marks a highlight in his career, as points are awarded in a championship that is becoming more heated.
Race results (28 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| — | — | — | — |
| 1 | John Bennett | Trident | 39m23.246s |
| 2 | Sebastian Montoya | Prema Racing | +1.496s |
| 3 | Rafael Villagomez | Van Amersfoort Racing | +1.634s |
| 4 | Alex Dunne | Rodin Motorsport | +2.388s |
| 5 | Gabriele Mini | MP Motorsport | +2.579s |
| 6 | Roman Bilinski | DAMS | +5.233s |
| 7 | Kush Maini | ART Grand Prix | +6.098s |
| 8 | Nikola Tsolov | Campos Racing | +8.450s |
| 9 | Rafael Camara | Invicta Racing | +9.908s |
| 10 | Noel Leon | Campos Racing | +12.830s |
| 11 | Mari Boya | Prema Racing | +13.050s |
| 12 | Nico Varrone | Van Amersfoort Racing | +15.941s |
| 13 | Dino Beganovic | DAMS | +17.324s |
| 14 | Martinius Stenshorne | Rodin Motorsport | +18.028s |
| 15 | Laurens Van Hoepen | Trident | +25.027s |
| 16 | Cian Shields | AIX Racing | +25.611s |
| 17 | Ritomo Miyata | Hitech | +31.287s |
| Ret | Colton Herta | Hitech | |
| Ret | Joshua Duerksen | Invicta Racing | |
| Ret | Emmo Fittipaldi | AIX Racing | |
| Ret | Oliver Goethe | MP Motorsport | |
| Ret | Tasanapol Inthraphuvusak | ART Grand Prix | |
Fastest lap: Camara, 1m18.962s
Championship standings:
1. Mini 90
2. Tsolov 81
3. Dunne 72
4. Camara 70
5. Leon 54
6. Beganovic 53
7. Stenshorne 48
8. Maini 43
9. Van Hoepen 43
10. Miyata 30
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_9131653001444e6a0cf11a3dae53ec19f966fb5c