Alex Dunne survived rain to win feature FIA F2 race in Spa-Francorchamps, as multiple attempts to stage F3 race is washed out.
F2:
After four Formation Laps under the Safety Car, a rolling start in rainy conditions got underway and there was an immediate change for P2 as Stanek overtook Miyata at Turn 1. The ART Grand Prix driver fought back immediately, diving to the inside of his rival at the end of the Kemmel Straight to retake the position.
But their battling allowed Dunne to escape up the road and by the start of Lap 2, the polesitter was 1.8s clear in front. The rain started to get heavier and Leonardo Fornaroli, having overtaken Josep María Martí on the opening lap for P6, ran wide at Eau Rouge, allowing the Campos Racing driver back through on Lap 3.
Dunne then started to be caught as Miyata closed the gap to 1.2s by the end of Lap 5. Fornaroli’s struggles continued and on Lap 6, PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Minì took seventh place from him down the Kemmel Straight. Dunne’s lead over Miyata was just 0.3s to start Lap 8, with Stanek also within a second of the Rodin driver.
Victor Martins in fourth was struggling to keep Lindblad at bay, and on Lap 10, the ART driver was handed two five-second time penalties for exceeding track limits. On Lap 11, several drivers, including Dino Beganovic, Fornaroli, Sebastián Montoya, Minì, Richard Verschoor all pitted for new Wet tyres. On the next lap, Stanek, Martins and Martí did the same.
The top four of Dunne, Miyata, Lindblad and Luke Browning were in next on Lap 13, however, the Hitech TGR driver spun at pit exit, although he was able to continue on. As for Dunne, he came out just ahead of Stanek and the two went wheel-to-wheel through Les Combes, but the Irishman stayed ahead as the rain continued to get heavier.
The Rodin driver then pulled out away from Stanek but encountered traffic in the form of the yet-to-pit Oliver Goethe. The MP Motorsport driver fought hard to stay in front, but Dunne eventually got through around the outside at Pouhon to take the lead. Stanek, having looked set to take the lead a few laps earlier, was now struggling and lost a place to Miyata at the final chicane.
He was down to fourth moments later, when Lindblad took P3 down the Kemmel Straight on Lap 15. Onto Lap 16 and Miyata spun at Pouhon, dropping him from second to fourth, forcing him to defend from Martí and the recovering Browning. Further behind, Fornaroli took seventh from Beganovic with a brave move through Eau Rouge.
Browning’s comeback through the field continued and after making slight contact with Martí at Stavelot, the British driver dived to the inside of his rival at the final chicane to take fifth. The Safety Car was soon deployed on Lap 18, with Sebastián Montoya having spun and stopped at Eau Rouge.
However, as the cars rounded the track Goethe stopped with an issue on Lap 21. As a result, the Red Flags were waved and with the race not being resumed, Dunne claimed his third victory of the season. Lindblad finished second, as Stanek took the final spot on the podium ahead of Miyata. Browning recovered from his spin to finish fifth ahead of Martí and Fornaroli. Beganovic was eighth, Minì ninth, with Martins in 10th.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1949395479755722947
UPDATE: Following the conclusion of Sunday’s Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race, Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne has been penalised. After the race, Car 17 was referred to the Stewards by the Technical Delegate for an alleged breach of Article 1.6.1 FIA Formula 2 Technical Regulations, after failing to engage the start-up procedure.
A defined set-up procedure activation must be used during all formation starts and race starts and Car 17’s data shows that the driver did not engage the starting procedure. The Stewards then spoke to a team representative and the driver and having considered the matter extensively elected to give Dunne a 10-second time penalty in accordance with the FIA F2 penalty guideline. This means he loses the Spa Francorchamps Feature Race victory.
Following the Spa Francorchamps Feature Race, Arvid Lindblad has been disqualified for a technical infringement. After the race, Car 4 was referred to the Stewards for an alleged breach of Article 10.4.3 of the FIA F2 Technical Regulations in relation to the tyre pressures being below the limit defined in the Pirelli Technical Review on four tyres. The Stewards spoke to a team representatives, an FIA Technical Delegate and looked at the tyre pressure measurement data provided.
The team accepted the FIA Technical Delegate’s measurement and acknowledged it had breached the technical regulations in this case. As a result, the Stewards have disqualified Lindblad from the final classification. This means every driver behind Lindblad moves up one position and Invicta Racing’s Roman Stanek inherits victory of the Spa Francorchamps Feature Race.
Final (Stanek P1, Miayata P2, Browning P3): https://www.fia.com/system/files/decision-document/2025_spa_francorchamps_event_-_f2_race_2_feature_-_final_classification.pdf
F3:
The formation lap began behind the Safety Car, but still in torrential conditions. James Headley spun at Eau Rouge after aquaplaning off the road, while up ahead, Brando Badoer ran into the back of Tim Tramnitz. It left the PREMA Racing driver with race-ending damage and brought out the Red Flags. After waiting for conditions to improve, the race resumed under Safety Car but there was more action as Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak spun in avoidance of his teammate Nikola Tsolov ahead of Turn 8.
The Thai driver tried to rejoin but found himself beached on a kerb, requiring his car to be recovered. The race was then Red Flagged once again, and the announcement that it would not be resumed followed shortly afterwards. Due to no racing laps being completed before the final stoppage, no points were assigned.
Here’s how sprint F2 and F3 races panned out in Spa-Francorchamps
[The story is as per press release]