In a race marked by controversy, Nirei Fukuzumi has achieved his second victory of the Super Formula season at the Sugo circuit, thanks to a safety car strategy that frustrated Igor Fraga, who was seen as one of the strong candidates for triumph.
The race entered a new dynamic at the end of lap 27, moments when the safety car was activated due to incidents involving Sena Sakaguchi and Roman Stanek. At that moment, Fraga was leading the competition with his team, Nakajima Racing, just as the front-runners, Tomoki Nojiri and Kakunoshin Ohta, had entered the pits for their mandatory stop.
Fraga’s fortune complicated when the safety car was called just as he was making his stop. He exited the pits ahead of Nojiri and Ohta’s cars, but things became complicated when Fukuzumi and Mugen decided not to stop, gaining a considerable advantage in the race.
After this strategy, Fukuzumi led the race for the rest of the laps, managing to maintain a small gap of 0.505 seconds over Ayumu Iwasa, the second-placed driver. Fraga, despite his efforts, finished in third place, watching a possible victory slip away.
In his post-race interview, Fraga expressed his frustration, stating that he could not accept the circumstances that influenced the result and that, in his view, the victory should be reconsidered given how the race unfolded.
In terms of points, Ohta managed to move into fourth place after overtaking Nojiri right after the race resumed. The standings now leave Ohta at the top of the championship with a good lead of 45.5 points, with four races remaining to contest.
The race was also notable for the drivers who made significant progress, such as Luke Browning, who climbed ten places from the 21st starting position, although he failed to score points, finishing just three-tenths of a second shy of a points-scoring position.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
