F2: Yuki Tsunoda takes win in sprint race
Following a late-race collision between Robert Shwartzman and Mick Schumacher, Red Bull-backed driver Yuki Tsunoda crossed the finish line first to take his first ever F2 triumph.
As per the sporting regulation, the field started the sprint race in the reverse grod order concerning the first eight drivers.
Prema driver Robert Shwatzman got a perfect getaway to keep his position in front of his team-mate Mick Schumacher. Starting from six on the grid, Jack Aitken propelled to fourth position at the start. Dan Ticktum improved the most at the start, gaining six places in the early stages of the race.
The Prema duo slowly escaped from Yuki Tsuonda. On lap 5, Schumacher completely closed in on Shwartzman and attempted an overtaking manoeuvre at Turn 5, running a bit wide.
The Renault-backed Christian Lungaard has already started to complain on tyre degradation on lap 7, highlighting the fact that tyre management would be the key to achieve a good result in the race.
In the meantime, Zhou, Lungaard and Mazepin were fighting for the positions. The Shanghai-born managed to fire around the outside of Lungaard to take sixth place.
At the front, Tsuonda and Schumacher were catching Shwartzman. The Russian said on the radio that he was struggling with his rear tyres. On lap 12, the top three drivers were separated by just over a second. Aitken was 8.3 seconds behind them.
Championship leader Callum Ilott was lining up to try a move on Lungaard for seventh place, enjoying a better tyre life. The Dane suffered a tyre drama as his front left disintegrated with Lungaard plummeting down the order.
Schumacher completely closed in on Shwatzman for the dying stages of the race. The German attempted an overtaking move on his team-mate, with the battle ending in tears for the Russian. Shwartzman picked up a front wing damage as a result while Tsuonda propelled into the lead.
The Japanese driver clinched his maiden F2 victory in front of Schumacher and Aitken while Shwartzman slipped down to order to finish the second race of the weekend down in 13th.
Concerning the incident, Schumacher said on the radio: ""Tell Robert, if I did a mistake, I'm really really sorry, I take the blame. I'm so terribly sorry"
