Ferrari junior driver Bearman wins Qatar F2 Sprint

F1 Grand Prix, GP Qatar, Losail International Circuit

Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman notched up his third victory of the 2024 Formula 2 season, beating Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar in a fierce battle in the F2 Qatar Sprint race.

Having ended up tenth in qualifying, Bearman started from pole position. The Briton elected to use the 'slower' hard Pirelli compound, but he still managed to hang on to the lead at the start. While he led the opening lap, Hadjar put him under immense pressue as his mediums provided significantly higher grip level.

The Frenchman claimed the lead of the race on Lap 2 and immediately built a three-second gap. However, as the race entered the closing stages, Bearman managed to come back due to his tyre advantage.

The Ferrari driver initially cut the gap down from beyond three seconds to get back to within DRS range in the final five laps, but he struggled to find a way to pick off Hadjar. However, after spending a few tours in the Hajdar's slipstream, he moved into first with an ambitious dive to the inside of Turn 1.

Hajdar tried to follow Bearman closely, but just a few corners after the overtaking move, he suffered a spin and dropped back to fourth with just two laps remaining.

With Mercedes-bound Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Kush Maini enduring a collision in the final stages of the race, the sprint ended behind the safety car.

Having fought hard for the podium all across the race, DAMS driver Jak Crawford finished second, with MP Motorsport racer Richard Verschoor completing the podium.

Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto finished fifth ahead of Zane Maloney and Paul Aron, who dropped from P5 in the provisional classification to seventh after being judged to have caused a collision with Victor Martins. AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen rounded out the points in eighth place.