F2: Verschoor secures fifth career victory

Having opted for the alternative strategy in the Feature Race in Jeddah, MP Motorsport driver Richard Verschoor made a race-winning pass on DAMS racer Jak Crawford on the final lap to secure his fifth victory in Formula 2

Richard Verschoor crossed the finish line first in Saturday's sprint race, but he was handed a five-second penalty for overtaking off the track which saw him drop to only fourth in the standings.

However, the Dutchman bounced back in the Feature race, starting from P9 on the grid. The MP Motorsport driver started on the Medium and extended his first stint as much as possible, pitting after 23 laps.

Once on the Supersoft, he made the most of the extra grip and on the final lap he managed to pass Crawford , who had opted to start on the softest compound before switching to the harder one on lap 7, once the pit stop window was open.

The American was therefore the quickest of those who had gone for the classic strategy but they were wrongfooted by Verschoor, who thus made up for losing the Sprint win because of a penalty, as he secured his fifth Formula 2 victory.

Victor Martins looked quick on the opening laps, but he had to settle for third place, dropping four seconds behind Crawford. Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli finished just behind Martins to cement his fourth place in the drivers’ standings.

Jose Pepe Marti finished the feature race in P5, adding vital points to his current tally. Williams driver Luke Browning took sixth, followed by Arvid Lindblad, who ended the second Jeddah race in the points after his maiden victory on Saturday.

McLaren-backed Alex Dunne finished eighth, ahead of Gabriele Minì and Kush Maini completing the points down to 10th.

Commenting on his fifth F2 victory, Verschoor stated: “It was tough. I was doing 28 Qualifying laps. I think our pace was just very strong. To be honest, when the race started, I wasn’t happy with the balance.

"But the more the race went on, the car came alive. I think we were the fastest car on track even though we were on the opposite strategy. That was very positive.

"We had a very good pitstop as well, so hats off to the team, they did everything right today, and the pace was just there to take the win. I didn’t expect it, but of course I’m very, very happy.”

With his victory, Verschoor takes the lead of the Drivers’ Championship on 53 points. Martí is second for Campos with 41 ahead of Fornaroli in third, as his strong start to his rookie season continues, now on 40 points. Dunne has 35 points in fourth as Browning sits fifth on 33 for Hitech.

In the Teams’ Standings, Campos lead the way with 65 points in total ahead of MP Motorsport on 59. Invicta Racing are third with 48 points, three ahead of Hitech TGR in fourth on 45. It’s then 10 points back to Rodin Motorsport in fifth, who have 35 points.