Hadjar battles through chaotic F2 Sprint to secure victory

The Formula 2 Sprint Race in Melbourne was non-stop chaos, headlined by Safety Cars and wheel-to-wheel racing which saw Isaac Hadjar end the 23 laps on the top step of the podium.

From the outset of the Formula 2 Sprint, it was a chaotic scene.

In the opening metres of the race, second and fourth-placed starters Gabriel Bortoleto and Pepe Marti found their cars hurdling towards the barriers after colliding at ‘lights out’.

After securing an absolutely perfect jump off the line, Marti’s skill proved to be his downfall when he was squeezed by his own teammate.

With Isaac Hadjar cutting off his fellow Red Bull junior driver in the racing incident, Marti had nowhere to go, colliding with Bortoleto on his right. 

The two drivers crashed out at the pit exit, deploying the Safety Car.

Before the SC had been called, however, there was movement throughout the field. 

Roman Stanek, who lined up from pole position, lost out to Hadjar into Turn 1, with the speed of the Campos Racing driver stunning the Trident.

Starting from 16th, Oliver Bearman made his way through the field, finding himself in P14.

No one made up as many places as Victor Martins, however, with the Frenchman excelling off the line. 

Martins started in P21 after spinning out of yesterday’s qualifying session, moving up to P13 as the SC period began. 

With the pitlane exit clear, Cordeel made the choice to pit, opting to run the super soft tyre for the restart.

The cars of Gabriel Bortoleto and Pepe Marti on recovery vehicles. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

The race restarted for Lap 7, with Hadjar making the jump on the run to Turn 12.

Tyre temperature was a clear issue, with drivers weaving down the straight and locking up into the first corner. 

One to feel that the most was Zane Maloney who lost the rear of his Rodin Carlin through Turn 6, dropping back to P10 after an unfavourable trip through the gravel.

Tomorrow’s pole-man made his way through the field, demoting Zak O’Sullivan as he moved into P7 around the long sweeping corner.

It was a three-car battle for second place, with Stanek defending the silverware from Paul Aron and Kush Maini.

They were soon accompanied by fifth and sixth place, with the battle climaxing at Turn 12.

With the battle for second turning into a bunched-up fight, all five drivers involved rounded Turn 12 with such close proximity that only three made it out of the corner.

Kimi Antonelli and Richard Verschoor were both left stranded at the corner, with one in the grass-side barriers and the other buried in the gravel.

The pair looked to have each spun on their own, with the Prema driver losing the rear of his car before Verschoor preemptively span to avoid contact.

As a result, the Safety Car was deployed for a second time while the vehicles were recovered.

The halt in racing was welcomed by Stanek who was relived of two additional competitors behind, 

The real winner of the incident, however, was Dennis Hauger, who inherited two extra positions to be sitting in P4. 

With the Safety Car period ending, the race restarted on Lap 15.

Hadjar, although utilising the same technique, set off from Turn 11, making an instant gap of over a second to Stanek. 

Stanek slowly fell into Maini’s grasp, with the gap dropping to four-tenths.

Aron lost out at the restart after being forced onto the grass, falling all the way to the back of the grid before coming into the pits for a front wing change.

At Turn 4 teammates Jak Crawford and Juan Manuel Correa had a tense moment, with the latter supposedly running Crawford wide.

Jak Crawford and Juan Manuel Correa came close during the Sprint Race in Melbourne. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

On Lap 17, Maini attempted to pass the well-positioned Trident through Turn 10.

He failed to do so, costing himself and Stanek time which allowed Hauger and Franco Colapinto to close in.

Bearman and O’Sullivan battled for the final points position, with the Ferrari Reserve Driver attempting a move into Turn 3. 

With just two laps remaining, Hauger locked in on Maini.

His first attempt came at Turn 4, with the Indian driver remaining ahead, however, after Maini lost DRS to Stanek, it became an easier task.

Hauger made the move stick into Turn 9, charging past the Invicta driver to secure the final podium position.

He looked close to Stanek during the final corners of the race, however, wasn’t quite close enough to clinch second place at the chequered flag.

Further back, Ollie Bearman recovered some ground, eventually passing O’Sullivan for the final point in P8.

Out in front, and despite a chaotic start to his race, Isack Hadjar secured Sprint race glory in Melbourne, crossing the line 6.8 seconds ahead of the intense battles behind. 

After securing his 11th F2 podium, Dennis Hauger will start tomorrow’s Feature Race from pole position, with lights out kicking off at 11:35 AM.

F2 Sprint Race Results:

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