Jack Doohan is the latest driver to secure his maiden FIA Formula 2 feature race win, holding off championship leader Felipe Drugovich for his second podium of the weekend at Spa–Francorchamps.
Carlin’s Liam Lawson rounded out the podium to take complete a memorable weekend for the young Kiwi who completed his first Formula 1 Free Practice session with AlphaTauri on Friday morning.
When the five lights went out, the Virtuosi Racing driver started from fourth on the grid and got an excellent launch which saw him move him up to second by Turn 1.
With Drugovich getting away cleanly from pole position, fellow Brazilian Enzo Fittipaldi had a poor start and lost out to Doohan after starting alongside the MP Motorsport driver.
He then lost out again at turn 5 where Van Amersfoort Racing’s David Beckmann got the better of him and the Charouz Racing System was forced to use the run off area.
The start of the race got worse for Fittipaldi after he had to concede the position to Lawson two laps later.
There was heartbreak for young Théo Pourchaire who saw his title hopes take a huge punch to the gut on the third lap.
The ART Grand Prix driver was forced to retire, meaning his main championship rival Drugovich was able to increase his grip on the championship crown.
The race was decided in the pit windows with Doohan opting to pit earlier than Drugovich.
The Alpine junior was holding his own against Drugovich and with the gap being only a few seconds, the undercut was definitely on the cards.
When Drugovich pitted a lap later, it was clear that Doohan had the pace and would take the lead of the race. The Australian went on to build a four second gap to the Brazilian.
Drugovich briefly fought back after Doohan was caught behind drivers who were yet to pit while running on the alternative strategy but calmly continued his race winning pace.
Richard Verschoor finished in fourth and he was one of the drivers who took advantage if the alternate strategy. The Dutchman was flying when he bolted on a set of soft tyres for the last nine laps.
Logan Sargeant finished in fifth place, just one second ahead of David Beckmann who had a stellar performance after just being made permanent for Van Amersfoort Racing.
Ayumu Iwasa was hot on the German’s heels and finished in seventh place ahead of Jüri Vips, Clément Novalak and Enzo Fittipaldi who rounded out the top 10 respectively.
After the race, the young Australian spoke of his delight to capture his first Feature Race win, “I’m stoked! Finally my first Feature Race win and for it to all come together like that this weekend.
“Obviously not perfect but P2 in the Sprint from P7 and P1 today from P4 is the most I could’ve asked for.
“I’m really happy. Now just eyes forward on the next two rounds and the remainder of the season.”
| POS | NO. | NAME | NAT | TEAM | TIME (25 Laps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Jack Doohan | AUS | Virtusoi Racing | 52:16.133 |
| 2 | 11 | Felipe Drugovich | BRA | MP Motorsport | +1.942 |
| 3 | 5 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Carlin | +8.714 |
| 4 | 20 | Richard Verschoor | NLD | Trident | +12.479 |
| 5 | 6 | Logan Sargeant | USA | Carlin | +21.266 |
| 6 | 24 | David Beckmann | GER | Van Amersfoort Racing | +22.365 |
| 7 | 17 | Ayumu Iwasa | JPN | DAMS | +22.498 |
| 8 | 8 | Jüri Vips | EST | Hitech Grand Prix | +23.899 |
| 9 | 12 | Clément Novalak | FRA | MP Motorsport | +24.746 |
| 10 | 22 | Enzo Fittipaldi | BRA | Charouz Racing System | +25.481 |
| 11 | 9 | Frederik Vesti | DNK | ART Grand Prix | +31.001 |
| 12 | 1 | Dennis Hauger | NOR | PREMA Racing | +37.471 |
| 13 | 7 | Marcus Armstrong | NZL | Hitech Grand Prix | +39.756 |
| 14 | 15 | Ralph Boschung | CHE | Campos Racing | +40.683 |
| 15 | 4 | Marino Sato | JPN | Virtuosi Racing | +43.718 |
| 16 | 21 | Calan Williams | AUS | Trident | +45.683 |
| 17 | 25 | Amaury Cordeel | BEL | Van Amersfoort Racing | +52.243 |
| 18 | 23 | Tatiana Calderón | COL | Charouz Racing System | +57.384 |
| 19 | 16 | Roy Nissany | ISR | DAMS | +1:02.827 |
| 20 | 2 | Jehan Daruvala | IND | PREMA Racing | +1:46.358 |
| 21 | 14 | Lirim Zendeli | GER | Campos Racing | +3 Laps |
| 22 | 10 | Théo Pourchaire | FRA | ART Grand Prix | DNF |
