#F2: Lawson dominates in red flagged final Sprint Race at Abu Dhabi

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F2: Lawson dominates in red flagged final Sprint Race at Abu Dhabi

Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson sought to cap off the final round of the Formula 2 season in style, holding his nerve to take a commanding fourth Sprint Race victory in Abu Dhabi ahead of Trident’s Richard Verschoor and Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich. Things weren’t quite so smooth sailing initially, as he found himself unable to get past reverse grid pole-sitter Verschoor off the line, whilst a huge collision between Jehan Daruvala and Enzo Fittipaldi brought out an early red flag for barrier repairs. READ MORE: Formula 1 announces F1 Academy, a new all-female driver series for 2023 Waiting patiently after the restart, Lawson pounced on Lap 10 and never looked back, reaching the chequered flag a staggering 7.9s clear of the Dutchman. Meanwhile, 2022 Champion Drugovich used all his tyre management experience to his advantage to overtake both Dennis Hauger and Amaury Cordeel for third, with PREMA Racing’s Hauger also finding his way through on the Belgian late on. In his quest to secure the Super Licence points needed to guarantee his promotion to F1 with Williams for 2023, Logan Sargeant survived several nervous moments on the opening lap to take sixth ahead of Alpine junior Jack Doohan and Roy Nissany. With third to seventh separated by only 12 points, Sargeant goes into the final Feature Race of the year four points clear of Carlin team mate Lawson on 138 and 134 points each, with Doohan, Daruvala and Fittipaldi close behind. In the Teams’ fight, MP Motorsport hold a seven-point lead over ART Grand Prix and third-placed Carlin. Iwasa has the opportunity to cap off his rookie season with victory in the Feature Race when he lines up on pole on Sunday at 1300 local time. For the full report, head to the official Formula 2 website. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

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F2: Iwasa beats Drugovich in final lap battle for victory at Yas Island as Sargeant ensures F1 promotion

Ayumu Iwasa held off Felipe Drugovich in a late-race fight for the Feature Race win at Yas Marina. The duo fought within a second of each other for the final five laps, with Iwasa fending off a last-lap attempt from the Aston Martin reserve driver to take the win. Liam Lawson capped off a strong weekend with P3 after winning the Sprint Race on Saturday. Logan Sargeant also guaranteed his Williams F1 drive for 2023, finishing fifth in the Feature Race and fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, earning him the required amount of Super Licence points. Iwasa led from pole in the first stint while Drugovich made progress from fourth on the grid. He overtook Theo Pourchaire into Turn 1 and cleared Roy Nissany with DRS within the first five laps to set up the fight for victory. F2: Lawson dominates in red flagged final Sprint Race at Abu Dhabi Lawson made the undercut work to devastating effect. The Red Bull junior had started ninth but opted to be the first of those on the soft tyres to make their mandatory pitstop on Lap 8. His early stop and subsequent speed on the medium compound moved him ahead of Nissany, Dennis Hauger and Pourchaire after their respective stops. Jack Doohan was the highest-placed driver on the grid to opt for the alternate strategy, starting on the mediums and aiming for a late switch to the softs. He led from Lap 10, running longer into the race but the Alpine Academy driver’s afternoon came undone after his stop. Rejoining the circuit, his front left tyre detached itself. Having looked set to filter out into fifth on the road, he instead was forced to pull off and retire from the race on Lap 28. A Virtual Safety Car with three laps to go gave Drugovich the chance to close in on Iwasa with better tyre life. Having attempted a pass around the outside of the sweeping Turn 9 hairpin on the penultimate lap, the MP driver tried the same move on the final tour. Hard but fair defensive driving from Iwasa left Drugovich on the outside and with no room to steal the victory just a handful of corners from the chequered flag. After his Sprint Race victory on Saturday, Lawson made it two podiums in two races at Yas Marina with third on the podium. Sargeant’s fight for a position good enough to guarantee him an F1 Super Licence was tense, but the American ended up fifth by the chequered flag to secure his Williams seat for 2023. The result gave MP Motorsport its first Formula 2 Teams’ Championship, with Carlin leapfrogging ART Grand Prix for second on the final day of the season. For the full report, head to the official F2 website. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com