Australia has once again welcomed the pinnacle of motorsport in a weekend that saw more than 450,000 fans cross the track gates, record numbers for Albert Park. Much of this success is due to the continued expansion of Formula 1, but also to a Formula 2 championship that has so far been unpredictable, without a clear leader and with many young drivers, rookies and others, who want to prove they deserve a chance in F1.
F2 Sprint Race
From its very beginning, the 23-lap race was full of adrenaline. A collision between Hadjar, Martí and Bortoleto immediately triggered a Safety Car, allowing the former to hold on to the leadership after a fantastic start. The other two drivers were not as lucky, being forced to retire due to too much damage to their cars.
The race restarted on lap 7. Lap 10 saw a spectacular battle for second place unfold between Stanek, Maini, Antonelli and Verschoor, with the last two losing control of their cars at turn 12 and ending their race prematurely.
It was Hadjar who clenched first place at the chequered flag, a victory that lasted, however, only a few hours due to a 10-second penalty he received after stewards determined he was responsible for the lap 1 incident. The Red Bull Junior team driver slipped down to sixth and handed his trophy over to Trident’s Roman Stanek. Hauger, author of a splendid overtaking move on Maini on lap 32 in turn 9, was also promoted to P2 with the Indian driver taking the last step of the podium. Bitter weekend for Ollie Bearman after his excellent debut in Formula 1 just two weeks ago. The Prema driver crossed the finish line in eighth position, far from the top 3, but a 10-second penalty pushed him down even more to 15th.
F2 Feature race
Sunday's 33-lap race was just as thrilling as the Sprint race. Hauger and Antonelli held first and second position respectively after a clean start, while a collision between Stanek and O'Sullivan, later penalised by 10 seconds, forced the former to the back of the field. Meanwhile Antonelli managed to take the lead with a great overtaking move on Hauger, who fought back on the next lap to retake it. On lap 7, Durksen made contact with O'Sullivan causing a Virtual Safety Car, which then turned into a Safety Car after Hauger crashed at Turn 6. Hadjar took the chance to pit and take virtual lead of the race until lap 32, when drivers in front stopped for fresh tires leaving him in the top spot. Hadjar then crossed the finish line ahead of Aron, Maloney and Antonelli, his first win of the weekend after he missed out on Saturday.
Championship standings
The third Formula 2 weekend has left us many doubts and few certainties. It’s clear that this year's Formula 2 world championship will not be dominated by a single driver, but will be characterised by constant battles between all these drivers who, despite still being youngsters, know that once they have lowered the visor their only goal is winning. At the moment Zane Maloney sits in first with 62 points, followed by Hitech rookie Paul Aron and Dennis Hauger. Hadjar climbs ten positions into fourth after a weekend that sees him bring home 30 points.
A balanced yet exciting F3 championship
Three weeks after Bahrain, F3 was back for the championship's second round. As for F2, the race took place in Albert Park, a track known for its tricky yet fast sectors that favour exciting battles between drivers.
So it was, because the Formula 3 weekend gave us several exciting moments. From the pole position of Leonardo Fornaroli on the compatriot Minì, to the victory of Martinius Stenshorne in the Sprint Race, up to Dino Beganovic, winner of the Feature Race, right in front of the two Italians.
Sprint race
The first laps of the sprint race were characterized by a fierce battle between Stenshorne, race winner, Van Hoepen and Mansell, before the latter suffered problems on his car. After several wheel-to-wheels between the first two, Stenshorne managed to definitely overtake the Dutchman on lap 5 and build a gap of two and a half seconds in the following laps. From then on, however, the leader of the race had to deal with Lindblad, who climbed into second place, after recovering all the gap that separated him from the Norwegian before the safety car, triggered by the contact between Smith and Inthraphuvasak in turn 1.
At the restart, Lindblad tried to win the lead, but failed to attack the Hitech GP driver. The positions, therefore, remained frozen, with Stenshorne in front of Lindblad and Van Hoepen. The Italians ended the race with a bitter taste, with Minì crossing the line in seventh place, overtaken at the last corner by his teammate Beganovic, and Fornaroli finished in eleventh, after a mistake made on the seventh lap while he was fighting with Beganovic which made him lose five positions.
Feature race
Sunday’s race saw Fornaroli and Minì start in front of everyone, with the two who managed to keep their positions and stay ahead of Beganovic at the start. The situation changed in the second half of the race, when the Swede, thanks to an excellent tyre management, managed to overtake first Minì, on lap 12, and then Fornaroli on lap 14, going for the win with a gap of almost two seconds.
First podium of the season for an excellent Gabriele Minì, who managed to regain the third position by overtaking Browning on the penultimate lap.
Championship standings
Only two races have passed, but Formula 3 seems to be tight, with many young drivers who are proving to be very fast.
Luke Browning and Leonardo Fornaroli, both find themselves in first position with 37 points, with Minì third at 32, then Beganovic fourth at 28. Completing the top 5 is Lindblad with 23 points.
The next two races, Sprint and Feature, will be at Imola and in a world championship that seems to be very competitive let’s see what the Italian weekend can bring to table.
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