F2 Report: Verschoor wins from ninth to avenge Sprint penalty

Tuesday, 22 April 2025 at 07:30

MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor came from ninth to achieve a stunning Formula 2 Feature Race win—just a day after being robbed of victory in Saturday’s Sprint.

Sprint Race pole-sitter Verschoor retained the lead off the line, but after a few laps fighting an in-form Pepe Marti, he was judged to have pushed the Spaniard off-track at turn five. The incident saw him hit with a five-second penalty, ultimately handing the win to second place Arvid Lindblad.

Though there was much to celebrate in the 17-year-old becoming F2’s youngest ever race winner, Verschoor clearly had the bit between his teeth during Sunday’s Feature Race. He had a touch of luck when the safety car cleared him a path to the front, but he showed incredible pace to then hold the lead, pit for faster tires, and surge to victory.

Following the race, Verschoor said winning “felt like redemption” and heaped praise on his team for giving him a car capable of fighting back after a lackluster qualifying.

Verschoor said: “At the moment everything is feeling good. I have a good and strong feeling about the team. They give me a lot of confidence; of course, they have given me a good car as well.

“It was a big shame in qualifying; I think ninth was not reflective of our pace. But those are the moments when you still need to perform together. P9 and to not be outside of the Top 10, I think that’s what helped us this weekend—always try, even if you have a bad situation.

“To still be in the Top 10 to fight for points every race, I think that’s what we all keep trying to do, but for sure I am very confident in the team that they will keep pushing, keep improving, and I know exactly what I have to work on myself.”

Verschoor’s redemption under the Saudi sun

Despite having just won the Sprint, Lindblad lost places to Alex Dunne and Marti in the opening laps on Sunday. An early mistake off turn 22 also cost Leonardo Fornaroli two places to Williams Academy’s Luke Browning and Dunne, who became Ireland’s first F2 winner last weekend.

Shortly after, John Bennett lost his front wing, bringing out the safety car and sending much of the field into the pits for an opportunistic stop. No doubt this saved the race leaders valuable time, but it also opened the road to Verschoor, who charged into the lead.

Jak Crawford dueled with Victor Martins for the effective race lead, as Marti, Dunne, and Browning traded places for what seemed like fourth to sixth, but Verschoor was still storming ahead up front. When he re-emerged in fourth with fresh tires, the Dutchman steamed his way up to first, taking Crawford on the final lap to claim an outstanding win on an alternative strategy.

Verschoor added: “First it was about keeping Victor behind me because I didn’t expect the cold, icy tires when I went out of the box. It took me at least a lap before the tires got warm.

“Jak was quite far away, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to catch him, but to be honest, I went all in,” he explained. “I didn’t care about the degradation that I could potentially have. I thought I just needed to get within DRS as soon as I could, and I think that was the right call in the end.”

Red Bull juniors signal Formula 2 title intent

No doubt Verschoor’s comeback was hugely impressive on Sunday, but let’s not forget that Red Bull junior drivers Marti and Lindblad also put in outstanding displays to pull off a Sprint 1-2.

Fresh off the back of winning last week’s Sprint, Marti snatched second from Gabriele Mini into turn one. Lindblad then dispatched the Italian at turn 27 after closing under a VSC caused by Cian Shields’ opening lap crash, putting both on the provisional podium.

This set up a scrap between Verschoor and Marti, with the pair trading places over the next couple of laps. While retaking the lead, the Dutchman was penalized for not giving enough space on the outside, triggering the penalty that cost him the race. Inexplicably, Marti then ran off twice in a single lap, causing him to fall behind his teammate as well as Mini.

Ultimately, he was able to retake the latter, dropping Mini into a battle with Fornaroli, Dunne, and Roman Stanek. But Marti couldn’t fight his way back to challenge Lindblad. As the race wore on, Crawford’s drive through the field was brought to a halt by a crash with Mini—who had already taken a few liberties at turn six—bringing out the safety car.

However, there wasn’t enough time for any of the fresh tires fitted to have an impact, leaving Lindblad and Marti to secure a Campos Racing 1-2.

More than just Formula 2 glory on the line?

After Sunday’s race, Marti was bullish about his chances of competing for this season's top honors in F2, saying that he "knew he was a championship contender from the start."

"I knew that we should be fighting for the championship, and to be honest, it's good to see us up there. I think we deserve to be up there," claimed Marti.

“Richard did a fantastic job. I think he was just the fastest this weekend, and he deserves to win," he added. "With that, he takes the championship lead, but I think we'll be fighting him quite soon."

F2 skips the next round of the Formula 1 season in Miami, syncing back up with the calendar at Imola, where this year's rookies will return to more familiar European terrain.

For Marti & Lindblad, the weekend will offer yet another opportunity to show Red Bull's bosses that they're ready to step into the big league. Should they continue to impress and Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson struggle, they could well get the nod.

(Quotes by Formula 2)