Formula 2: Fornaroli won the sprint at Spa

      The starting grid for Saturday's Formula 2 sprint race is determined based on Friday's qualifying results, but since a partially reversed grid is applied, the first row was occupied by not the fastest or most experienced drivers.

      Oliver Götze, a German driver for MP Motorsport, took pole position, with Belgian Amore Cordila from Rodin Motorsport alongside his car on the first row. An interesting detail was that their teammates, Richard Verschoor and Alex Dann, are considered season favorites.

      However, Verschoor, who leads the driver standings, started today's race from a distant 11th position. Dann, who secured pole yesterday, began the short race from tenth. Naturally, their goal was to gain as many positions as possible.

      It was quite expected that Götze couldn't maintain the lead at the start, as Leonardo Fornaroli, who had a perfect start from third, overtook him and Cordila in the first turn. But what couldn't be foreseen was a collision that occurred in the first seconds of the race involving three drivers: Verschoor, Luke Braiding, and Jack Crawford.

      As a result, Braiding immediately retired, his car stopping on the gravel shoulder. Initially, the race director deployed a virtual safety car, which was later replaced by a full safety car. Crawford and Verschoor managed to reach the pits with damaged cars, and the Dutch driver quickly exited his cockpit. Visible cracks appeared on the left side pod of his Dallara, and oil began to leak somewhere.

      During the restart, Fornaroli retained the lead, with Cordila second; Götze had fallen back to third, closening in on him was Victor Martin, but then yellow flags were waved again due to debris scattered on the track.

      Within a lap, racing resumed, and Alex Dann, who might have gained ground in the standings because of Verschoor's retirement, was gradually advancing and was already eighth, closely behind Gabrielle Mini, clearly preparing an attack.

      At that moment, the stewards announced their decision, having suspected Fornaroli of violating rules when the peloton was behind the safety car. In theory, he could have been penalized for this.

      On the seventh lap, Dann attempted to pass Mini, but the Italian actively defended and, in the process, Stánek managed to reclaim his position in the midst of the action — an intense and exciting moment, but all drivers remained in their positions for now.

      Ten laps before the finish, Fornaroli still led, having also recorded the quickest lap, and the stewards’ decision not to penalize him boosted his confidence.

      On the ninth lap, Victor Martin overtook Oliver Götze, moving into third place and chasing after Cordila, who was supposed to be an easier target for the experienced Frenchman. On the following lap, the interval between the Rodin Motorsport and ART cars was less than a second, and Martin could use DRS.

      He did so on the 12th lap at the end of the Kemmel straight, overtaking the Belgian around the outside in the Les Combes turn, but Cordila couldn't stay on the track, ran into the runoff on the right and collided with the barriers. Yellow flags waved once again, followed by the deployment of the safety car.

      During the sprint, changing tires was not mandatory, but some drivers took advantage of the situation and pitted. The top four remained on track, as only five laps remained to the finish. The question was how effectively those who had fresh tires could utilize this advantage.

      At least Pepe Marti managed to gain several positions, rising to fifth and preparing to attack Götze, as well as Alex Dann, who had overtaken Roman Stanek and seized sixth from the Czech driver of Invicta Racing.

      The events then unfolded quite intriguingly: Dann decided to attack Marti, the Spaniard defended vigorously, and the result was that Stanek, opportunistically, regained his position.

      A lap before the finish, Fornaroli was leading, with Martin two seconds behind, and Mini had moved up to third. But then yellow flags reappeared, replaced by a safety car—this was due to Sam Megetunif’s car stopping on the track because of technical issues.

      This effectively meant the race would end behind the safety car, and Gabrielle Mini, who couldn’t hold back, started celebrating loudly over the radio, knowing he would definitely be on the podium.

      Of course, Leonardo Fornaroli, claiming his second victory of the season, and Victor Martin, only the second driver this year to reach the podium, also had good reason to be in a good mood. Moreover, earning 10 points for the sprint win significantly increased Fornaroli’s chances of fighting for the title.

      Neither Verschoor, still leading the championship standings, nor Crawford, in second place, scored any points today; consequently, their rivals closed the gap, and after tomorrow’s main race of the Belgian weekend, the order will once again change. In particular, Alex Dann, starting from pole on Sunday, has a real chance to re-take the lead in the driver standings if the conditions favor him.