Formula 2: Martinius Stenshorn opened the scoring for victories

      After the Saturday sprint, the top five drivers in the Formula 2 standings were separated by just ten points, and perhaps the main intrigue was how the balance of power would change after the Canadian stage of the season. Gabriele Mini, who finished 2nd yesterday, took the lead in the junior series, but in the main race of the weekend, he started from the tenth position, while Nikola Tsolov, who had recently led the standings, started from second, and Rafael Camara, who was in second place, started from fifth.

      Of course, they all had something to fight for, and it was expected that on the Canadian track, which the Formula 2 drivers only truly got to know this weekend, they would show all their fighting qualities.

      Starting from pole position was Lawrence van Hoopen, a Trident driver, for whom this was his first such achievement in F2. In the very first seconds of the race, Tsolov overtook him, but the Dutchman got back ahead by the 3rd corner. It should be noted that by the time of the start, the track had partially dried after the morning rain, and all cars were on slicks; however, there were still some not completely dry sections on the track, making it challenging for everyone as they had to drive cautiously.

      Naturally, Tsolov tried to pressure his opponent, staying close behind his car, and this duo pulled away from the rest of the pack by about a second per lap. It also seemed that the rain was starting to drizzle again, although no one was being particularly cautious yet.

      But at the end of the fourth lap, van Hoopen made a mistake in the last chicane, hitting a wet curb on the inside of the track, his car destabilized, and at high speed, he crashed into the barrier at the "Wall of Champions." This happened right in front of Tsolov, who narrowly avoided Lawrence's wrecked Dallara but managed to steer clear.

      Of course, the safety car was deployed, and since the technical services at the racetrack were busy repairing the barriers, evacuating the wrecked car, and cleaning the track, the pack drove through the pit lane for several laps.

      On the seventh lap, the race was restarted, Tsolov maintained the lead, while 19-year-old Emmo Fittipaldi Jr. went to the pits to change his damaged nose cone and also got a fresh set of tires. However, due to his youth and inexperience, he did not take into account that the grip on the track was still poor, especially on cold tires (there are no tire blankets in F2), and as he exited the pit lane, his car simply crashed into the barriers at a relatively low speed.

      The safety car appeared again, and most drivers took advantage of this to make their mandatory pit stops. No one repeated Fittipaldi's mistake, and everyone returned to the track safely, but Tsolov found himself in 5th position after the pit stop. Naturally, in front of him were those who had not been to the pits – Roman Bilinski, Colton Herta, Kush Maini, and Mari Boya.

      On the 13th lap, the race resumed, and Nikola Tsolov engaged in a battle with Mari Boya in the first corners, but Boya was unwilling to yield. While they were sorting things out between themselves, Martinius Stenshorn overtook both of them, although the Bulgarian driver from Campos Racing accomplished his local tactical task and managed to pass the Spanish driver from Prema Racing.

      Tsolov then began to chase Stenshorn, and the team advised him over the radio not to rush, as the race was long and there was still a long way to go until the finish. Not that Nikola ignored this advice, but on the 15th lap, he overtook Kush Maini; however, Maini, trying to counterattack, lightly nudged his car from behind, and Tsolov's Dallara spun out in the last chicane.

      Both continued the race, but Maini was now in 10th, while Nikola dropped back to 15th position.

      On the 17th lap, yellow flags were displayed as there was contact between the two Rafaels, Camara and Villagomez, at the entrance to the first corner, resulting in the suspension on the Spanish driver's car being broken – another retirement. This was a battle for fifth position.

      A virtual safety car was in effect for one lap, and when the race resumed, Bilinski lost control of his car in the hairpin, and Stenshorn took the lead.

      With 15 laps to go, the top five looked like this: Stenshorn had managed to extend his lead to over two seconds, Dino Beganovic was second, Herta was third, closely followed by Bilinski, and Mini was chasing the Polish driver. Even in this situation, Gabriele was not only maintaining his lead in the standings but also increasing his advantage.

      On the same 24th lap, Camara spun out and slowly returned to the pits, while Beganovic's car seemed to start smoking from the engine. A couple of laps later, he stopped on the side of the track, which again brought out the safety car. Those who had not yet been to the pits turned into the pit lane, after which Tsolov moved up to 6th position, and it was clear that he would try to gain at least one position on the restart, and if lucky, even more.

      Stenshorn led the pack, followed by Alex Dunn, and Mini was already in third. Behind him were Maini, who had not yet visited the pits, and Joshua Dürksen, who was the first target for Tsolov.

      The safety car remained on the track for quite a while, and the restart was only given with five laps to go. But since the time limit had already been reached, the race distance was shortened, and it was supposed to finish in just three minutes.

      However, there was no normal finish, as Oliver Goethe and Ritomo Miyata collided in the hairpin, resulting in a rather spectacular crash and another deployment of the safety car. Unfortunately, it was right behind the red Mercedes-AMG GT, which was once again driven by Bernd Mayländer, that the race finished.

      Martinius Stenshorn, the Norwegian debutant from Rodin Motorsport, probably dreamed of opening his victory account differently, but it was not his fault that the Montreal race unfolded in such a strange scenario. In any case, he did everything right today.

      Alex Dunn, Stenshorn's teammate, took second place, and Gabriele Mini joined them on the podium. By the way, one of the first to congratulate him and Martinius after the finish was Nicolas Todt, their manager. It can be assumed that he is pleased with the results of the Canadian stage, as both of his protégés excelled this weekend – one won today's race, and the other finished in the top three twice and leads the standings.

      

       Driver

       Team

       Difference

       Laps

      

      

      

      

       1. M.Stenshorn

       Rodin Motorsport

       -

       37

      

      

       2. A.Dunn

       Rodin Motorsport

       1.077

       37

      

      

       3. G.Mini

       MP Motorsport

       1.313

       37

      

      

       4. N.Tsolov

       Campos Racing

       1.859

       37

      

      

       5. S.Montoya

       Prema Racing

       2.061

       37

      

      

       6. K.Shields

       AIX Racing

       2.442

       37

      

      

       7. N.Varrone

       Van Amersfoort Racing

       2.666

       37

      

      

       8. C.Herta

       Hitech

       5.346

       37

      

      

       9. M.Boya

       Prema Racing

       5.694

       37

      

      

       10. K.Maini

       ART Grand Prix

       7.377

       37

      

      

       11. N.Leon

       Campos Racing

       8.560

       37

      

      

       12. J.Dürksen

       Invicta Racing

       11.590

       37

      

      

       13. R.Bilinski

       DAMS Lucas Oil

       13.339

       37

      

      

       14. R.Camara

       Invicta Racing

       3 laps /12.844

       34

      

      

       15. O.Goethe

       MP Motorsport

       4 laps

       33

      

      

       16. R.Miyata

       Hitech

       4 laps

       33

      

      

        D.Beganovic

       DAMS Lucas Oil

       Retirement

       26

      

      

       -. R.Villagomez

       Van Amersfoort Racing

       Retirement

       16

      

      

       -. D.Bennett

       Trident

       Retirement

       08

      

      

       -. E.Fittipaldi

       AIX Racing

       Retirement

       07

      

      

       -. L.van Hoopen

       Trident

       Retirement