Heat, tyres, and back-and-forth racing: Drivers reflect on Formula 2’s “textbook motor racing” in Miami sprint race

Credit: Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool

Formula 2’s North American debut has left several drivers thrilled, with the Miami International Autodrome hosting a thrilling 23-lap sprint race that saw drivers go back and forth for position multiple times, and an exciting three-abreast last-lap duel all the way to the finish line. 

Despite the immense heat and challenges surrounding tyre wear, the top three finishers on Saturday’s sprint race were immensely pleased with the racing in Miami, with winner Nikola Tsolov even remarking how it “Almost felt like an iRacing race at one point” with all the wheel-to-wheel racing and the drivers swapping positions. 

Trident’s Laurens van Hoepen, who duelled it out with the Bulgarian all race for the lead, was just as quick to appreciate the racing on display. “It's textbook motor racing, how it should be,” he quipped, reflecting on his race-long battle. 

“This is exactly what racing should be like. Late on the brakes, in the last corner, on the last lap, fighting with all the guys. I mean, it's something that I really enjoy, and one of the most fun parts of racing,” van Hoepen continued, expressing his delight on enjoying the racing action. 

Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne, who finished third, managed to get an excellent view of the front two battling for the win, before attempting a last-gasp dive into the final corners to snatch second from van Hoepen. 

“It was pretty cool to watch, to be honest,” Dunne mentioned, having closed up to the battling duo over the course of five laps. 

“It's not something you see very often. I think a lot of times when you have hard battles like this, it either ends up in tears or the other driver manages to pull a gap. But I think it shows that this track provides great racing, which is great to see, and also these two (Tsolov and van Hoepen) were very respectful with each other,” a delighted Dunen said, impressed by the racing action in front of him. 

The front trio weren’t the only ones scrapping for track positions, though, as this two-car battle once had up to five drivers trailing each other closely. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Nicolás Varrone and Invicta Racing’s Joshua Dürksen were part of their own battles with Dunne, before falling away towards the end. 

Plenty of scrapping also ensued outside the top 10, with home favourite Colton Herta, Ollie Goethe, ART’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Dürksen’s Invicta teammate Rafa Câmara also in the thick of the racing action. 

Prime overtaking spots on the day were the left-handers of Turns 10 and 17, at the end of long straights, while Turn 1 also served as an occasional overtaking spot. MP Motorsport’s Ollie Goethe also pulled off an overtake into the sweeping left-hander of Turn 7, capitalising on Inthraphuvasak ahead going wide into the corner. 

Tsolov battled all race with van Hoepen behind | Credit: Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool

The biggest talking points, though, were of the last-lap battle for the lead between Tsolov and van Hoepen. The Trident man initially managed to make a move into Turn 11, but went deep into the corner, just managing to fend off the Campos driver behind. 

However, this moment left him vulnerable on the long run down to Turn 17, with Tsolov eventually taking back the position by moving around the outside into the left-hander. Van Hoepen’s attempts to retake the position proved unsuccessful, as he rode the kerbs to fend off Dunne just behind. 

Looking back at his battle, Tsolov initially believed he had lost the race after being passed, mentioning he had stayed patient in the final stages to execute the crucial move for victory. 

“As soon as I got overtaken on the last lap, I almost believed it was impossible to take him back. But then obviously I stayed close through the tight section, and then, coming into the last corner, the last braking zone, and it was all to play for. 

“I braked late on my line, and just, I think I stayed patient and never really, both of us were quite respectful, never really took way too big of risks and stayed on line.

“So it was really exciting, intense, probably the funniest race I've ever done. And yeah, I'm looking forward to another good battle tomorrow, starting from a little further back,” Tsolov mentioned, looking back on how his final lap went. 

Building confidence and getting up to speed in Miami

Tsolov recovered from a lack of running in Free Practice to qualify 10th | Credit: Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool

With Miami being a completely new venue that required teams to start from scratch, drivers would have had to bank on a crucial 30-minute Free Practice session on Friday, in order to build confidence for the pair of races across the weekend. An important part of this would require drivers to learn as they go, with pole-sitter Kush Maini reiterating this after his qualifying session. 

For Campos and Nikola Tsolov though, this uphill mountain was even taller, with the Bulgarian stopping by the side of the track, and losing valuable opportunities to gather data. This came shortly after teammate Noel León stopped at Turn 16. 

Qualifying in 10th despite the challenges marked an impressive comeback for Tsolov. While he had to drive on instinct and guesswork, the 23-lap sprint gave him plenty of important running for the 32-lap Feature Race on Sunday. 

“Today was, again, on my side, was a guess with the braking points, racing lines, etc, and guessing how the car is gonna behave,” he mentioned. 

“I think it was really important, obviously (the sprint race), because I didn't do any running on the medium tyre before the race. And obviously, with the setup, it was going to be about taking a good guess if we didn't do the race today. But yeah, it was really valuable. Now, having more laps on the track, I feel more confident for tomorrow,” Tsolov replied to DIVEBOMB when asked about how important running the sprint was. 

For second-placed van Hoepen, running the sprint was all about gathering important data without having incidents, and running on the medium tyre for the Feature Race, which would see drivers make pit stops and run both tyre compounds. 

“It's super important to do all the laps, make sure you really execute the race well, to know where you're at, and also to know what you can do to improve. Because if you have like a crash in the beginning of the race, you have very little data for the race tomorrow.

“So yeah, it's really important to get all the running in as you can. And yeah, I think we did that pretty well today, and we have a much better understanding of the car for tomorrow,” the Dutchman summed up. 

Third-placed Dunne also reflected on this, mentioning the importance of the sprint in tweaking set-ups for the Sunday race, and how the learning process hadn’t been too difficult so far. 

“I think a lot of the stuff that happened is similar to what I expected,” he responded, speaking on his sprint outing.

The drivers’ experience with the Miami heat

The biggest challenge for drivers to tackle was the heat during their in-laps | Credit: Formula 2

A major challenge for drivers to tackle in the Miami weekend has been the searing heat, with track and ambient temperatures often soaring. While Friday’s qualifying session saw track temperatures skyrocketing towards 60°C, Saturday’s sprint, held earlier in the day, featured close to 50°C in track temperatures.

However, the intensity of a fast-paced sprint intensified this for the drivers, with Tsolov revealing how the in-lap was one of the most challenging parts of his race, as he tried to catch a breath as he made his way back into the pits. 

“In the end, the in-lap for me was the most difficult physically because I couldn't breathe,” Tsolov revealed, speaking to DIVEBOMB about the challenges he faced. “There was no air coming into my helmet, so it was pretty exhausting. 

He would also mention how the constant heat would waver his focus during his race, often hampering his efforts to pull away and create a gap.

“I think it was very difficult with the heat and trying to try and stay focused, obviously leading the race and trying to pull a gap. I was trying to do something different every single gap, to maybe gain a bit of pace, but it wasn't working very well,” the Campos driver mentioned.

Trident racer van Hoepen mentioned the crucial balance between maintaining his tyres and going for race-winning overtakes, even calling it ‘fun’ to deal with.“I mean, the whole race itself was challenging. Of course, it's super hot. You've got the tyres you kind of want to keep in a good window, but you also want to overtake and ultimately win the race.

“So I think the combination of all those things and all the different aspects of the race make it really difficult and also makes it fun in a way,” he revealed.

Likewise, Dunne too reiterated how the heat made things harder for him, more so during the final three laps when he was pushing flat out to catch the leading pair. “When I got out of the car, and the heat hit me, it was really, really difficult. So I think in general, my race was pretty relaxed, but the heat was probably the most difficult thing to deal with,” he replied.

The challenge of potentially racing in the rain on Sunday

A major talking point all weekend has been the possibility of inclement weather hitting the track on Sunday. While the showpiece Formula One race has already seen fears of rain affecting the early stages of the race, and even bringing in the aspect of stoppages due to weather, chances of rain hitting the F2 Feature Race linger in the horizon.

The Feature Race gets underway at 12:30 local time (17:30 BST), three-and-a-half hours before the F1 race.

While forecasts point to a 75% chance of rain an hour before the race gets underway, the top three from the sprint revealed their thoughts on the prospects of a wet race.

Tsolov and van Hoepen, who hadn’t yet driven an F2 car in the wet before, were contrasting in their opinions on racing in the rain.

“I would like to drive in the rain, I think here you'd have a lot of chaos though. Today we proved that the pace was also good in the dry, so it doesn't change that much, apart from what tyres you fit. So I'm ready for everything, and I'm just looking forward to race tomorrow,” Tsolov said.

“I've never driven the F2 car in the rain, so it will be a little bit of a challenge, especially on a track like this. I think it's already rubbered in today, so just miss it maybe for our race,” van Hoepen responded, looking to take advantage of a grippy circuit to maximise his points.

Meanwhile, Dunne, who had already driven an F2 car earlier, believed rain would make his ascent from ninth on the grid “more interesting”, looking ahead to the challenge. “I'd be pretty happy if it's wet. I quite like the rain, starting from P9 and maybe make it a bit more interesting as well.

“I think the pace in the dry is good as well, but if it's wet, then I'll be happy with that as well,” Dunne said, speaking on the prospects of a wet Feature Race.