John Bennett claims maiden Formula 2 victory in the Austrian Sprint Race

Credit: Formula 2 via X

Saturday afternoon marked the first race of Round 6 for the Formula 2 season. In a dry and humid race, the Sprint was underway in Spielberg, Austria with John Bennett coming out in first place to take the win, claiming a maiden win for his Formula 2 campaign. He was closely followed by Sebastian Montoya in second and Rafael Villagomez in third to round off the final podium.

How it happened

The front row of the Red Bull Ring comprised of PREMA driver Montoya on the reverse grid pole, alongside Trident's Bennett. Off the line Bennett had a strong start clinching the lead just ahead of former race leader Montoya.

In an eventful start to Lap 1, an early collision into Turn 4 between Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Oliver Geothe saw an end to both their races, and as a result caused AIX Racing driver Emerson Fittipladi Jr. to see the conclusion of his race.

Following the incident, a yellow flag was called and safety car issued as the track was obstructed by Inthraphuvasak’s ART livery which needed to be cleared out of Turn 4.

Lap 4 marked the end of the yellow flag with many drivers achieving strong restarts. Rafael Camara and Nikola Tsolov climbed two and three positions respectively, showcasing assertive pace through to Lap 6.

As Lap 8 began, a brave but aggressive move from Montoya regained him the lead as he overtook Bennett who was being closely trailed by Villagomez.

As the halfway mark approached, INVICTA’s Joshua Durksen pulled into the pits to retire the car, ending his contribution to the day’s Sprint Race.

Into Lap 17, a lurking Alex Dunne was able to advance one position to fourth to put him ahead of Camara who now had current championship leader Gabriele Mini close behind.

Into Lap 20, Camara remained between the two Alpine backed drivers in Dunne and Mini, as the three battled for fourth position.

To end Lap 20, on the transition to Lap 21, Hitech and Cadillac backed Colton Herta came to a halt marking the end of his race and the introduction of the second yellow flag, alongside a virtual safety car. However, the race restarted quickly into Lap 22.

Upon race restart it was wheel-to-wheel once again between Mini and Camara for fifth as the two switched back and forth into Lap 23. It was Mini who came out on top, securing fifth position and creating a gap that protected his progress.

With two laps to go, Red Bull backed Tsolov continued his strong recovery drive advancing over Campos teammate Noel Leon to move himself one step closer to the points.

Into the penultimate lap, Bennett made aggressive moves around race leader Montoya, as he inched closer into the DRS zone which allowed him to take the lead into the final lap.

In the final lap, an overtaken Montoya struggled to recover, finding himself defending against a pressuring Villagomez for second place. However, Montoya maintained his pace cementing second position.

Upon race conclusion, the solid final push from Bennett paid off as he crossed the line in first to take his first ever win in Formula 2. Montoya followed closely in second, and Villagomez in third to round out the final podium.

What’s next

The Formula 2 race weekend in Spielberg, Austria will continue on Sunday morning at 10:10AM CEST for Round 6. Campos Racing’s Noel Leon will start on pole for the Feature Race at the Red Bull Ring.

Written by Teagan Strachan