What F2's title contenders need to do in the Qatar Feature Race
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 25 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Only three races remain in the run to the flag for the 2025 Formula 2 season. Five drivers are still in with a mathematical chance of winning the F2 title this year, after a sprint that saw two safety cars and a mixed up finishing order. DIVEBOMB gives you the lowdown ahead of the Feature Race in Qatar
A crazy and chaotic Qatar sprint race saw Richard Verschoor eventually come out on top, and keep his aspirations of winning the title alive. Meanwhile, the likes of Alex Dunne and championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli too finished in the points, while Jak Crawford made his way up from 15th to eighth to take home one championship point to boot.
The magical number for Fornaroli to win the title in Qatar is 40 points, and it is something the Italian will fancy doing when he starts from pole position. The onus will be on his rivals to make big gains in the Feature Race, should they want to keep the title battle going all the way into Abu Dhabi.
Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing) - 193 points
Finishing position in the sprint - Sixth
Starting position in the Feature Race - First
Fornaroli will have the luxury of a clear track at the Lusail International Circuit when he starts from pole position for the Feature Race, one he inherited from Ollie Goethe losing his pole position
The Invicta man made a good start on Saturday in the sprint. Starting ninth on the grid, he moved up to eighth on Lap 1, trailing teammate Roman Staněk around a track that did not provide easy overtaking opportunities. Capitalising on Staněk's late decision to pit under the safety car, and debutant Nikola Tsolov's off-track excursion, Fornaroli made his way up to sixth, taking home three points to add to his advantage.
Fornaroli will have a chance to seal the title as early as the Feature Race in Qatar, if he leaves the Lusail International Circuit more than 39 points clear of the competition. Starting from pole position gives him the best chance of achieving this magical figure.
Jak Crawford (DAMS) - 170 points
Finishing position in the sprint - Eighth
Starting position in the Feature Race - 15th
While qualifying was one to forget for Crawford, leaving him with a 15th position start for the weekend's races.
A strong recovery for the American driver in the sprint saw him recover a single point for finishing eighth after 23 laps of racing. Crawford made up four places on the opening lap of Saturday's sprint, before finding himself stuck behind Victor Martins in the ART Grand Prix car for several laps.
He would make up places after Martins went off the circuit at Turn 4 later in the race, before making up two further spots on Staněk and Tsolov to finish eighth.
Every point will be crucial, and Crawford will be hoping to make it back onto the podium, at the very least, to keep his title hopes alive heading into Abu Dhabi. If Crawford finishes more than 16 points behind Fornaroli, he will be out of the title battle even before the paddock leaves Qatar.
Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) - 162 points
Sprint finishing position - First
Starting position for the Feature Race - 10th
Verschoor maximised his haul from the Saturday sprint, taking the 10 points for the victory as well as the point for the fastest lap. He remained a class apart from the rest, and as per his post-race admission, he had plenty of pace.
The win moved Verschoor up to third in the standings, and puts him only eight points off Crawford in second. The Dutchman will certainly fancy leaving Qatar as the closest to Fornaroli, considering he starts 10th for the race, five positions ahead of Crawford.
We've seen Verschoor pull off a Feature Race win from ninth in Jeddah earlier this year, and the MP Motorsport racer will certainly fancy his chances of repeating the same drive, using his experience to make the full use of the tyre life at his disposal.
Luke Browning (Hitech TGR) - 161 points
Sprint finishing position - 17th
Feature Race starting position - 18th
Qualifying had been one to forget for Hitech TGR's Luke Browning, and a difficult showing in the sprint only exacerbated his weekend, putting a major spanner in his championship chances.
The British driver struggled to make up ground on Saturday, sitting behind ART Grand Prix racer Ritomo Miyata and using up his tyres early in the race. Despite making up the position later, the gamble to take on softer tyres during the safety car periods failed to come good, leaving him to settle for 17th on the road.
The Hitech man has now fallen 32 points behind championship leader Fornaroli, and will need to finish second, at the very least, to keep himself in the title battle heading into Abu Dhabi, if the Italian wins on Sunday. He will hope the daylight and the hotter temperatures mean a better turn of performance for the Hitech TGR car.
Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) - 134 points
Sprint finishing position - Fifth
Start position for the Feature Race - Fifth
It's been a weekend of fifths for Rodin Motorsport's Alex Dunne, who qualified fifth for the weekend's races on Friday. This also left him with a solid starting position for the weekend's races, fifth in each one.
On Saturday, the Irishman drove a nondescript Feature Race, despite falling back to sixth at the start. He would make up a position after Tsolov had his off track excursion in the final lap battle for the podium, finishing fifth and outscoring Fornaroli to stay in the fight.
The task for Sunday's Feature Race will be even more daunting for Dunne, though, as he will start the race 59 points behind Fornaroli, and almost on the brink of being eliminated from the title fight. He will need to win and hope for other external factors to come into play, in order to keep his faint title hopes alive.
