Zak O’Sullivan, the junior driver for Williams, achieved his second victory of the Formula 2 season amidst challenging weather conditions that led to the race being red-flagged after an earlier postponement.
The sprint race at Spa was originally set to start at 1:15pm BST on Saturday but was delayed due to severe rainfall.
The race finally commenced at 5:25pm BST, following the F1 Belgian GP qualifying session, with ART’s O’Sullivan starting from pole and executing a solid launch as the rest of the drivers navigated the wet track carefully.
Establishing a two-second lead with clear air in front, O’Sullivan faced no challenges when the virtual safety car was activated on lap three to manage the recovery of Pepe Marti’s Campos car, which had stalled on the approach to Pouhon.
This was soon escalated to a full safety car on lap four, but deteriorating weather conditions kept the drivers in a line as the red flags were shown on lap seven, concluding the race.
The FIA clarified the decision to stop the race: “The resumption of the FIA Formula 2 sprint race was not feasible due to the lack of visibility resulting from heavy rainfall over the preceding hours, combined with the fast-speed nature of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
“The safety of drivers, team members, volunteers, officials, and spectators is our utmost priority.”
Marshals wave the red flag
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
During the limited action, Oliver Bearman made notable strides after switching to wet tyres, progressing from 14th to seventh place.
The highlight of the race was his Prema teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who battled side by side with Franco Colapinto (MP Motorsport) through Eau Rouge and up the hill, forcing Colapinto to concede sixth place while Bearman also took advantage on the Kemmel Straight.
Due to the shortened distance, points were only awarded to the top five finishers, with O’Sullivan earning five points. He was joined on the podium by Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport) and Richard Verschoor (Trident), while Zane Maloney (Rodin) and Jack Crawford (DAMS) rounded out the points finishers.
Paul Aron (Hitech) ended up 18th after starting from 20th due to a grid penalty for the sprint race. He will begin Sunday’s feature race in pole position, with championship contenders Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta) and Isack Hadjar (Campos) directly behind him.
