At Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps, Hadjar secures a pivotal win, extending his lead, while O’Sullivan prevails in a curtailed sprint race.
Before the summer break, Paul Aron, second in the championship behind Hadjar, is firmly resolved not to let the Frenchman extend his lead, and it’s the Hitech driver who secures pole position on Friday ahead of Bortoleto and Hadjar.
Yesterday’s sprint race was initially postponed due to heavy rain, then lasted only three laps under green flag conditions: Marti’s Campos car came to a halt in the middle of the track due to a mechanical issue, prompting the deployment of the safety car, followed by a red flag which permanently halted the race due to poor visibility.
Only the top five scored points, namely winner O’Sullivan (who started on pole following his tenth place in qualifying), followed by Hauger, Verschoor, Maloney, and Crawford.
Fortunately, the weather is much more favourable at Spa today, and under clear skies, the main race kicks off for a 25-lap duration.
Paul Aron gets off to a strong start and maintains the lead, while Hadjar manages to overtake Bortoleto for second place.
Further back, there’s less fortune as Bearman and Marti collide and end up in the barriers at La Source.
The safety car is swiftly deployed to clear the stricken cars, and the race restart is brief: Villagomez is squeezed by Barnard into the gravel at Les Combes and spins across the track, taking the unfortunate Victor Martins with him, damaging his ART on the barriers.
The race finally resumes in earnest on the sixth lap, coinciding with the opening of the pit stop window. Hauger is the first to opt for a tyre change.
In the lead, Hadjar sets the fastest lap of the race and tucks into Aron’s slipstream to make full use of his DRS and overtakes him on the Kemmel Straight, moving into first place.
Aron pits at the end of the lap but Hadjar stays out. When the Frenchman finally pits, he rejoins ahead of Aron but his tyres aren’t up to temperature yet, allowing the Estonian to reclaim the lead.
Bortoleto also pits to change his tyres. A few laps later, Hadjar takes his revenge: back in Aron’s DRS zone, he passes the Hitech driver.
Verschoor and Antonelli are temporarily in the lead but are on an alternative strategy and still need to change tyres. When they pit, Antonelli’s stop is hampered by a jack issue, costing the Italian valuable time.
After all pit stops are completed, Hadjar leads ahead of Aron, but Bortoleto is right on the Estonian’s tail and overtakes him before catching up to Hadjar.
He’s in the DRS zone of the Frenchman but has yet to launch an attack. Behind them, Aron is losing pace and is now under threat from Crawford.
The fight for points intensifies, with Verschoor overtaking Maloney for sixth, and a battle ensues between Antonelli and Cordeel for the final point.
But a twist in the final lap! Aron’s Hitech grinds to a halt on the Kemmel straight! The driver, who had clocked the fastest lap, will lose the benefit of his performance and is forced to retire.
At the front, Hadjar has much to celebrate: not only does he clinch the race victory, but also his closest championship rival scores no points.
Bortoleto and Crawford round out the podium, while O’Sullivan caps off a strong weekend by finishing fourth, following his win the previous day.
Verschoor crosses the line in fifth place ahead of Maloney and Miyata, with the final points going to Cordeel, Antonelli, and Durksen.
The race results for a 25-lap event:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isack Hadjar | Campos Racing | 57m08 |
| 2 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Virtuosi Racing | +2.934s |
| 3 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | +12.093 |
| 4 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART Grand Prix | +13.741s |
| 5 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | +19.392s |
| 6 | Zane Maloney | Rodin Motorsport | +21.282s |
| 7 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin Motorsport | +21.884s |
| 8 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | +25.388s |
| 9 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Prema | +31.800s |
| 10 | Joshua Duerksen | AIX Racing | +32.446s |
| 11 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | +39.528s |
| 12 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | +42.048s |
| 13 | Taylor Barnard | AIX Racing | +43.750s |
| 14 | Roman Stanek | Trident | +53.654s |
| 15 | Kush Maini | Virtuosi Racing | +58.831s |
| 16 | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | +1 lap |
| Ret | Enzo Fittipaldi | Van Amersfoort Racing | |
| Ret | Rafael Villagomez | Van Amersfoort Racing | |
| Ret | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | |
| Ret | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | |
| Ret | Ollie Bearman | Prema | |
| Ret | Pepe Marti | Campos Racing |
The championship standings
| Position | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hadjar | 165 |
| 2 | Bortoleto | 129 |
| 3 | Aron | 124 |
| 4 | Maloney | 111 |
| 5 | Crawford | 100 |
| 6 | Colapinto | 96 |
| 7 | Antonelli | 87 |
| 8 | Hauger | 83 |
| 9 | Maini | 74 |
| 10 | O’Sullivan | 59 |
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Hadjar Wins at Spa Aron Faces Late Issue Hadjar Wins at Spa Aron Faces Late Issue
