Reigning Formula 3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto opened his Formula 2 win account with a dominant drive in the Austrian feature race.
The Brazilian had started from the third-place grid slot but quickly established himself in the lead and won the race with a series of hot laps following his pitstop to catch Campos driver Pepe Marti, who had stopped during a brief virtual safety car period.
It was a messy start to things as four drivers stalled when getting going on the formation lap. Among this number was MP Motorsport’s pole-sitting Dennis Hauger, who was forced to start from the pits as a result.
Jushua Durksen (AIX) took advantage of his inherited de facto pole position to lead the early laps, before Bortoleto made his move on lap four with a textbook pass aided by DRS.
Early championship leader Zane Maloney’s torrid recent run continues in Austria, as he stalled at the start of the race before retiring on lap six, causing the virtual safety car to be deployed.
At the same time as the race was neutralised, Marti was entering the pits. The stop is subject to a post-race investigation as drivers cannot enter the pits for their mandatory stop under the VSC, but the stop can be completed if they are already in.
Following Bortoleto’s stop, it transpired that Marti had gained a net five-second advantage, but a show of pace to quickly close this gap ultimately proved decisive with the race-winning move coming on lap 20 at Turn 3.
Running the alternative strategy, Franco Colapinto (MP Motorsport) led the way with Oliver Bearman the other driver looking to make gains by playing the long game. For Prema driver Bearman, hopes were dashed as a reliability issue forced him to retire at the lap 20 midpoint of the race.
For Colapinto, the strategy yielded rewards as he stopped with eight laps to go, dropping to eighth, before using the super soft rubber to fly through the field, eventually crossing the line in second after completing late moves on warring Campos duo Marti and Isack Hadjar.
Tensions had risen for Campos after Marti was slow to allow championship-contending Hadjar through to chase Bortoleto. But it was further ramped up when Hadjar, who was not able to demonstrate the pace he had claimed to have, failed to return the favour in the closing stages, instead keeping the final podium position for himself, with Marti in fourth.
Championship leader Paul Aron (Hitech) crossed the line in fifth but dropped a place to Enzo Fittipaldi after he was handed a five-second penalty for moving under braking when battling with Hadjar early on.
At the midpoint of the season, Aron remains at the top of the standings with a nine-point lead over Hadjar. Bortoleto is third, 10 points clear of Maloney, who has scored once in the last four races. Thanks to his improved recent form, Colapinto is now tied with Moloney, but remains fifth by virtue of having only one win to the Rodin driver’s two.
