F2: Verschoor grabs victory at Spielberg F2 Feature Race and takes over championship lead

F1 Grand Prix, GP Austria, Red Bull Ring

MP Motorsport driver Richard Verschoor delivered an impressive performance to take victory at the Formula 2 Feature Race which also saw the Dutch driver to take over the lead in the drivers’ standings.

Verschoor lined up third on the grid but jumped to second at the start into Turn 1. He was also attacking pole-sitter Leonardo Fornaroli, but he had to settle for second on the opening lap.

The round of mandatory pit stops saw Verschoor and Victor Martins overtake Fornaroli, having undercut the Italian during the pitstop phase. The Dutch racer then passed his French rival, and he then controlled the remainder of the race.

Starting from seventh on the grid, McLaren junior Alex Dunne produced an impressive comeback to finish second behind Verschoor. However, following an inspection of his car post-race, the Irish driver lost his podium as he was disqualified for a technical infringement.

It meant that Fornaroli moved up to second while Jak Crawford inherited the last place on the podium.

Sebastián Montoya, who made a late pitstop on the alternative strategy, led the race before his own mandatory tyre service. After visiting the pit lane, he came out in P12, but he came through the field to finish fifth.

Having handed a ten-second penalty, Saturday's race winner Josep Maria Marti left the Red Bull Ring with a sixth-place finish at the Red Bull Ring, ahead of Martins and Roman Stanek.

Ferrari junior Dino Beganvic suffered a shock result in qualifying. Considering his 20th starting position, he delivered a strong comeback to finish P9 while Sami Meguetounif rounded out the top ten.

Commenting on his victory at the Red Bull Ring, Verschoor stated:“Super happy to have the biggest trophy today. Amazing race, good start, good pace and a good strategy, so a massive thank you to MP Motorsport and I’m looking forward to Silverstone.”

With his victory, Verschoor takes over at the top of the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Dunne, 114 points to 108. Crawford moves himself up to third position on 85 points with Fornaroli in fourth on 83, and Browning fifth on 81.

In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing remain at the top on 144 points ahead of MP Motorsport, who move up to second place with 126 points. Hitech TGR are now third on 111, one point ahead of Rodin Motorsport in fourth. DAMS Lucas Oil complete the top five with 106 points