Mar 19

Mar 19 Ayumu Iwasa wins Jeddah sprint race in Formula 2 thriller

Ayumu Iwasa kept his composure through restarts and constant pressure to take victory in the FIA Formula 2 sprint race in Jeddah.

Ayumu Iwasa celebrates on the podium in Jeddah. *(XPB Images)*

Iwasa started fourth on the grid and made his way through to second on the opening lap, chasing down polesitter Jak Crawford on the following lap and sailing into the lead down the main straight.

“P1 in the Sprint Race, I’m very happy about this, but unfortunately, I didn’t have great speed,” said the Red Bull junior.

“So, we still have a lot of things to do for tomorrow’s race and we work on them together as a team, and I’ll try do my best as much as I can.”

Victor Martins and Jehan Daruvala completed the podium in a far-from-simple race that saw hard racing for the podium positions throughout the Jeddah opener.

Victor Martins, Ayumu Iwasa, and Jehan Daruvala on the podium in Jeddah. *(Formula Motorsport Limited)*

Zane Maloney brought out the first safety car when he spun out and stalled into turn one, stopping on track.

Iwasa held his lead on the restart as Ralph Boschung passed Crawford for second through the first chicane, while behind the leaders Oliver Bearman and Victor Martins were the top gainers after starting at the back of the top ten.

Théo Pourchaire was on a charge in the opening stages, executing a dive on Kush Maini for seventh into turn one, before attempting the same move on his teammate Martins a lap later.

Pourchaire went way too deep into the corner and slammed into Bearman, taking both drivers out of the race.

The French driver apologised immediately as the pair joined Maloney on the other side of the barriers at turn one.

Iwasa wasted no time at the restart and pulled away from the chasing pack, as a tense battle emerged for fifth.

Crawford and Maini went toe-to-toe throughout the lap, with Aussie Jack Doohan joining the pair and going three-wide down the main straight.

Daruvala and Martins passed the struggling Boschung and set about catching Iwasa for the lead, with a multi-lap battle between Daruvala and Iwasa leaving the Indian driver vulnerable and promoting Martins to second.

Aussie Doohan secured seventh at the chequered flag.

Despite falling off the pace at the end of the race, Boschung claims the lead of the drivers’ standings, one point ahead of Pourchaire.

Meanwhile, the race victory takes Iwasa to third in the standings.

The FIA Formula 2 championship returns for the feature race at 12.15am Monday (AEDT).

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2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship - Saudi Arabia Sprint Race