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F2: Drugovich seals Sprint Race victory in Barcelona to regain championship lead
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MP Motorsport driver Felipe Drugovich went unchallenged throughout the Formula 2 Sprint Race, winning from fourth on the grid and leading every lap. He bounced back from a post-Qualifying penalty for impeding title rival Theo Pourchaire to take the lead of the Championship.
He was joined on the podium by rookies Ayumu Iwasa and Logan Sargeant. Both the Red Bull and Williams junior drivers scored their first podiums in F2 with second and third places respectively.
Pole-sitter Calan Williams stalled his Trident on the formation lap, necessitating a pit lane start. Jake Hughes had the clearest view from second on the grid but lost out immediately at lights out, falling to fourth.
Fast starters Drugovich, Iwasa and Sargeant set the tone for their races, gaining spots in the opening corners to sit 1-2-3 on the road.
There was a brief Safety Car to recover Juri Vips’s Hitech Grand Prix car in the middle of the race. The Red Bull junior lost the rear of the car on entry to Turn 4 in his pursuit of Jehan Daruvala. He spun into the gravel and became beached, ending his afternoon early.
Drugovich aced the Safety Car restart, relaunching into an unassailable lead and remained out front to the chequered flag to record his second race win of the 2022 season.
With the victory, and with Pourchaire finishing in fifth, the Brazilian now leads the ART Grand Prix driver by six points ahead of Sunday’s Feature Race. Lights out is scheduled for 1135 local time.
For more on F2, visit the official F2 website.
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