Jak Crawford grew to become the tenth completely different winner of the Formulation 2 season after executing an undercut technique on championship chief Paul Aron within the Spanish function race.
Crawford proved his tempo throughout the weekend to take his first win of the season from Franco Colapinto and Juan Manuel Correa, with the latter making the alternate technique work to assert a primary podium since making his F2 return after his horror crash at Spa in 2019, and after being stripped of a podium on Saturday.
It was a composed begin for polesitter Paul Aron on the entrance who led Crawford and Colapinto into the primary nook, however there was chaos behind as Saturday’s dash race winner, Victor Martins, received tangled with Dennis Hauger and precipitated the security automotive to be known as into early motion.
Hauger, who began on the tender tyre, had made a rocket begin and had climbed six positions earlier than he climbed throughout the Flip 2 kerbs and bounced his MP Motorsport entry into the aspect of Martins’ ART.
With tyre put on extraordinarily excessive on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, AIX driver Joshua Durksen started to make strikes by the entrance order along with his arduous rubber, climbing previous Isack Hadjar for sixth on lap eight.
And it was on the finish of that tour that these on tender tyres started to bail for the tougher compound, most notably Crawford from second in a bid to undercut Aron, as from fifth, Invicta pitted Gabriel Bortoleto on lap 10.
High two Aron and Colapinto stopped on lap 11 with each drivers enduring gradual stops. Because the pair returned to the observe, Crawford discovered himself sandwiched between the pair however, along with his tyres heat already, he shortly discovered a approach by to realize the web race lead.
Because the pitstop shakeup performed out, the Digital Security Automobile was briefly deployed to permit for the restoration of Taylor Barnard’s AIX entry which had stopped close to to the pit entry.
Having begun to place strain on Crawford, Aron’s likelihood of victory disintegrated on lap 15 when a snap of oversteer noticed him lose management and slide into the gravel on the last nook.
His return to the observe was then shortly underneath investigation by the stewards after he lower throughout the entrance of Zak O’Sullivan however no additional motion was the shortly given resolution.
Paul Aron, Hitech Pulse-Eight
Photograph by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Lap 17 then noticed catastrophe for Durksen, who was main the race on the arduous tyre however was but to cease earlier than he floor to a halt. With a spot of 28 seconds to the lead drivers that had pitted, the AIX driver had appeared prone to obtain a high 5 end.
Following this newest digital security automotive interval, Aron battled his well past O’Sullivan, whereas Bortoleto made a transfer on Colapinto for a internet second place – each utilizing the tow into Flip 1.
These positions have been once more reversed a handful of laps later, with Colapinto showing extra keen to push his tyres tougher than the Invicta driver at that time.
With 10 laps to go, chief Correra (DAMS) stopped to rid himself of his arduous tyres and match the softs, dropping him to sixth after the remaining drivers pitted.
Aron’s restoration drive continued at this level, as he used DRS to move Bortoleto for what can be a internet third place.
However this place got here underneath menace from an unlikely supply as Correa made gentle work of Hadjar and Bortoleto.
With 5 laps remaining, Correa made his transfer on an completely defenceless Aron into Flip 1 to place himself onto the rostrum, an end result that he’ll view as retribution for Saturday, when his consequence was taken away by a post-race observe limits penalty.
In the beginning of the ultimate lap, the Invicta pitwall watched on in horror as team-mates Bortoleto and Kush Maini collided at Flip 1, though each have been capable of attain the chequered flag in sixth and seventh, albeit with injury.
Crawford took the flag by 1.4s from Colapinto, whereas Correa’s cost ended shortly after his move on Aron with the tyre compounds levelling on tempo.