F2 title fight goes to the wire after Vesti win

Frederik Vesti has kept his hopes of the Formula 2 title alive with a storming drive to victory in the Abu Dhabi Sprint race.

The Dane started well from the front row but was muscled aside on the opening lap before working his way forward to take the win ahead of Pietro Fittipaldi and Richard Verschoor after 23 laps of racing.

An even start saw Vesti and Fittipaldi side by side through the opening turn, the latter finally securing top spot at Turn 2.

However, the lead battle was not done there, and down the back straight the top four, which included Verschoor and Isack Hadjar fanned out on approach to the chicane.

Fittipaldi retained the advantage with Hadjar slotting into second just before the Safety Car was deployed.

Juan Manuel Correa had come unstuck at Turn 3 on the opening lap, his car abandoned broadside on the racing line.

In the melee, Doohan had climbed three places to seventh after narrowly avoiding the rear of Correa’s car, the Van Amersfoort Racing nudged into a spin by Victor Martins.

The Safety Car was withdrawn at the end of Lap 5, leaving Fittipaldi out front from Hadjar, Verschoor, Vesti, Dennis Hauger, Ayumu Iwasa, and Doohan.

Points leader Theo Pourchaire sat ninth, while Arthur Leclerc, who’d stalled on the grid and lost a lap, was afforded the opportunity to regain that as he lined up 21st.

Vesti immediately attacked, taking third from Verschoor at the end of the back straight as, behind them, Doohan cut across the chicane.

The Australian had been battling with Iwasa, who was in turn harrying Hauger, leaving Doohan cramped for space. He wisely opted to duck behind the apex rather than drive into an ever-closing wedge and a likely crash.

Iwasa did fall victim a lap later, Doohan easing through to move up to sixth.

Martins meanwhile headed to the pits for a new front wing, his nose having taken a knock in the early exchange with Correa.

While Fittipaldi was extending his advantage out front, second-placed Hadjar was reeled in by Vesti at a rate of around 0.2s per lap.

It left the pair locked together on Lap 10, the Mercedes junior taking the outside line through the sweeping left-hander at the end of the second back straight to take the spot.

Once clear, the Dane quickly set the fastest lap of the race as he pursued Fittipaldi ahead, the Brazilian 2.4s clear.

Hadjar was struggling for pace, losing out to Verschoor on Lap 13 and quickly coming under attack from Hauger.

Doohan too was closing in, the Virtuosi driver having bridged across to join the battle on Lap 14, dropping Pourchaire in seventh in the process.

Hauger was unable to find a way through and a DRS train soon formed behind Hadjar that stretched back to Pourchaire.

Up the road, Vesti had worked his way into DRS range of Fittipaldi on Lap 17, the pair almost five seconds clear of Verschoor, who was in a lonely third place.

Vesti clearly had better pace, and was harrying the gearbox of the leader who remained resolute despite a pinched brake or two.

He eventually lost out, Vesti diving up the inside into the chicane on the back straight on Lap 20.

Fittipaldi remained safe in second, four seconds ahead of Verschoor who was in turn 5.3s clear of Hadjar, and remained under close scrutiny from Hauger and the train behind.’

That scrap escalated on Lap 21, compressing the quartet and allowing Iwasa into DRS range to transform it into a five-way fight.

A final lap move saw Hauger steal fourth place as they rounded the left-hander off the back straight. Holding the inside line, he eased through to trail Vesti, Fittipaldi, and Verschoor to the flag.

Doohan finished sixth, while points-leader Pourchaire was seventh from Iwasa.

The result ensures the F2 championship battle continues into the final race of the year, Pourchaire holding a 16-point advantage over Vesti with a maximum of 26-points to play for.