The FIA Formula 2 Feature Race in Montreal delivered drama from lights out to the chequered flag. Amid the chaos, Martinius Stenshorne secured his maiden F2 victory, leading teammate Alex Dunne home in a dominant result for Rodin Motorsport.
Championship leader Gabriele Minì completed the podium in third, continuing his consistent run.
Battles to Heartbreaks
As the lights went out, Nikola Tsolov and pole-sitter Laurens Van Hoepen went side-by-side to battle for the leading spot. The Dutch driver responded immediately, powering ahead with a decisive move into Turn 3, reclaiming the race lead.
Further down the field, Rafael Villagómez continued progressing forward, using DRS to overtake John Bennett into the final chicane, securing fourth. On Lap 4, Rafael Câmara dived up the inside of Minì at Turn 1, claiming seventh position.
Bad luck rained upon Van Hoepen as he fell victim to the Wall of Champions, feeling the pressure from Tsolov. The Leader was consequently out of the race, bringing out the Safety Car.
The Show Goes On
With Tsolov leading the race, Emerson Fittipaldi Jr. bought out the next yellow flag. The Brazilian struggled for grip after exiting the pits on fresh Soft tyres. Teams took the advantage to pit their drivers under the Safety Car.
However, Bennett was forced to retire following contact with Villagómez during the sequence of stops.
Invicta’s decision to double-stack Joshua Dürksen and Rafael Câmara also backfired, as pit-lane contact cost Dürksen valuable time and crucial track position.
A Grid Shake-Up
DAMS’ Roman Bilinski was the driver to look out for as he confidently led the field on the alternate strategy.
On the restart, Tsolov aggressively attacked into Turn 1, but the defensive squeeze allowed Stenshorne to steal fourth position.
On Lap 14, Stenshorne committed into Turn 10, overtaking Kush Maini to continue his remarkable charge forwards. Attempting to follow the Rodin driver through, the Bulgarian collided with Maini and spun, tumbling down the order.
Stenshorne maintained momentum, passing Colton Herta into the final chicane to secure second position.
Rafael Câmara attempted an ambitious move on Villagómez, but contact instantly resulted in race-ending damage for the Mexican. The stranded Van Amersfoort Racing machine forced the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car.
A Change of Lead
Bilinski’s lead was cut short due to a lock-up, with Stenshorne comfortably passing on Lap 19.
Herta and Beganovic also made their way up as Câmara came into contact with the DAMS driver. The Brazilian was sent tumbling down the order, with a five second penalty in his pocket.
Furthermore, the Polish driver’s resilient defence finally collapsed on Lap 24, as Minì and Dunne surged past decisively.
The Irish driver immediately attacked for third, but the Italian was able to reclaim the position. By Lap 26, Dunne finally completed the move, overtaking into the final chicane with late-race aggression.
Meanwhile, Dino Beganovic saw his impressive recovery fall apart, pulling aside with a sudden technical issue. With the DAMS car requiring recovery, the Safety Car was deployed once again.
An Unusual End
Just as the race restarted, Oliver Goethe collided with Ritomo Miyata, sending the MP Motorsport driver heavily into the barriers.
The incident forced another late Safety Car, neutralising the closing stages. The field were led to the chequered flag, denying any final-lap battles.
Martinius Stenshorne secured his maiden Formula 2 victory, leading teammate Alex Dunne to a dominant Rodin one-two finish. Championship leader Gabriele Minì completed the podium in third.
Formula 2 will return four Round 4 on the streets of Monaco from 4 June, 2026 – 7 June, 2026.
Feature Image Credits: Formula 2 on X