Ferrari Junior driver Oliver Bearman secured the win at the F2 Sprint race at the 2024 Italian GP, bringing home victory in front of the Tifosi. ART’s Victor Martins secured some solid points amidst a difficult season with a P2 finish. Joshua Dürksen rounded out the podium to mark his second podium in Formula 2.
As it Happened
Kush Maini was slow off the mark as the cars embarked on their formation lap – luckily for the Invicta driver, his teammate was behind. Bortoleto remained behind Maini, meaning he could regain his position for the race as opposed to being penalised.
At lights out, a poor launch by Amaury Cordeel left the door open for Fittipaldi. The Van Amersfoort was into P1, but it was a rocketing start by Josep Maria ‘Pepe’ Martí which allowed the Campos to snatch the lead. PREMA’s Oliver Bearman was up three places to P5.
Meanwhile, Bearman’s teammate found himself in trouble at the start. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, fresh off the back of the announcement of his promotion to F1 in 2025, found himself tangled in a shunt. Zak O’Sullivan drifted into the right rear tyre of Oliver Goethe, sending the MP spinning and leaving Goethe out of the race on his debut. Antonelli picked up a puncture and front wing damage. The Italian pitted and rejoined in P20. Bearman was up three positions to P5.
The Safety Car was deployed and entered the pits again on Lap 3.
Racing Resumes
Martí dropped the hammer along the start/finish straight at the restart, shooting off but Fittipaldi was on the hunt behind. Fittipaldi, however, locked his brakes, going straight on at Turn 1 and flat-spotting his tyres. The Brazilian found himself in P4 after being overtaken by Martins, who was up two to P2. Cordeel was plummeting down the pack, finding himself in P7 after starting in P2.
Soon after, Bearman and Martins were battling it out for P2 by Lap 5, with the Brit emerging victorious. Next on the soon-to-be Haas driver’s to-do list was hunting down Martí, who was just over a second down the road. However, he would have to contend with a fierce grid behind, who all had DRS on the PREMA.
Lap 7 saw Bearman capitalise on a mistake by Martí at Turn 1, taking the lead on Turn 2. By Lap 8, Bearman had the fastest lap in an attempt to break the DRS from Martí. Bortoleto, who started in P22, was up to P14 and embroiled in battle after battle in a bid to gain some points.
On-Track Scraps
Martins was up to P2 on Lap 8 also, but was under pressure by Martí. The Frenchman was out of DRS from Bearman, who was now 1.5s ahead. Martins was able to stay ahead at Turn 1 on Lap 9, but both drivers were off-road in a bid to claim that P2 position. Fittipaldi was back up to P3 by Lap 10, capitalising on Martin’s battles with Martins. Bortoleto was now up ten places and knocking on the door of the top ten. He ticked off another position by Lap 11.
Dürksen, up six places, was driving a blinder, sending it down the inside of Martí at Turn 1 for P4. On Lap 12 with ten laps to go, Bortoleto was past his teammate for P10 – only two places away from a points-paying position. Martí stated on the radio that the car felt like it was ‘on ice’, struggling to adjust to the newly resurfaced track.
Dürksen on a Flyer
Dürksen was down the inside down the straight, past Fittipaldi for P3. The Paraguayan driver was able to fend off Fittipaldi around Turn 2, securing the position for the time being. Fittipaldi’s tyres were flat-spotted, limiting his attacking capabilities, and the Brazilian was on the radio to complain about Dürksen pushing him off the track.
Six laps remained and Bearman was 1.8s ahead of Martins in second. Behind them, Fittipaldi and Dürksen continued to scrap away for P3 – and Fittipaldi had more bad news ahead. The Van Amersfoort driver was now in DRS range of Maloney behind. He was demoted to P5 by Marti who had leapfrogged the Brazilian and Maloney.
With three laps to go, the battle for fourth position was rumbling on. Aron and Maloney made contact, damaging Aron’s front wing and dashing any hopes of Championship points for the Hitech, who dropped to the back of the pack.
Bearman Brings it Home
The final lap of the F2 Sprint at the 2024 Italian GP saw Bearman come home in P1 for PREMA, followed by the ART of Martins. Dürksen secured his second F2 podium, pipping Martí to the post for P3. Maloney, brave on the brakes on the way into Turn 4, snatched P5 from Fittipaldi on the last lap.
Featured Image credit: Formula Motorsport Ltd
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