It was a short-lived F2 Sprint Race at the 2024 Belgian GP after heavy rain ended the session with under 50% of laps run. As a consequence, only the top five drivers were able to grab some points, with the ART of Zak O’Sullivan coming home in P1. The Brit secured six points, while MP’s Dennis Hauger in P2 claimed four and Richard Verschoor, three. Completing the top five and the points-paying positions were Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney with two points and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford with one.
As It Happened
The rescheduled session got underway four hours late, having been postponed due to heavy rain earlier in the afternoon. With drivers able to get out onto the grid to prepare this time, Zak O’Sullivan was out front on reverse-grid Pole position with Dennis Hauger beside him.
At Lights Out
O’Sullivan managed a good start at lights out, successfully keeping Hauger at bay. While the MP driver slotted into P2, Trident’s Richard Verschoor was into P3. While Franco Colapinto filed into P4, Zane Maloney was right on his tail in a bid to move up from P4 in the Championship. The Barbadian driver was soon past Colapinto for P4, while the two PREMAs of Antonelli and Bearman were immediately on the move up the standings and making good progress.
Out front, O’Sullivan had broken away by the end of the first lap, 1.7s ahead of Hauger. Having a clear track in front without any spray from the sodden Spa-Francorchamps track had helped the Brit create a margin.
Bearman Makes Moves
Championship leader Isack Hadjar was chasing down Antonelli for P7 mid-way through the lap, but it was Bearman late on the brakes who edged his way past the Red Bull Junior. Next year’s Haas F1 driver had driven a blinder at the start, up six places from his starting classification.
Meanwhile Bearman’s teammate Antonelli was attacking the Williams Academy driver of Jak Crawford for P6, desperate for some more Championship points.
Pepe Martí found himself in the pits at the end of Lap 1, appearing to have suffered an issue with the car. The Campos exited the pits in last place. ART’s Victor Martins, who started in last place, was up from P22 to P15 by the end of Lap 2 after an early retirement from Quali yesterday.
PREMA Battle
Antonelli, who was beginning to lose time behind Colapinto, was becoming frantic with his teammate breathing down his neck behind. Antonelli finally managed to get ahead into Eau Rouge, with Bearman right on the tail of Colapinto after also considering an overtake at the same time as Antonelli. Bearman would get ahead just in time, before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.
On Lap 3, Pepe Martí was stopped on track having already entered the pits a lap earlier. A full Safety Car was deployed on Lap 4. However, even when the stricken Campos was safely removed from the track, the Safety Car remained on track due to the rain. The once-again-worsening conditions on track kept the grid driving under Safety Car conditions for three laps before the session was red flagged.
A Premature End to the Sprint
Unfortunately, the F2 Sprint at the 2024 Belgian GP would not be resumed; the stewards determined the track was too wet to continue running. Due to revised rules brought in after the wash-out F1 race in Spa in 2021, the top five drivers only would claim Championship points. As less than 50% of the race was run, points were awarded from P1-P5:
| POSITION | POINTS |
| 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 2 |
| 5 | 1 |
Zak O’Sullivan, therefore, would stand on top of the podium in P1, followed by Hauger and Verschoor. Completing the points-paying positions would be Maloney in P4 and Crawford in P5. Narrowly missing out on points was the two PREMAs of Antonelli and Bearman, while our Championship leader Hadjar and Colapinto in P3 missed out in P9 and P10 respectively.
Featured Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Ltd
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