Hitech GP’s Ritomo Miyata claims his maiden F2 victory in the Sprint Race around the Madring at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
The Japanese drive, whose first victory in F2 remained elusive, pulled ahead from the start and didn’t look back. Behind him, Emerson Fittipaldi claimed his maiden F2 podium after holding off a charging Laurens Van Hoepen in the final stages.
A crucial weekend in Madrid
With the 2026 Formula 2 title fight entering its final four rounds, every point is becoming increasingly valuable as the Championship contenders take on the new Madring circuit. After a chaotic Qualifying session on Friday saw Dino Beganovic claim pole for the Feature Race. Attention then turned to Saturday’s Sprint Race and another opportunity for the title contenders to make their mark.
One driver absent from the grid was Colton Herta, with Hitech GP withdrawing the American from the Sprint Race after he was initially set to start from the pit lane.
Lights Out on the Sprint Race
After a delayed start, it was lights out on the F2 Sprint Race in Madrid. Starting from reverse grip pole Emerson Fittipaldi was unable to hold off Ritomo Miyata. However, it was behind them where John Bennett came to a stop in the opening sector. Later in the lap, Nico Varrone ends up in the barriers bringing out the first Safety Car.
Kush Maini, who also had an incident in Qualifying yesterday, sent Varrone spinning. The Alpine junior driver also picking up his own damage, forcing the retirement of his ART. After a woeful day yesterday, Sebastian Montoya momentarily retired his car before coming out again on Lap 4. With three of the field’s 21 cars retired after the opening lap, the Madring was starting to live up to its chaotic hype.
Back on track, it’s Tsolov who leads the championship contenders down in fifth, while Câmara made his way past Dunne for seventh. After four laps under the safety car the field was away again.
Down the main straight, there was no movement in the top ten. At the front, Miyata slowly built his gap to the AIX Racing driver. Behind, Dunne begins to pressure Câmara through the Turn 5/6 chicane. Similar to Formula 3, overtaking opportunities are slim around the Madring leaving Dunne with little option to get past the Brazilian.
Van Hoepen vs Leon
Laurens Van Hoepen looks to pass Noel Leon on the inside of Turn 13, however the Campos driver has other ideas. With the Trident driver stuck in a Campos sandwich, it was Tsolov behind who looked to gain from the battle. By the ninth lap, Van Hoepen made is move around the Mexican in Turn 5. However, The Trident was no match for the Campos as Leon retook the final podium position three turns later.
With every driver looking to make the most of the final European race, it was Miyata who extended his gap to Fittipaldi, breaking DRS on the ninth lap. On Lap 11, Leon has let van Hoepen through for third after replays showed the Campos driver cut Turn 5 when re-taking third. After creating half a second to Leon, Van Hoepen looked to hunt down the polesitter.
With the Championship growing tighter, it was the two Campos teammates who went wheel-to-wheel in Turn 5. Tsolov attempted to pass Leon before he was forced to cut the chicane. Tsolov briefly claimed fourth on Lap 14, but was forced to give back the position at La Monumental. Their battle has brought Martinius Stenshorne and Câmara into the mix, with the fours aerated by less than a second.
Heartbreak for Tsolov
It was on Lap 14 when Tsolov’s race came undone. After chasing Leon through the third sector, the Bulgarian clipped the inside wall at Turn 20 sending him spinning. With the Red Bull Junior driver unable to get going again, the field was forced under another Safety Car.
Montoya was back in the pits, forced to briefly retire his car, before coming back out a few laps later. While the Safety Car was called back in at the end of Lap 17. With six laps remaining, it was a sprint to the flag as Miyata looked to claim his maiden F2 victory.
Off the restart and the Japanese driver was quick to create another gap between himself and Fittipaldi. One lap later, DRS was enabled but it was too late for the AIX driver do benefit, behind him Van Hoepen benefitted and was able to close the gap.
Câmara hungry for Points
With his closest Championship rival out of the picture, Câmara looked to make up valuable points in the dying stages of the Sprint Race. The 2025 F3 Champion was less than a second behind Stenshorne in fifth with only three laps to go.
Similar to the early stages of the race, Van Hoepen found himself on the rear wing but unable to find a route through. Hunting down Fittipaldi for second, the Dutch driver looked to be within reach of the Brazilian.
However, it was a few laps too short as the Checkered Flag flew on the F2 Sprint Race. Miyata crossed the line two seconds ahead of the field, claiming his maiden F2 victory and a necessary ten Championship points. Behind him, Fittipaldi secured his maiden podium while Van Hoepen completes the podium in third.
With the Madring proving to be a difficult circuit for all drivers, it was Leon who held onto fourth ahead of Stenshorne. Championship rivals Câmara and Dunne had to settle for sixth and seventh, while the Spaniard, Mari Boya secured the final points paying position in eighth.
Formula 2 will return tomorrow morning at 11:25am local time for the 32 lap Feature Race around the Madring.
Feature Image Credit: Formula 2