Roman Stanek achieved his first podium finish of the season in the F2 Sprint Race at the 2025 Austrian GP; a promising start to the second half of the year.
As It Happened
Lining up in fourth, Stanek was able to make up a position at the start. This came after a slow start for pole-sitter John Bennett.
However, a red flag was imminent after a significant multi-car crash saw the Trident of Sami Megeutounif upside down in the middle of the track.
“You try to stay in the zone for the race because that’s the most important. There are so many people and things that can distract you. You just stay in the zone and restart and do your job again.”
After it was confirmed all the drivers involved were okay and the track was cleared, a rolling start followed. This saw Stanek maintain third position, behind Joshua Durksen and Pepe Marti.
Unsurprisingly, more chaos ensued. Dino Beganovic becoming the next driver to suffer a race-ending incident after contact with Oliver Goethe.
With the green flag being waved again on Lap 8, the battle for the lead was underway. Marti stole the lead from Durksen, with the AIX Racing driver reclaiming it a few corners later.
This allowed Stanek to close the gap to the leaders as the final laps approached. It seemingly became an all to race for battle between the top three.
However, a pile-up on the final lap involving Amaury Cordeel, Gabriele Mini, Bennett and Leo Fornaroli saw the race end under yellow flag conditions.
“I was saving my tyres quite a lot so I could have attacked in the last laps but unfortunately, there was an incident behind us. So I couldn’t open my DRS because there was yellow flag,” explained Stanek.
“Therefore, it was a bit harder for me to overtake so the fight didn’t continue.”
Despite this, the Czech driver was “satisfied” to take the final podium position, his highest result of the season so far.
Third Times A Charm
2025 marks Stanek’s third year in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, but his first with Invicta Racing.
His maiden year in the series proved challenging. Despite flashes of promise including a run from 22nd to seventh in Monaco, and a third-place qualifying position in Monza, it didn’t go to plan for him. The Czech driver finished 18th in the Standings with Trident.
Continuing his relationship with the team in 2024, even more challenges were set for Stanek.
Despite achieving his first F2 win in the third round in Melbourne, Stanek was forced to part ways with Trident. This was due to lack of budget and unsatisfactory equipment.
Therefore, he finished 22nd in the overall Driver Standings with fourteen points after missing the final three rounds.
However, Stanek was able to return to the series for the 2025 season. He partnered with 2024 FIA Formula 3 Champion Fornaroli at Invicta Racing.
With a steady first-half of the season, he has been able to secure points in every round so far, minus Sakhir and Barcelona.
Not only does his third-place finish in Austria’s Sprint Race mark his highest of the season so far, but it also signifies his first podium finish of the year.
“I know it’s my third year in F2, but the level is very high,” said Stanek.
“We could see Alex Dunne in F1, he performed very well after immediately sitting into the car. So it’s very very tough to perform at the best level. But we keep working and we try to improve every day, race by race.”
Rookie competitor Dunne completed F1 FP1 at the 2025 Austrian GP for McLaren. Stanek meanwhile is not currently associated with a team at the highest level.
Looking Forward
Earning seven points after the F2 Sprint Race at the 2025 Austrian GP, Stanek now sits in P13 in the overall Driver Standings.
“Consistency hasn’t been the case for me this year. So I think it’s a good start for the second half of the season for me,” admitted Stanek.
“From now on, if I can be consistent, I will do my best […] in the end, it’s just racing […] and we all have to be positive.”
With the second half of Stanek’s season starting on the right foot, the Czech driver recognises that continued consistency and balancing risk versus reward will be key to climbing the Standings.
F2 continues at the 2025 Austrian GP with Sunday’s Feature Race at 10:00 local time.
Featured Image Credit: Invicta Racing
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