In the first Formula 2 back-to-back rounds, Kush Maini takes the Formula 2 Sprint win in Round 5 of the Formula 2 Championship in Barcelona ahead of Gabriele Mini and Nikola Tsolov. On a circuit with high tyre degradation, Maini showcased impressive pace and management of the tyre degradation.
Behind, the Formula 2 Sprint gave great spectacle and unexpected results, as well as numerous penalties that proved the track’s difficulty and hardships.
The Formula 2 Sprint is underway
Noel Léon, the pole sitter, struggled as Kush Maini took the lead on Turn 1. Meanwhile, Nikola Tsolov quickly made up several places, fighting for third with Colton Herta. Further back, several drivers attempted overtakes, and Joshüa Dürksen was the first to go to the gravel after contact with Martinius Stenshorne, dropping down the order.
Gabriele Mini, the championship leader, quickly made up positions and put himself in fourth after overtaking Herta. Ahead, Tsolov put his teammate León under pressure for second and made the move early on Lap 3. A lap later, Mini caught up to the Campos Racing driver, too.
Maini built a comfortable lead with a 3-second gap to Tsolov in second. Behind the lead group, the grid stayed close. Stenshorne was handed a 10-second penalty for the early contact with Dürksen. At the same time, Gabriele Mini made a move on León and took third position.
As Noel León struggled with pace, Maini kept stretching the gap to the rest of the grid. However, Barcelona’s venue is known for its punishing tyre degradation, and drivers are forced to strategise to conserve the tyres as well as possible, alongside the track limits.
Halfway point of the Formula 2 Sprint
As the Formula 2 Sprint reached its halfway point, several drivers were given track limits warnings. Despite lacking a bit of action, Tsolov cut the gap to the lead as Gabriele Mini was right behind Tsolov. It seemed like the Italian driver opted to follow Tsolov for several laps.
Further back, Herta overtook the struggling León as Rafael Villagómez became the first driver to see a black-and-white flag for track limits. Dino Beganovic sat in eighth position, right behind Villagómez and Rafael Câmara, who were fighting for sixth. However, Villagómez will be investigated for track limits and got handed a 5-second penalty.
On lap 17, Câmara succeeded and overtook Villagomez for sixth position. Similarly, Roman Bilinski was the second driver to be noted for track limits and was handed a 5-second penalty. Beganovic went up to seventh to chase Câmara as Villagomez started to struggle with the pace.
At the front, Kush Maini showed a dominant pace, building a comfortable, almost 5-second gap to Nikola Tsolov, still running in second ahead of Gabriele Mini. However, Mini stuck to Tsolov’s gearbox for several laps until lap 22, when both championship leaders started fighting for second position. Herta joined the battle in the last few laps.
With three laps to go, Mini succeeded and overtook Tsolov, forcing the Bulgarian to defend from him and Colton Herta. The American capitalised on the fight in front and, on lap 24 and with greater tyres, made his move.
In the end, Kush Maini crossed the chequered flag unbothered and claimed the Formula 2 Sprint win. However, the fight for second remained as Herta quickly closed the gap to Mini. However, on the last lap, as Tsolov Léon and Câmara got into a momentary battle, Colton Herta went off track and lost the chance to win his first podium. In the end, it was Nikola Tsolov who clinched the last podium position.
