SPRINT RACE: Verschoor in control for Lusail Sprint Race win

Richard Verschoor converted reverse grid pole into Sprint Race victory in Lusail, the MP Motorsport driver earning his eighth victory in Formula 2.

Joshua Duerksen took P2 for AIX Racing, while Rafael Villagómez made a final lap pass to earn his second podium of the 2025 season for Van Amersfoort Racing.

AS IT HAPPENED

Duerksen got the best launch from the front row to take the lead from Verschoor, while Nikola Tsolov slotted into third place on the run to Turn 1.

Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli went wheel-to-wheel with teammate Roman Stanek on the opening lap and attempted a move on the second tour, though was unable to clear his teammate as the Invicta Racing pair fought over seventh place.

Onto Lap 4 and with DRS enabled, Verschoor had clawed his way back to within a second of Duerksen, and he swept back into the lead at Turn 1.

The MP title-hopeful was comfortably the fastest driver on track in the following laps, extending his advantage over the pack to two seconds.

Further back, a wide moment at Turn 4 on Lap 12 lost Victor Martins P11 to Dino Beganovic, and on the following tour he was passed by Gabriele Minì, dropping him to 13th.

Lap 14 and a collision between TRIDENT teammates Laurens van Hoepen and James Wharton left the latter beached in the gravel at Turn 1. It brought out the Safety Car and wiped out race leader Verschoor’s four-second advantage.

Stanek opted to pit, the only driver from inside the top 10 to fit the Softs, while Arvid Lindblad, Oliver Goethe, John Bennett, Luke Browning, Cian Shields and Kush Maini also fitted the red-marked tyres. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver did however come to a halt before racing resumed, extending the Safety Car period.

Racing resumed entering Lap 17 with Verschoor retaining his lead over Duerksen with seven laps to go. By Lap 20, that advantage was back out to 2.4s, with Tsolov trailing by a further second in P3.

A spin for Shields on the exit of Turn 5 brought out the Safety Car once more, bringing the pack back together and setting up a final lap shootout.

Verschoor got things back underway and the fight for the podium places heading into Turn 1 was on. Tsolov was rounded by Villagómez, who ran wide ahead of Turn 2 but claimed the place, whilst the Bulgarian driver went wide himself and fell from third to 10th.

The Dutch driver was untroubled though, taking the Lusail Sprint Race victory ahead of Duerksen and Villagómez after his final lap pass on Tsolov.

Sebastián Montoya wound up fourth ahead of Alexander Dunne, Fornaroli, Martinius Stenshorne and Jak Crawford, who went from P15 to P8.

KEY QUOTE – Richard Verschoor, MP Motorsport

“Very happy to take the win today. Not necessarily the race we wanted to win but still, we took home a lot of points. I’m very excited tomorrow because the pace is looking very strong.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Leonardo Fornaroli retains his advantage at the top of the Championship Standings on 191 points ahead of Jak Crawford, who goes onto 170. Richard Verschoor is third on 162 points, one ahead of Luke Browning on 161. Alexander Dunne remains P5 on 134 points.

In the Teams’ Standings, Invicta Racing pulls further clear, now on 272 points and ahead of Hitech TGR on 257. Campos Racing is third on 221 with DAMS Lucas Oil going onto 196 in fourth, while MP Motorsport is fifth on 185.

UP NEXT

We head to the Feature Race on Sunday which could potentially see Leonardo Fornaroli crowned 2025 Drivers’ Champion. Will he clinch the crown, or will his rivals have something to say? Lights out is scheduled for 15:00 local time.