FEATURE RACE: Verschoor in control for third victory and Championship lead

Richard Verschoor claimed his third race win of 2025, taking the lead of the Drivers’ Championship in the process for MP Motorsport. The Dutch driver came through from third on the grid, eventually taking the lead and controlling from the front.

Alexander Dunne moved from seventh to second for Rodin Motorsport, while pole-sitter and Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli completed the podium.

AS IT HAPPENED

Fornaroli got the launch to retain the lead into Turn 1, but Verschoor was on the attack from third on the grid and went side-by-side with the Italian into Turn 3.

The Dutchman rounded the pole-sitter into the corner but with the inside line, the Invicta driver held onto P1.

Josep María Martí was once again on a charge, going from P12 to fifth on the opening lap.

Lap 3 and Dunne moved up to sixth following a pass on Joshua Duerksen with DRS.

The Irish rookie continued his charge on Lap 6 with a dive down the inside of Martí into the third corner, but the Campos driver fought back through on the run into Turn 4.

Having lost second at the start, Victor Martins pitted on Lap 7 to fit the Softs, and he was followed in on the next lap by Verschoor. The undercut paid off for the Frenchman, as the MP driver rejoined behind his rival in eighth and ninth places respectively.

Race leader Fornaroli responded to those stops on Lap 9 to fit the Soft tyres, but he came out after both Martins and Verschoor had gone by. Behind them, Dunne and Martí resumed their fight after their stops at Turns 3 and 4, but the Spaniard held off the Rodin driver.

Lap 10 and Martí dived down the inside of Fornaroli at Turn 3 and completed his pass around the outside of Turn 4. Dunne followed him through around the outside of Turn 6 to drop Fornaroli to 10th on the road.

Onto the next lap and Dunne got his move done on Martí at Turn 4, but their fighting had allowed Verschoor to escape three seconds up the road. Martins was a further second clear in the net race lead, only for Verschoor to close to within DRS range with a fastest lap.

Lap 14 and Fornaroli used DRS to get within range and made a late lunge down the inside of Turn 3 to take ninth from Martí.

Onto Lap 15, Verschoor and Martins went wheel-to-wheel, with the MP driver scything around the outside of the Frenchman at Turn 4 to the theoretical race lead.

At the halfway stage, Verschoor had moved outside of DRS range to Martins, 1.5s clear of his closest challenger, while Dunne was closing in on the ART ahead.

In the fight for the lead on the road, Sebastián Montoya passed Kush Maini at Turn 4 on Lap 22, with both yet to stop and still running the Soft tyres they had started on.

Lap 23 and Dunne dived to the inside of Martins at Turn 4 to claim sixth place, with his attentions now on Verschoor, 2.3s ahead.

Into the final 10 laps and Verschoor had stabilised the gap as he retook the lead of the race following Maini’s mandatory stop.

In the fight for the final podium spot, Fornaroli had caught Martins and forced the ART driver to defend at Turn 4, as Martí lurked behind the pair of them.

Lap 33 and Martins got a poor run out of Turn 1 to leave Fornaroli with the momentum he needed to claim P3. Their fight wasn’t over though, as with some great late-braking, Martins moved back around the outside of the Italian to retake the place.

Onto the following lap and Fornaroli made another attempt at Turn 3, but Martins’ defence allowed Martí to sneak through and take fourth.

Lap 35 and another difficult exit from Turn 1 put Martí alongside him at Turn 3, but the Williams Driver Academy talent defended once again. The pair fought down to Turn 4 but contact allowed Fornaroli to get through on both for third, with Martins down to fifth place. Martí was later given a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.

Fellow Williams junior Luke Browning secured fifth on the following tour with DRS into Turn 3 as he continued his charge from P17 on the grid.

Three laps to go and it was three-wide into Turn 3, with Martins getting back through on Browning, while Jak Crawford made his own move on the Briton to take sixth. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver then passed Martins on the penultimate lap at the third corner.

A charging Montoya moved ahead of Browning with a pass at Turn 10 heading into the final lap as he made the most of the alternative strategy. Martins ran wide at the exit of Turn 1 and seventh quickly became sixth for the PREMA Racing driver.

Up ahead, Verschoor returned to the top step for MP Motorsport as he claimed the lead of the Drivers’ Championship with his third win of 2025.

Dunne completed his comeback from P7 to second, while Fornaroli rounded out the podium for Invicta.

Crawford inherited fourth ahead of Montoya and Browning, as Martí fell to seventh with his time penalty applied. Martins followed in eighth as Roman Stanek and Dino Beganovic completed the points in P9 and P10.

KEY QUOTE – Richard Verschoor, MP Motorsport

“Super happy to have the biggest trophy today. Amazing race, good start, good pace and a good strategy, so a massive thank you to MP Motorsport and I’m looking forward to Silverstone.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

With his victory, Verschoor takes over at the top of the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Dunne, 114 points to 108. Crawford moves himself up to third position on 85 points with Fornaroli in fourth on 83, and Browning fifth on 81.

In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing remain at the top on 144 points ahead of MP Motorsport, who move up to second place with 126 points. Hitech TGR are now third on 111, one point ahead of Rodin Motorsport in fourth. DAMS Lucas Oil complete the top five with 106 points.

UP NEXT

The Formula 2 paddock heads straight to Silverstone for the second leg of this double-header. Round 8 kicks off the second half of the 2025 campaign from July 4-6.