What We Learned: A few talking points from Round 3 in Jeddah

Round 3 of the 2025 season is in the books and our weekend in Jeddah delivered two fascinating races, a 57th different winner in Formula 2 and new leaders in both Championships.

Campos Racing rookie Arvid Lindblad came out on top in the Sprint Race, while Richard Verschoor triumphed in the Feature. So, as we continue to debrief race week in Jeddah, let’s look at some of the key talking points from our three days on track.

VERSCHOOR PROVES TO BE THE BENCHMARK

Had it not been for a five-second penalty at the end of the Sprint Race that dropped him from first to fourth in the classification, Verschoor might have completed the double in Jeddah.

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The MP Motorsport driver’s pace was on another level this weekend, especially in the Feature, when, on aging Medium tyres, he was lapping over half a second quicker than the net race leader Jak Crawford on fresher rubber.

After pitting for the Supersofts, he was able to come out behind his DAMS Lucas Oil rival before overtaking him on the final lap to win on Sunday.

However, Verschoor won this race in the first stint, making his alternative strategy work so well, especially as it was not as successful for others.

Kush Maini, in P10, was the only other driver to use the same approach as the Dutchman and score points, and for MP Team Manager Jeremy Cotterill this was Verschoor’s finest performance with the team.

The Dutchman’s ability to marry his pace and his tyre management skills together shone brightest in Jeddah, and as CEO Bruno Michel has said Verschoor serves a benchmark to the younger drivers, showing them what can be achieved.

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On top of that, the 23-year-old is also the one to beat in the Drivers’ Championship, as with this victory he went to the top of the Standings on 53 points, 12 ahead of the chasing pack.

CRAWFORD AND DAMS BOUNCE BACK

Coming into Jeddah, DAMS were one of two teams – including TRIDENT - to have not scored a point yet this season, so they were looking to bounce back in Round 3.

Things got off to a good start in Free Practice with Maini and Crawford in the top three, both within 0.018s of Victor Martins’ leading time. The pair ended up in the top 10 in Practice, and Crawford followed that up with a superb final lap in Qualifying to take Pole Position by 0.022s.

Victory may have eluded the American in the Feature Race but having not scored this season, Crawford’s second place finish on Sunday and his points for pole position, as well Maini’s run to P10, have given DAMS the kickstart their campaign needed.

They now head to Europe riding a good wave of momentum and confident of more fights at the front of the field.

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CAMPOS AND THEIR IN-FORM DRIVERS

Campos Racing left Jeddah with the lead in the Teams’ Championship having also achieved their first one-two finish in Formula 2 in the Sprint Race.

After Verschoor’s five-second penalty, Lindblad was promoted up to P1, giving the 17-year-old the victory and making him the youngest race winner in F2 history.

His teammate Josep María Martí followed him home in P2, giving him a second podium of the year following his Sprint Race triumph in Sakhir.

The Campos pairing followed that up with a double points scoring result in the Feature, Lindblad in P7, while Martí was further up the road in fifth.

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This means the Spaniard left Jeddah having now scored points in seven straight races – a record only equalled by Verschoor – going all the way back to the 2024 Yas Marina Sprint Race.

On top of that, Martí heads to the European leg of the calendar second in the Drivers’ Standings on 41 points, and confident of fighting for the title moving forward.