SPRINT RACE: Miyata eases away to claim maiden victory in Madrid

Ritomo Miyata put in an assured performance to claim his maiden FIA Formula 2 victory in the first ever Madrid Sprint Race.

The Hitech driver seized the lead of the line and then managed two Safety Car restarts expertly to take the win. AIX Racing’s Emerson Fittipaldi achieved his first podium in second ahead of TRIDENT’s Laurens van Hoepen.

AS IT HAPPENED

Miyata had a great start and took the lead before Turn 1 ahead of Fittipaldi. Noel León held on to P3 ahead of van Hoepen who, alongside Gabriele Minì and Mari Boya, started on the Soft tyres, while the rest chose Hards.

There were plenty of battles, as Rafael Câmara overtook Dino Beganovic for seventh at Turn 5 while Alexander Dunne dived to the inside of Roman Bilinski for P8 at Turn 8.

The Safety Car was called upon at the end of the lap. Kush Maini and Nico Varrone had contact at Turn 7 which sent the Van Amersfoort Racing driver spinning into the barrier.

Elsewhere, Sebastián Montoya and John Bennett collided at the opening corner. Both drivers came back into the pitlane, and while the former continued on, the latter retired with damage.

Racing resumed on Lap 5 of 23 with Dunne looking to make a move. The Rodin Motorsport driver went to the outside of Câmara at Turn 5, but his Invicta Racing rival held on.

The Irishman tried the same move on the next lap but again found the door shut.

Further ahead, van Hoepen was keen to make his tyre advantage count, and the TRIDENT driver dived to the inside of León at Turn 13 but could not make it stick.

Van Hoepen then dived to the inside of León at the Turn 5 chicane on Lap 9. The Campos driver reclaimed the position at Turn 8, but having gone off track, he was told to give the place back to the TRIDENT a couple of laps later.

León was struggling and his teammate Tsolov tried to take advantage with a move past at Turn 1 on Lap 13. He held him off, but their fighting was bringing Martinius Stenshorne, Câmara, Dunne and Boya into the mix.

Fittipaldi had closed to within 1.1s of Miyata, but Van Hoepen was almost half a second quicker, as he set the fastest lap of the race.

Tsolov, having been on the radio calling for Campos to let him go and catch van Hoepen, tried a move at Turn 5. But as he went off track to get ahead, the Bulgarian gave León back the place.

Unfortunately for the Red Bull Junior, his day was over a few corners later. A slight brush with the wall at Turn 20 spun him into a stoppage, bringing out the Safety Car.

With Tsolov’s car cleared, Miyata led the field to green on Lap 18, with van Hoepen immediately putting Fittipaldi under pressure.

The Hitech driver was in good form, having pulled out a 1.3s lead and set the fastest lap of the race.

Van Hoepen had DRS and was within 0.3s of Fittipaldi on Lap 20, but the Brazilian was doing well to hold on to P2.

Miyata however was in a league of his own, driving away from the rest to win by 2.6s – giving Hitech their first victory since the 2025 Baku Sprint Race.

Fittipaldi held on to second ahead of van Hoepen, with León in fourth ahead of Stenshorne. Câmara kept Dunne in his mirrors for sixth, while Boya took the final point in eighth.

KEY QUOTE – Ritomo Miyata, Hitech

“Finally we have won a race. Thanks to Hitech, Morizo-san, and Toyota Gazoo Racing, who have always supported my career, and also thanks to my family, my girlfriend, and my fans. We achieved a win in an F2 race. But we have another race tomorrow, so we need to do our best, so see you tomorrow.”

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Nikola Tsolov continues to lead the Drivers’ Standings on 177 points, with Rafael Câmara in second on 169. Gabriele Minì is third on 147, ahead of Alexander Dunne is on 120 points, with Noel León a further point behind in fifth.

Campos Racing top the Standings on 296 points, as Invicta Racing sit second on 247. Rodin Motorsport are third on 186 points, just two points ahead of MP Motorsport, with ART Grand Prix in fifth on 151.

UP NEXT

The drivers have one more chance to claim victory in Madrid, as they will return on Sunday morning for the Feature Race. Lights out is set for 11:25 local time.