The Formula 2 Sprint Races never fail to deliver. With drivers starting out of place due to reversed grid rules, there is a guarantee for an eventful session. In this case, it was Richard Verschoor who benefited from a late safety car, diving into the pit lane for new tyres with only a handful of laps left in the race. He made a crazy comeback through the field to take the win in epic fashion.
Verschoor wasn’t the only driver to benefit from the safety car. Alexander Dunne, who started P19 due to a 13-place grid drop, seized the opportunity to follow Verschoor and finished P2. Rafael Villagomez, who started last, did the same thing and closed out the podium.
Browning takes the early lead with epic overtake
It didn’t take long for the race lead to change after the start as Luke Browning rocketed off the line from P3 to take a dominant lead into turn 1. Jak Crawford followed from P4 as they both passed Leonardo Fornaroli within a few corners. Verschoor, who started P5, had a rough start and dropped back to P9, where he would spend most of the race.
The race continued silently until lap 14, when Verschoor tried to pass tomorrow’s pole sitter, Arvid Lindblad, for P8. Going into turn 1, the two drivers made contact, Lindblad got spun around and dropped back to the rear of the field.
LAP 18 / 26
CONTACT BETWEEN THE TWO PREMA RACING TEAM MATES! 🫣
Gabriele Mini spins and is out of the race! #F2 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/jWGWboG8s9
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) May 31, 2025
On lap 18, fate struck again as Mini tried to pass Montoya into turn 1, and both of them spun off track. Montoya got back underway while Mini couldn’t continue and retired. The stricken car brought out the safety car with 9 laps to go.
Richard Verschoor takes advantage of late Safety Car
The safety car being brought onto the track prompted some drivers to dive into the pits. Most of them had nothing to lose anyway, as they were not in the running for points. Fresh soft tyres went onto the cars of Verschoor, Dunne, Martins, Villagomez, Montoya and Cordeel. Restarting on these tyres would give them much superior grip everywhere, and efficient overtaking would become critical to a good result.
With 5 laps remaining, the race restarted with Crawford leading Browning and Fornaroli. Verschoor was leading the pack of cars that had stopped. In just one single lap, Verschoor would promote himself to P4 by overtaking left, right, in and out of corners, with Dunne following closely. At the start of lap 24, Verschoor was leading and sprinting away from the rest of the field.
Dunne took a little longer to get past the leaders but managed to go P2 at the end of lap 24. Villagomez, on the other hand, waited for his turn for the right moment to speed past the competition. The tyres of everyone who stayed out were fading quickly, and defending proved to be a herculean task. Villagomez swept around his rivals to move up to 3rd place.
🟠 VICTORIOUS VERSCHOOR 🟠
WHAT. A. RACE!!! Verschoor claims an incredible sprint race victory, fighting through the pack on fresh softs at the end. The drives of the day go to P2, Alex Dunne, who started NINETEENTH and finishes P2 and Villagomez, who started P22 and last and… pic.twitter.com/11uF62TrPX
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) May 31, 2025
Richard Verschoor crossed the line first with Dunne close behind. Villagomez took a scintillating P3 finish after starting last!
