Leonardo Fornaroli delivered a commanding performance in the 2025 Formula 2 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Race at Spa, closing the gap in the championship standings. The reigning Formula 3 champion seized the lead at Turn 1 following a dramatic collision involving three of his main rivals. The incident occurred when Luke Browning was pinched between Jak Crawford and points leader Richard Verschoor, resulting in Browning’s immediate retirement. Verschoor made it back to the pit lane but was forced to retire due to damage.
The safety car made a late appearance, prompting several drivers to pit for fresh soft tyres in hopes of gaining ground. However, the top four, including Fornaroli, opted to stay out. Among those who gambled was Alex Dunne, who had taken pole for the feature race. Despite his strong pace on the fresher tyres, Dunne was unable to progress further than seventh place after losing out to Roman Stanek while attempting to overtake Pepe Marti.
This result caused a shake-up in the F2 title race. Richard Verschoor remains narrowly ahead with 122 points, followed closely by Crawford on 116 and Fornaroli now right behind on 114. Dunne sits at 112 points, and Browning, who was involved in the early crash, is now down to 98. Arvid Lindblad, a Red Bull junior driver, finished ninth in the sprint and now holds sixth place overall with 84 points.
The top ten finishers in the race included Victor Martins and Gabriele Mini rounding out the podium, while Oliver Goethe, Marti, and Stanek secured the remaining top-six spots. Other drivers making the top ten were Ritomo Miyata, Lindblad, and John Bennett. The reverse-grid nature of the sprint race added unpredictability, as several usual front-runners were forced to fight back through the field.
Overall, the race at Spa was full of action, drama, and implications for the championship battle. Fornaroli’s victory has added new momentum to his title challenge, especially with the leaders so closely matched. The events at La Source highlight how quickly fortunes can shift in Formula 2, making the rest of the season even more unpredictable as the field heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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