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FIA F2 Imola

F2 Imola: Hadjar holds off Bortoleto for victory after costly Bearman pit drama

Isack Hadjar scored his second F2 feature race victory in a row after absorbing intense pressure from Gabriel Bortoleto in the closing stages at Imola.

Isack Hadjar, Campos Racing

Hadjar put on a masterful defensive display to fend off polesitter Bortoleto in a race where the main drama was restricted to the pitlane.

A poor start for Bortoleto had seen the Brazilian – who was sporting an eye-catching Ayrton Senna tribute helmet – drop to fourth, with Hadjar promoted to second behind only Oliver Bearman. Joshua Durksen also benefitted and climbed to third.

There was little to separate the quartet during the opening exchanges, leading Hadjar and Durksen to attempt the undercut at the end of lap six.

Bearman and Maloney stopped the following lap but the former endured a nightmare stop, appearing to stall with the team then struggling to get the car moving again. This dropped him to 21st, a position he improved only to 19th by the chequered flag. This means the Ferrari junior driver has still only scored in one feature race in 2024.

Maloney dropped out of the lead battle after being passed by Roman Stanek in the pitstop phase and was left frustrated by the steward's inaction over what he perceived to be weaving by the Czech driver. The championship leader finished 11th.

On the alternate strategy, Amaury Cordeel and Pepe Marti looked like they could threaten the podium positions with Durksen significantly off the top two.

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

But drama in the pits again cost them, with Cordeel’s right-rear tyre coming loose as he exited the pit box before it stuck another tyre and flew into the air. Moments later, Marti’s own left rear came off in the pits. Both drivers retired on the spot with the stewards quick to confirm they would look into the events.

With Maloney failing to score, Paul Aron closed the gap in the standings to five by virtue of his sixth-place finish. Hadjar is now just nine points from the summit.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli enjoyed another strong performance, finishing fourth for the second feature race in succession, and now sits sixth in the standings, 14 places and 30 points clear of his luckless team-mate Bearman.

F2 Imola: Feature race results

   
1
 - 
4
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Laps Time Interval km/h Pits Points Retirement Bonus
1 France I. Hadjar Campos Racing 20 35

-

      25    
2
G. Bortoleto Invicta Racing
10 35

+0.500

0.5

0.500     18   2
3
J. Duerksen PHM AIX Racing
24 35

+13.700

13.7

13.200     15    
4 Italy A. Antonelli Prema Powerteam 4 35

+18.000

18.0

4.300     12    
5 Argentina F. Colapinto MP Motorsport 12 35

+18.400

18.4

0.400     10    
6
P. Aron Hitech Pulse-Eight
17 35

+18.800

18.8

0.400     8    
7 United States J. Crawford DAMS Lucas Oil 7 35

+20.700

20.7

1.900     6    
8 United States J. Correa DAMS Lucas Oil 8 35

+21.200

21.2

0.500     4    
9 France V. Martins ART Grand Prix 1 35

+28.300

28.3

7.100     2   1
10 Netherlands R. Verschoor Trident 22 35

+33.500

33.5

5.200     1    
11 Barbados Z. Maloney Rodin Motorsport 5 35

+34.100

34.1

0.600          
12 Norway D. Hauger MP Motorsport 11 35

+34.300

34.3

0.200          
13 United Kingdom Z. O'Sullivan ART Grand Prix 2 35

+37.600

37.6

3.300          
14 India K. Maini Invicta Racing 9 35

+37.900

37.9

0.300          
15 Japan R. Miyata Rodin Motorsport 6 35

+38.400

38.4

0.500          
16 Mexico R. Villagomez Van Amersfoort Racing 15 35

+42.300

42.3

3.900          
17 Brazil E. Fittipaldi Van Amersfoort Racing 14 35

+43.000

43.0

0.700          
18 Czech Republic R. Staněk Trident 23 35

+43.500

43.5

0.500          
19 United Kingdom O. Bearman Prema Powerteam 3 35

+44.000

44.0

0.500          
20
T. Barnard PHM AIX Racing
25 35

+44.700

44.7

0.700          
dnf Belgium A. Cordeel Hitech Pulse-Eight 16 30

5 laps

        Retirement  
dnf
P. Martí Campos Racing
21 30

5 laps

        Retirement  

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