F2 Imola: Colapinto wins sprint with last lap overtake amid stewards' investigation

Franco Colapinto became Formula 2’s sixth winner of the campaign in a sprint race at Imola bookended by drama, though is under investigation for a first lap incident.

MP Motorsport driver Colapinto pulled off an on-the-edge last lap manoeuvre to snatch a first victory of the season from Paul Aron, who instead had to settle for a third second place result of the campaign.

Following an error from Aron at Rivazza on the penultimate lap, Colapinto drew level along the start/finish straight before banging wheels into Tamburello in a move that saw Aron touch the gravel.

Believing himself to have been forced off the track, Aron questioned the legality of the move over his team radio but the stewards deemed no further action was necessary.

While this provided some entertainment, the only other action of note came at Tamburello on lap one, when five cars were forced to retire with crash damage - with Colapinto under investigation as part of this incident.

The initial trigger for this was a dreadful start for Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who dropped like a stone from sixth to 12th.

But the real catalyst for mayhem came when Roman Stanek tagged Dennis Hauger into a spin, causing Joshua Durksen to brake in avoidance, an action which left Enzo Fittipaldi and Isack Hadjar with nowhere to go. Significant damage was sustained by all cars involved.

Paul Aron, Hitech Grand Prix

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Colapinto was also deemed to have been involved in the incident by the stewards, who will look into the moment specifically involving the Argentinian, Hadjar and Stanek after the race.

With just 17 cars running, the action resumed on lap six of 25 with Aron, who had climbed from third to first in the initial run to Tamburello on the opening tour, leading Colapinto and Amaury Cordeel.

As the comparatively calm action resumed, penalties began to filter through from the stewards’ office as Pepe Marti was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for a “starting procedure infringement”, a sanction he served at the end of lap 11.

Following his poor start, there was also further pain for Antonelli, as the Prema driver now faces a post-race investigation for a “safety car infringement”.

After a long period of follow-the-leader style racing, Maloney finally made his way onto the podium on lap 23, mimicking Aron’s earlier move on Cordeel by sweeping around the outside at Tamburello.

This was Colapinto’s first F2 two win and he becomes the sixth different winner from the opening seven races of 2024. By finishing ahead of Maloney, Aron cut the Barbadian’s championship lead to 13 points.

Post-race Taylor Barnard was disqualified from the results for not engaging the start set-up procedure, denying the McLaren F1 junior and the PHM squad their first points in F2. Richard Verschoor has been promoted to seventh while Kush Maini picked up the final points place in eighth.

F2 Imola - Sprint race result

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Bonus
1	F. Colapinto MP Motorsport	12	25	-
2	P. Aron Hitech Pulse-Eight	17	25	+1.700 1.7	1.700
3	Z. Maloney Rodin Motorsport	5	25	+6.600 6.6	4.900
4	A. Cordeel Hitech Pulse-Eight	16	25	+8.100 8.1	1.500
5	O. Bearman Prema Powerteam	3	25	+11.100 11.1	3.000
6	G. Bortoleto Invicta Racing	10	25	+11.500 11.5	0.400
7	T. Barnard PHM AIX Racing	25	25	+11.900 11.9	0.400
8	R. Verschoor Trident	22	25	+14.200 14.2	2.300
9	K. Maini Invicta Racing	9	25	+16.300 16.3	2.100
10	Z. O'Sullivan ART Grand Prix	2	25	+17.400 17.4	1.100
11	A. Antonelli Prema Powerteam	4	25	+18.200 18.2	0.800
12	R. Villagomez Van Amersfoort Racing	15	25	+18.900 18.9	0.700
13	V. Martins ART Grand Prix	1	25	+19.300 19.3	0.400
14	R. Miyata Rodin Motorsport	6	25	+19.700 19.7	0.400
15	J. Crawford DAMS Lucas Oil	7	25	+20.000 20.0	0.300
16	J. Correa DAMS Lucas Oil	8	25	+20.500 20.5	0.500
17	P. Martí Campos Racing	21	25	+55.600 55.6	35.100
dnf	D. Hauger MP Motorsport	11	24						Retirement
dnf	R. Staněk Trident	23	24						Retirement
dnf	I. Hadjar Campos Racing	20	24						Retirement
dnf	J. Duerksen PHM AIX Racing	24	24						Retirement
dnf	E. Fittipaldi Van Amersfoort Racing	14	24						Retirement
View full results