2024-03-23 14:22:58
Roman Staněk was able to win for the first time in his second season in Formula 2, and he also won the first championship points this year. He dominated the sprint in Melbourne after Frenchman Isack Hadjar was penalized.
The Czech rider started today’s sprint from pole position. The start was marked by a big crash and Hadjar got ahead of Staňko. The native of Paris secured the first place after the entire 23 laps, while the Czech driver maintained his second position with an excellent defensive drive.
After the second exit of the safety car at the end of the race, several rivals hung up on the pilot of the Trident team, but even that did not make Staňko lose his concentration and he finished ahead of the Norwegian pilot Dennis Hauger with a lead of 349 thousandths of a second.
He trailed Hadjar by 6.827 seconds on the track, but the Frenchman was given a ten-second post-race penalty for causing an earlier collision, moving Staňek to the top spot.
“Yes, first win in F2. I was second in the race, but another driver’s penalty gave me the win. We still don’t have the pace we’re trying for, but I’m happy with my drive. It definitely paid off. I’m already looking forward to tomorrow ” Staněk wrote on Instagram.
The native of Valašské Meziříčí in Australia scored the first ten points this season. The F2 series continues on Sunday with the main race, in which the full 25 points will be awarded.
Riders on the Melbourne Sprint podium:
While in Formula 2, Staňk’s best result so far was fifth place in last year’s sprint at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, in F3 he managed to win the main race in Imola, Italy, in the previous season.
Formula 2 car championship race in Melbourne (Australia) – sprint:
1. Stand (ČR/Trident) 43:59.337, 2. Hauger (Nor./MP Motorsport) -0.349, Maini (Indie/Invicta) -1.405.
Running order: 1. Maloney (Barb./Rodin) 47, 2. Hauger 39, 3. Maini 33, …12. Stand 10.