Formula 2 returns to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria for Round 6 of the 2019 FIA F2 Championship.
After fantastic racing last time out in France, it’s been proven in the past that the Red Bull Ring can deliver great racing as well as some surprises.
Louis Deletraz set the pace in his Carlin to go quickest after yesterday’s practice session just ahead of ART’s Nyck de Vries and Uni-Virtuosi’s Luca Ghiotto. The top 3 were separated by less than a tenth just to show that the circuit offers close racing.
Louie Delétraz leads the way ?
…but de Vries and Ghiotto are right on his tail as we approach qualifying ?#AustrianGP ?? #F2 pic.twitter.com/5JBU5rK7yw
— Formula 2 (@FIA_F2) June 28, 2019
Driver Changes
After collecting 12 penalty points on his licence, 3 Virtual Safety Car infringements from Paul Ricard in France last time out, Mahaveer Raghunathan was given a race ban for the race in Austria. Taking his seat at MP Motorsport for this weekend will be 2019 IndyCar Series driver Patricio O’Ward.
Arjun Maini was announced to replace Dorian Boccolacci at Campos Racing for the next two rounds, Austria and in Silverstone.
After entering funding problems, Ralph Boschung left Trident and has been replaced by former GP3 driver Ryan Tveter.
ROLL CALL ?
Practice is just minutes away!
Our fresh trio of @PatricioOWard, @RyanTveter and @ArjunMaini will be getting their first taste of F2 action this year as we get on track#AustrianGP ?? #F2 pic.twitter.com/eUkyG8vDcU
— Formula 2 (@FIA_F2) June 28, 2019
Last Time Out in France
Art’s Nyck de Vries drove consistently to battle his way up the field to win for a 3rd time this season after finishing over 8 seconds ahead of Sergio Sette Camara and Jack Aitken. Nicholas Latifi finished in 5th while returning Jordan King finished in 6th ahead of Juan-Manuel Correa, Antoine Hubert, Nobuharu Matsushita and Guiliano Alesi who scored his first point of the season with 10th.
Home-favourite Antoine Hubert was delighted to win the Sprint Race with Juan-Manuel Correa and Guanyu Zhou joining him on the podium.
De Vries now leads the championship on 121 points with Latifi, his closest rival, 2nd on 109 points. Aitken is 3rd on 85 points with Camara on 80 and Zhou on 76 points.
DAMS leads the Team’s Championship on 189 points ahead Uhi-Virtuosi Racing on 143 points and ART Grand Prix on 127 points.
Who To Look Out For
After retiring from both the Feature and Sprint races, Prema’s Mick Schumacher will be looking for a clean weekend in order for him to score his first points since the Baku Sprint Race.
Keep an eye out for the new drivers this weekend: Patricio O’Ward, Arjun Maini and Ryan Tveter. It’ll be interesting to see how these drivers will cope with the circuit, the competition around them and the F2 cars.
The first of the weekend’s two races, the Feature Race, will take place on Saturday with the Sprint Race taking place on Sunday.
