Vesti vanquishes Qualifying struggles to claim maiden F2 pole -

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – JULY 08: Logan Sargeant of United States and Carlin (6) drives on track during qualifying ahead of Round 8:Spielberg of the Formula 2 Championship at Red Bull Ring on July 08, 2022 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Adam Pretty – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images)

Frederik Vesti put the Qualifying issues that plagued his start to the season firmly to bed, claiming his
first pole position in Formula 2 in commanding style. It all came down to his second run after a track
limit violation saw his time deleted, plummeting the ART Grand Prix driver to the back of the order at
the halfway point.
Jüri Vips was unable to pip the Dane at the last minute and the two were barely separated by threethousandths of a second. Logan Sargeant put himself firmly in the fight at the front with third, as
Ayumu Iwasa blazed up to fourth with a last gasp attempt at the chequered flag.
Championship leader Felipe Drugovich kept consistency as the backbone of his campaign with fifth,
ahead of Jack Doohan. Amaury Cordeel secured his and Van Amersfoort Racing’s highest Qualifying
result in the Championship yet with seventh, ahead of Trident’s Richard Verschoor. Théo Pourchaire
held onto ninth, as track limits caught out several of his rivals, and Marcus Armstrong rounded out
the top 10.
Dreary conditions earlier in the day were thoroughly banished by the time the 22-car field hit the
track. Having seen the events that unfolded in Formula 3 just before their session kicked off, the
drivers would have been keenly aware that they needed to do their job quickly and efficiently to avoid
being swallowed up by traffic.
The DAMS duo of Iwasa and Roy Nissany got the session underway, with the Japanese driver clocking
in a benchmark of 1:15.287. However, those behind him were on the pace as well, as Drugovich,
Sargeant and then Doohan all usurped his place on provisional pole in swift succession, the Aussie
going top with a 1:15.287.
The battle was beginning to unfold between Silverstone’s maiden race winners, as Doohan and
Sargeant traded places at the top of the timing sheets on their second runs. Sargeant slotted his
Carlin into P1 momentarily, as Doohan improved once again their times were separated by just onethousandths of a second. In a league of their own, the duo were over four-tenths ahead of their
closest competitor Felipe Drugovich in third.
As all but one driver laid down a lap on their first stint, the field dived into the pits to bolt on a fresh
set of purple supersoft Pirellis at the halfway mark. While their rivals hung tight in their boxes waiting
for the final minutes of running, Calan Williams and the VAR duo of Hughes and Cordeel headed back
out early. Capitalising on the clean air, Cordeel stormed up into P2 as the rest of the pack joined the
trio on track.
The ever-evolving track conditions around the Red Bull Ring meant that the session was far from
over, even as the clock counted closer to zero. Doohan’s grip on provisional pole loosened as
Drugovich snatched the quickest time momentarily, but neither of them could match Vesti, whose
1:14.123 put him over a tenth ahead of the Virtuosi.
Improvements came in thick and fast, as Vips jumped ahead of Sargeant to secure a front row spot
for the Feature Race. Meanwhile, Pourchaire’s Championship fight was saved by a fortunate run of
lap time deletions elsewhere. The Frenchman had been knocked out of the top 10, but with Liam
Lawson and Armstrong’s times removed, he hopped back into P9.
The field might have thought it was all over, but Iwasa wasn’t finished yet. Finding performance
whilst his rivals headed into the pits, the Japanese racer gave it his all, notching purple and green
sectors throughout the lap. However, he could only manage fourth behind Sargeant, Vips and polesitter Vesti.
Drugovich scored another top-five start, ahead of Doohan and Cordeel. Verschoor secured eighth,
ahead of Pourchaire and Armstrong who clung on to reverse pole for Saturday’s Sprint Race.

2022 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 8 QUALIFYING PROVISIONAL
CLASSIFICATION