Report
F2: Lawson wins Paul Ricard Sprint Race in style
Liam Lawson took his second win of the Formula 2 season in brilliant style around Circuit Paul Ricard. The Carlin driver pulled daring moves on Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala for victory.
After falling to fourth at the opening corner, Lawson fought back in swift and decisive fashion, retaking third from Felipe Drugovich immediately on the opening lap before fighting back past Armstrong for second. A very late dive down the outside of the Hitech Grand Prix driver on Lap 4 moved Lawson alongside at Turn 8 before he claimed the inside of Turn 9 to seal the move.
READ MORE: Sainz tows Leclerc to first French Grand Prix pole as Verstappen qualifies second
He rapidly closed down the two second gap to race leader Daruvala and following a Safety Car period, pulled off a similar pass on the PREMA Racing driver to claim first place. From that point on, he was untroubled for the win.
Daruvala held onto second after a tough battle with Armstrong. The latter attempted a pass on Lap 19 into the chicane but forced the Indian driver off circuit and compromised himself in the process. He dropped to ninth by the chequered flag which became 14th following a post-race penalty for the incident.
Likewise, third place on the road Theo Pourchaire received a post-race time penalty for forcing Armstrong off the circuit later on the same lap. It dropped the home favourite off the podium and down to seventh after the penalty was applied.
The post-race affairs promoted Drugovich onto the podium, extending his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship over both Pourchaire and Logan Sargeant. The American ended up P8 when all was said and done.
Drugovich’s advantage in the standings now stands at 42 points over Sargeant. Pourchaire’s demotion leaves him a further two points adrift of the Carlin driver and third in the table.
Carlin lead the way in the standings, seven points clear of MP Motorsport, while ART Grand Prix are a further six points away.
For more on F2, visit the official series website.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
News Aston Martin ‘cannot be happy’ with 2024 season as team boss Krack insists they have ‘learned lessons’ for the future
Feature ANALYSIS: Perez had a contract for 2025 – so why has his Red Bull journey come to an end now, and who will replace him?
Feature EXCLUSIVE: The Top 10 F1 drivers of 2024 – as chosen by the drivers
News Hamilton and Leclerc’s 2025 Ferrari given launch date