The 2025 F2 season began around Albert Park, in the second year of the new regulation cars rookies are looking to make a name for themselves, and veterans with something to prove ahead of the Australian sprint race.
With a host of penalties handed out across the Formula 2 grid, Victor Martins’ ART inherited pole from his rival in Gabriele Minì’s PREMA. However, it is the 2024 F3 champion, Leonardo Fornaroli, who started on pole for the sprint race after qualifying in tenth for the feature.
Alongside Fornaroli, Joshua Dürksen lined up in second – Dürksen impressed consistently throughout the 2024 F2 season, consistently outperforming his AIX racing car. The second row features the Hitech TGR duo of Luke Browning and Dino Beganovic, two of the top championship contenders from the 2024 F3 season.
Lights out
Leonardo Fornaroli pulling into the pole positon spot on the grid followed by the other 21 drivers in the 2025 Formula 2 season. The green flag was waved and the five red lights went out.
Johsua Dürksen has a better start than Fornaroli taking the lead from the invicta into the first turn. Browning maintained third place. It was a clean start, although Fornaroli lost the lead.
The Invicta made a move for the lead into turn nine but was just too far behind to make the move stick. Further down the grid Kush Miani had a massive run through the gravel, dropping the Alpine junior through the ranks but keeping himself in the race.
On lap 2, Victor Martins pulled to the side of the road with damage on his ART. He was pushed off the track in the early corners but had continued. However, in turn 5 he lost the rear end of the car hitting the barriers and vitally damaging the car.
A Virtual Safety Car was called while Martin’s car was recovered. The VSC meant that Dürksen could maintain a gap with his lead. After just two laps, the race was green flagged and the field was back to racing.
Fornaroli had fallen out of Dürksen’s DRS but Luke Browning had DRS in third and was closing on the Invicta. While the fight at the front was getting closer, Jak Crawford was in the pitlane getting out of his DAMS Lucas Oil car – retiring from the race.
Dino Beganovic, who had lost places in the early laps, made a brave move around the outside of Roman Stanek, moving himself back up to fifth place.
Safety Car
Max Esterson’s Trident found the wall as a bad weekend was made worse. Losing the rear on the entry to the corner and finding his car beached in the gravel.
For the rest of the grid the SC plays into their hands, bringing the entire grid closer together and closing the gap the front five had to the rest of the grid. Dürksen’s advantage, which was over second and safely out of DRS, was also diminished.
On lap 10, the SC was called in. Dürksen looking for a strong restart and lead maintained. The Paraguayan went into the final two corners and managed to immediately establish himself a healthy gap.
Fornaroli’s teammate was under pressure from the PREMA of Sebas Montoya who was looking down the inside of the Invicta. Montoya made a lunge but Stanek covered the move and held onto sixth place.
The two Red Bull junior drivers of Campos were in ninth and tenth, battling between teammates.
Dino Beganovic had a massive spin but luckily managed to catch himself, continuing. However, Beganovic fell to 17th out of the points.
With Gabriele Miní taking avoiding action, the PREMA driver found himself right in the way of the Red Bull duo. With Pepe Martí moving ahead of the PREMA car. Miní wasn’t going to give up the position without a fight – quickly taking back the seventh place.
Out front Joshua Dürksen had built himself a gap of two seconds. It was short-lived when Sami Meguetounif spun in the same area that Beganovic had just a few laps earlier. A SC was called, once again diminishing Dürksen’s lead.
Both Trident’s were now out of the first race of the season.
Green flags
On lap 16, the safety car was called in. Joshua Dürksen looked for another flawless restart and that’s exactly what happened. Going earlier than the previous restart, Dürksen caught Fornaroli off guard and established a 0.700 lead.
Montoya in sixth found himself fighting to hold off his teammate. Further down the order, Ritomo Miyata took a second run through the gravel. Holding onto control of the car, but losing two places.
By lap 18, Joshua Dürksen had pushed the gap to around one second. With the fastest lap, Dürksen made keeping the lead seem simple – a show of where the experience in Formula 2 can become vital.
The PREMA duo were fighting for sixth place, pushing them into the front wings of the Campos duo. With just two laps remaining Dürksen managed to grow the gap out front to 1.5 seconds.
Alexander Dunne made an important move into ninth, overtaking the Campos of Arvid Lindblad.
Joshua Dürksen had a dominant win, with Leonardo Fornaroli and Luke Browning finishing the podium positions for the season opener around Albert Park. Two rookies debuting their potential in the step below Formula 1.
Feature Image credit: PREMA Racing
