Roundup of the tenth round of 2023 F2 season at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Frederik Vesti entered this round as the championship leader but weather, incidents and luck saw a change of lead as the title fight began to become more open, in a weekend which certainly delivered plenty of drama throughout.
Now, here is a full roundup of all the action at Spa-Francorchamps as the 2023 F2 season continued.
Practice
ART GP’s Victor Martins and Theo Pourchaire were first out onto a wet track amidst light rain showers alongside rookie – Josh Mason, with Martins proceeding to set the benchmark time of 2m 19.455 before the trio returned to the pits but Mason quickly ventured back out to explore conditions.
Trident’s Clement Novalak and Roman Stanek were next out on track but the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was soon deployed in the 18th minute, after Novalak parked up on the Kemmel Straight after running wide through Raidillon just moments earlier.
Once the VSC was withdrawn three minutes later, Vesti and Bearman were first out on track with Vesti posting 2m 19.272 to go quickest, only for Martins to go 1.111 seconds faster moments later although the pair were displaced by Jack Doohan who posted 2m 17.970 in the 28th minute.
Times soon began to fall as track conditions settled as Vesti then Martins returned to the top before Doohan delivered a session-topping 2m 16.851 in the 33rd minute, ahead of Hauger who set his fastest lap in the 42nd minute.
Practice however came to a premature end with two minutes left on the clock after Mason stalled his PHM Racing car at the pit exit, as he attempted a practice start which prevented any late improvement.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 2m 16.851 |
| 2 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | + 0.335 |
| 3 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 0.628 |
| 4 | Frederik Vesti | PREMA | + 0.720 |
| 5 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | + 0.762 |
| 6 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | + 1.001 |
| 7 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 1.046 |
| 8 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | + 1.096 |
| 9 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | + 1.134 |
| 10 | Kush Maini | Campos | + 1.312 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | + 1.380 |
| 12 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | + 1.513 |
| 13 | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | + 1.572 |
| 14 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | + 1.697 |
| 15 | Richard Verschoor | VAR | + 1.753 |
| 16 | Juan Manuel Correa | VAR | + 1.822 |
| 17 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | + 2.132 |
| 18 | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing | + 2.919 |
| 19 | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | + 3.236 |
| 20 | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi | + 4.293 |
| 21 | Josh Mason | PHM Racing | + 7.046 |
| 22 | Clement Novalak | Trident | No Time |
Qualifying
Amidst the threat of rain overhanging a damp track surface, Vesti and Maloney were first out on track amidst reports of drizzle just moments before Mason spun out on the exit of Bruxelles in the third minute, which caused a red flag with 27 minutes and 15 seconds left on the clock.
Qualifying resumed nine minutes later during which the rain had began to sweep in as Vesti and Bearman led the field back out, under instructions from PREMA to do a fast outlap in order to bank a representative flying lap.
That specific instruction paid off as Vesti and Bearman timed their first flying lap to perfection as they arrived at Blanchimont just as the rain swept in, with Bearman ultimately looking the more comfortable as he delivered 2m 05.736 to take provisional pole ahead of Vesti by 0.463s.
Everyone else meanwhile were forced to deal with the intense downpour at Blanchimont which swiftly slowed lap times down, meaning that Martins found himself third fastest ahead of; Maloney, Pourchaire, Hauger, Boschung, Fittipaldi, Verschoor and Daruvala.
Nobody though was able to mount a second attempt as the rain rapidly turned into a torrential downpour, which forced everyone back into the pits with no further attempts to even venture out and try to improve their lap time.
Bearman ultimately secured pole ahead of Vesti in a PREMA front-row lockout and cut his title deficit to 57 points with the two points for pole, with Martins, Maloney, Pourchaire, Hauger, Boschung, Fittipaldi and Verschoor rounding out the top nine as Daruvala took reverse-pole for the Sprint.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 2m 05.736 |
| 2 | Frederik Vesti | PREMA | + 0.463 |
| 3 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 1.703 |
| 4 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | + 2.061 |
| 5 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | + 3.300 |
| 6 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | + 3.318 |
| 7 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | + 3.805 |
| 8 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | + 4.082 |
| 9 | Richard Verschoor | VAR | + 4.173 |
| 10 | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | + 4.248 |
| 11 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | + 4.846 |
| 12 | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | + 5.942 |
| 13 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | + 6.106 |
| 14 | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing | + 6.156 |
| 15 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | + 6.314 |
| 16 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | + 6.667 |
| 17 | Clement Novalak | Trident | + 7.061 |
| 18 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 7.789 |
| 19 | Kush Maini | Campos | + 8.913 |
| 20 | Juan Manuel Correa | VAR | No Time |
| 21 | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi | No Time |
| 22 | Josh Mason | PHM Racing | No Time |
Sprint Race
At lights out, Daruvala made a quick start to lead Verschoor who fought off Fittipaldi to keep second whilst Boschung lost fourth to a fast-starting Pourchaire who had started sixth and overtook Hauger out of La Source.
Vesti meanwhile improved from ninth to sixth by the exit of Bruxelles into Turn 11 whilst Martins cleared Maloney for eighth, as Doohan passed Bearman off the line for tenth as the Brit began what would be a race-long struggle for pace.
Up front, Daruvala’s hopes of a first race win since the 2022 Italian Feature Race evaporated on Lap 2 after his headrest became loose at Blanchimont and flew off upon entry to the Bus Stop Chicane, which forced him to pit and retire.
Verschoor consequently inherited the lead whilst Vesti and Hauger had earlier cleared Boschung for fifth and sixth respectively, although the Safety Car was deployed after Cordeel grinded to a halt on track with a technical issue.
Racing resumed on Lap 5 as Martins cleared Boschung for seventh and the Swiss driver eventually finished ninth on the road, after Doohan and Iwasa passed him in the closing laps.
Up front, Verschoor had built a two-second lead over Fittipaldi but the Brazilian managed to save his medium tyres, as he launched a late fightback from Lap 13, which was completed on Lap 16 with a DRS-supported overtake on the Kemmel Straight.
Fittipaldi consequently sprinted away to his maiden F2 win ahead of Verschoor, Pourchaire and Hauger.
Vesti like Bearman struggled with pace on his medium tyres in the closing laps and was passed by Martins then Doohan on Laps 14 and 17, as he settled for seventh at the checkered flag despite surviving a last-gasp scrap with a fiesty Iwasa at the Bus Stop Chicane.
Post-race, Verschoor was disqualified after his throttle map was found to not comply with Technical Regulations, which promoted everyone from third below up a position as Pourchaire took second ahead of Hauger whilst Boschung inherited the final point in eighth position.
Fittipaldi meanwhile inherited the bonus point for fastest lap following Verschoor’s disqualification.
In the drivers’ standings, Vesti’s title lead was trimmed by Pourchaire to just six points as Iwasa slipped 22 points behind in third, as Martins, Doohan and Bearman rounded out the top six.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | 17 | 37m 30.579 |
| 2 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | 17 | + 5.125 |
| 3 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 17 | + 5.903 |
| 4 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 17 | + 6.710 |
| 5 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 17 | + 12.744 |
| 6 | Frederik Vesti | PREMA | 17 | + 15.333 |
| 7 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 17 | + 15.521 |
| 8 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | 17 | + 16.250 |
| 9 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | 17 | + 18.454 |
| 10 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | 17 | + 22.825 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | 17 | + 23.064 |
| 12 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 17 | + 26.037 |
| 13 | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing | 17 | + 26.996 |
| 14 | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | 17 | + 27.618 |
| 15 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 17 | + 29.205 |
| 16 | Juan Manuel Correa | VAR | 17 | + 31.363 |
| 17 | Clement Novalak | Trident | 17 | + 55.688 |
| 18 | Kush Maini | Campos | 17 | + 57.434 |
| 19 | Josh Mason | PHM Racing | 17 | + 102.400 |
| DSQ | Richard Verschoor | VAR | 17 | Throttle |
| RET | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | 2 | Headrest |
| RET | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi | 1 | Mechanical |
Feature Race
A major twist in the title race unfolded prior to the Feature Race start as Vesti spun out under braking into Les Combes, which sent him into the barriers and out of the race, in a huge blow for the Championship leader.
Martins meanwhile narrowly avoided the same fate as he spun upon entry to the Kemmel Straight just behind Vesti, but the Frenchman was able to recover to the grid without damage.
At lights out, Bearman on the prime strategy of soft tyre start took advantage of Vesti’s failure to make the grid as he sprinted away into the lead as Pourchaire leapt from fifth to second ahead of Maloney and Fittipaldi, as Martins got bogged down to fifth.
Boschung briefly leapt up to fourth but momentarily lost drive at La Source which dropped him down the order.
The Safety Car however was quickly deployed after Hauger and Iwasa made contact in the middle of Les Combes, which left Hauger stranded but he got an illegal bump-start from marshals and was duly disqualified on Lap 6.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 4 as Bearman fiercely fought off Pourchaire up front whilst Fittipaldi and Martins demoted Maloney to fifth.
Further behind the frontrunners, Leclerc boldly overtook Nissany into Eau Rouge but got a right-rear puncture, which sent him spinning into Raidillon but he somehow avoided the barriers at high speed as he recovered to the pits but forced onto a two-stop strategy.
Up front, Pourchaire attempted to pass Bearman into Les Combes for the lead on Lap 6 but both drivers ran deep and cut the corner.
Doohan meanwhile was the highest-placed runner on the alternate strategy and managed to recover two positions to ninth at the start, before he launched a successful outside move on Hadjar through Campus on Lap 8 to take eighth.
Those who started on the soft tyre began to pit from the end of Lap 7 but upon exiting the pits on Lap 11 and 12 respectively, Novalak and Hadjar struggled to brake with the latter breaking his front wing to end his race.
Bearman meanwhile fought off the threat of Pourchaire until they both pitted at the end of Lap 14, with Pourchaire re-joining marginally ahead of Bearman as he nudged the Brit into the outside barrier at pit exit to hold position and the net lead.
Crawford however spun out at Les Combes on Lap 16 after contact with Manuel Correa to trigger another Safety Car period, which allowed Doohan to pit from the lead and execute the overcut to rejoin in second place behind Pourchaire who assumed the lead with Bearman in third place.
Racing was meant to resume at the end of Lap 19 but Nissany suddenly came to a brief halt on the run to Pouhon, which sent Mason into a spin and consequently forced the Safety Car to stay out for a further lap.
Once racing resumed a lap later at the end of Lap 20, Pourchaire fought off Doohan whilst Boschung passed Manuel Correa for ninth.
Martins meanwhile tried to pass Bearman into the Bus Stop Chicane but outbraked himself, only to get past into Les Combes at the start of the next lap but was forced wide by Bearman who slid under braking and nudged the Frenchman off-track.
Up front, Doohan meanwhile fought his way past Pourchaire on Lap 23 to take victory from the new championship leader.
Martins meanwhile received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pits which briefly promoted Bearman to the podium, until the Brit was slapped with a harsh five-second time penalty himself for his braking error on Lap 22.
Fittipaldi consequently inherited third ahead of Maloney as Martins dropped to fifth ahead of Verschoor, Bearman, Maini, Stanek and Boschung.
In the drivers’ standings, Vesti’s failure to start meant that Pourchaire overturned his six-point deficit to take the title lead by 13 points from the Dane, as Iwasa slipped 34 points behind in third ahead of Doohan who moved up to fourth ahead of Martins and Barman.
F2 now heads off on a summer break before regrouping in Zandvoort, Netherlands across weekend of 25-27 August.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 25 | 59m 01.766 |
| 2 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | 25 | + 1.952 |
| 3 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | 25 | + 9.118 |
| 4 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | 25 | + 10.131 |
| 5 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 25 | + 10.528 |
| 6 | Richard Verschoor | VAR | 25 | + 10.578 |
| 7 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 25 | + 12.701 |
| 8 | Kush Maini | Campos | 25 | + 13.782 |
| 9 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 25 | + 16.526 |
| 10 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | 25 | + 17.637 |
| 11 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | 25 | + 18.998 |
| 12 | Juan Manuel Correa | VAR | 25 | + 19.782 |
| 13 | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing | 25 | + 20.664 |
| 14 | Clement Novalak | Trident | 25 | + 23.852 |
| 15 | Josh Mason | PHM Racing | 25 | + 25.253 |
| 16 | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi | 25 | + 27.900 |
| RET | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | 15 | Collision |
| RET | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | 13 | Collision |
| RET | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | 13 | Crash |
| RET | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 2 | Suspension |
| DSQ | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 5 | Bump Start |
| DNS | Frederik Vesti | PREMA | 0 | Spin |