Roundup of the second round of the 2024 F2 season in Saudi Arabia, which delivered plenty of drama.
Zane Maloney entered this round as championship leader but endured a tough weekend as he fought to extend his title lead, amidst various dramas on and off track for various drivers.
Now, here is a roundup of all the action from the second round of the 2024 F2 season.
Practice
Enzo Fittipaldi plus MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger and Franco Colapinto were first out on track on the medium tyres with the latter setting the initial benchmark time of 1m 51.403, only to be displaced by several drivers including Fittipaldi and Oliver Bearman – as the Brit sought to bounce back from a disastrous opening round.
The red flags were however out in the 14th minute after Rafael Villagomez crashed at Turn 14 but not before Hauger set the fastest lap of 1m 45.558 to go top from Fittipaldi and Zane Maloney, whilst Villagomez’s crash ruled him out of Qualifying.
Practice resumed 14 minutes later with Fittipaldi first back out on track but it was Hauger who stayed top as he lowered his benchmark time to 1m 44.990 just three minutes into the restart.
Times soon began to tumble in the final ten minutes as Juan Manuel Correa briefly displaced Hauger who in-turn responded with two faster laps, including 1m 43.793 at the checkered flag to top the session from Kush Maini and Victor Martins.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 1m 43.793 |
| 2 | Kush Maini | Invicta Racing | + 0.103 |
| 3 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 0.129 |
| 4 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | + 0.300 |
| 5 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | + 0.440 |
| 6 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | + 0.465 |
| 7 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | + 0.485 |
| 8 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | + 0.527 |
| 9 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | + 0.539 |
| 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta Racing | + 0.605 |
| 11 | Enzo Fittipaldi | VAR | + 0.732 |
| 12 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | + 0.775 |
| 13 | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | + 1.087 |
| 14 | Pepe Marti | Campos | + 1.099 |
| 15 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART GP | + 1.099 |
| 16 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 1.123 |
| 17 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | + 1.407 |
| 18 | Joshua Durksen | PHM Racing | + 1.444 |
| 19 | Taylor Barnard | PHM Racing | + 1.589 |
| 20 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin | + 1.670 |
| 21 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | + 2.829 |
| 22 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | + 6.443 |
Qualifying
Fittipaldi was first out on track on super-soft tyres but it was Hauger who quickly set the benchmark pace with 1m 43.823 but Bearman went 0.616s quicker to head Maini and Verschoor after the first flying laps, only for Hauger to displace him with 1m 42.946 on the Norwegian’s second flier as Aron slotted into second.
Hauger found himself displaced on the first fliers of the second runs as Trident’s Roman Stanek posted 1m 42.747, only for Aron to find 0.109s to go fastest in the 25th minute, but Bearman one minute later delivered 1m 42.217 to snatch pole ahead of Maini and Crawford.
Martins, Fittipaldi, Antonelli, Hauger, Hadjar, Verschoor and Aron rounded out the top ten, with Aron claiming reverse-pole for the Sprint.
Championship leader, Zane Maloney meanwhile only qualified 16th quickest after enduring a difficult session.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Oliver Bearman | PREMA | 1m 42.217 |
| 2 | Kush Maini | Invicta Racing | + 0.025 |
| 3 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | + 0.159 |
| 4 | Victor Martins | ART GP | + 0.180 |
| 5 | Enzo Fittipaldi | VAR | + 0.203 |
| 6 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | + 0.228 |
| 7 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | + 0.238 |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | + 0.296 |
| 9 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | + 0.368 |
| 10 | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | + 0.421 |
| 11 | Pepe Marti | Campos | + 0.451 |
| 12 | Roman Stanek | Trident | + 0.455 |
| 13 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | + 0.644 |
| 14 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART GP | + 0.669 |
| 15 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta Racing | + 0.725 |
| 16 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | + 0.823 |
| 17 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | + 0.901 |
| 18 | Taylor Barnard | PHM Racing | + 0.928 |
| 19 | Joshua Durksen | PHM Racing | + 1.327 |
| 20 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin | + 1.560 |
| 21 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | + 1.680 |
| DNQ | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | Crash |
Sprint Race
Just under four hours before the Sprint Race was scheduled to commence, PREMA announced that Bearman had withdrawn from both races after he was called up by Ferrari as a replacement driver for his F1 debut, which meant that everyone below him on the Sprint grid were moved up a position from 11th downwards.
As for the Feature Race, everyone was promoted a position with Maini confirmed to start from pole in light of Bearman’s absence.
At lights out, Aron enjoyed a bright start to head Verschoor and Hadjar whilst Colapinto and O’Sullivan stalled at the start, amidst further chaos as Hauger and Martins tangled through the opening corners which saw the latter forced to retire after he hit the barriers heavily at Turn 3.
Stewards consequently deployed the Safety Car and racing resumed at the end of Lap 4 as Aron headed Verschoor who went on to make a race-winning late braking move into Turn 1 on Lap 8 for the lead and victory.
Hauger meanwhile made his experience on these streets count as he cleared Hadjar for third on Lap 10 but had to play the long game, until Aron left the door open for the Norwegian to snatch second on Lap 18 but the pair couldn’t deny Verschoor victory despite a close final two laps.
Hadjar meanwhile had settled into fifth after he lost fourth to Fittipaldi on Lap 14, but hit a technical issue on Lap 19 which saw him forced to retire, which in turn elevated Maloney, Crawford, Antonelli and Marti to the final four points-paying positions of the top eight.
Post-race, Verschoor was stripped of his victory and disqualified as was his teammate – Stanek after Trident were found to had used an incorrect throttle pedal progressivity map on both cars, with Hauger instead awarded victory ahead of Aron, Fittipaldi, Maloney, Crawford, Antonelli, Marti and Maini who inherited the final point in eighth.
Maloney extended his championship lead to 13 points as Aron moved up to second ahead of Marti, whilst Hauger’s win lifted him up to fourth ahead of Bortoleto and O’Sullivan.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 20 | 41m 39.473 |
| 2 | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | 20 | + 0.782 |
| 3 | Enzo Fittipaldi | VAR | 20 | + 3.984 |
| 4 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | 20 | + 6.765 |
| 5 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | 20 | + 8.399 |
| 6 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | 20 | + 11.140 |
| 7 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 20 | + 13.663 |
| 8 | Kush Maini | Invicta Racing | 20 | + 14.016 |
| 9 | Joshua Durksen | PHM Racing | 20 | + 17.555 |
| 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta Racing | 20 | + 18.062 |
| 11 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 20 | + 18.467 |
| 12 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin | 20 | + 25.009 |
| 13 | Taylor Barnard | PHM Racing | 20 | + 25.032 |
| 14 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | 20 | + 26.645 |
| 15 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | 19 | Mechanical |
| 16 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART GP | 19 | Mechanical |
| RET | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | 15 | Damage |
| RET | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | 9 | Spin |
| RET | Victor Martins | ART GP | 0 | Collision |
| DSQ | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 20 | Technical |
| DSQ | Roman Stanek | Trident | 20 | Technical |
Feature Race
Prior to the Feature Race, stewards announced that Bearman was stripped of his two points for pole position due to having been called up for the F1 race by Ferrari, with the points controversially redistributed to Maini rather than just left unawarded.
At lights out, Maini led Crawford off the line whilst Martins lost two positions to Fittipaldi and Antonelli as he fell to fifth in the order, whilst Marti spun out of T2 mid-pack and collected Stanek to eliminate both drivers.
Bortoleto meanwhile suffered a differential failure off the line and retired later on the opening lap as the safety car was deployed.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 3 as the top five held position whilst Hadjar cleared Hauger for sixth on Lap 6 into Turn 1, prior to the opening of the pit-stop phase for those on super-soft tyres a lap later.
Crawford pitted at the end of Lap 6 but found himself jumped by Fittipaldi and Antonelli but repassed the Italian for net third on Lap 8 into Turn 22 with a bold move.
Once those who began on the super-soft tyres, Manuel Correa headed Cordeel and Barnard who swapped positions on Lap 11 – with the trio yet to pit, until the safety car was redeployed on Lap 15 after Colapinto spun out at Turn 1.
Manuel Correa opted not to pit on the next lap unlike Cordeel and Barnard and when racing resumed on Lap 19, Barnard found himself quickly sliding down the order whilst Cordeel kept Manuel Correa under pressure until he made the pass for the lead on Lap 21.
Fittipaldi however swept round the outside of the pair into Turn 1 on Lap 22 to snatch the lead and victory.
Manuel Correa and Maini cleared Cordeel on Lap 24 but the former pitted at the end of Lap 25 to make his mandatory stop which elevated Maini to a second-placed finish ahead of Hauger, who edged out Crawford to round the podium as Cordeel finished fifth.
Antonelli, Maloney, Verschoor, Villagomez and Martins rounded out the top ten.
Maloney now holds a 15-point lead heading to Australia in a fortnight’s time ahead of Fittipaldi who moved up to second in the standings with Hauger rounding out the top three a further point behind the Brazilian.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Enzo Fittipaldi | VAR | 28 | 56m 57.579 |
| 2 | Kush Maini | Invicta Racing | 28 | + 7.895 |
| 3 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 28 | + 9.348 |
| 4 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | 28 | + 9.379 |
| 5 | Amaury Cordeel | Hitech GP | 28 | + 9.506 |
| 6 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | PREMA | 28 | + 10.044 |
| 7 | Zane Maloney | Rodin | 28 | + 10.442 |
| 8 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 28 | + 11.824 |
| 9 | Rafael Villagomez | VAR | 28 | + 17.541 |
| 10 | Victor Martins | ART GP | 28 | + 20.680 |
| 11 | Paul Aron | Hitech GP | 28 | + 25.134 |
| 12 | Joshua Durksen | PHM Racing | 28 | + 26.269 |
| 13 | Taylor Barnard | PHM Racing | 28 | + 30.424 |
| 14 | Juan Manuel Correa | DAMS | 28 | + 38.415 |
| 15 | Ritomo Miyata | Rodin | 28 | + 40.805 |
| 16 | Zak O’Sullivan | ART GP | 23 | Spin |
| 17 | Isack Hadjar | Campos | 18 | Mechanical |
| 18 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 14 | Spin |
| 19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Invicta Racing | 0 | Differential |
| 20 | Pepe Marti | Campos | 0 | Spin |
| 21 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 0 | Crash |
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