Formula 2: A frustrating Zandvoort for Bearman e Leclerc

The racing was chaotic and the two Ferrari Driver Academy students paid the price for unforeseen circumstances and bad luck. So now the attention turns immediately to Monza.

The eleventh round of the Formula 2 season at Zandvoort was very frustrating for Oliver Bearman and Arthur Leclerc. The first race was stopped after just one lap and no points were given out. In the Feature Race Bearman retired after being hit by another car and Leclerc had to settle for 14th place.

All wrong. “Everything that could have gone wrong for us did,” commented Oliver. “It’s hard to accept because we were very quick. In the Feature Race I was clipped at the first corner and then driven into by another competitor. What can one say, a very very unlucky day, but if I look at the aspects that the team and I could control then I can be satisfied. Now we just have to focus on the coming weekend in Monza.” Leclerc’s troubles started in qualifying. “The three red flags meant I was unable to qualify as well as I should have,” explained Arthur. “Then in the Feature Race there was a problem at the pit stop which cost me several places and, at this track, moving up the order is very difficult. All that meant I was unable to finish in the points, a shame, because looking at my lap times, we could easily have done that.”

Sprint Race. It began to rain hard an hour before the Sprint Race, increasing in intensity as the drivers formed up on the grid so the race was started behind the Safety Car. Bearman immediately got ahead of Juan Manuel Correa at turn 1, the famous “Tarzan,” to move up to third. Then, a collision between Jak Crawford and Ralph Boschung at the exit to Hugenholtz triggered a dangerous accident also involving Kushi Maini. It was a brutal impact but fortunately no one was hurt. The race was red flagged, but once the damaged cars were cleared away it took 30 minutes to repair the barriers after which it began to rain heavily again and the race was abandoned with no points allocated as fewer than two full laps were completed. So Bearman had no points, despite finishing third.

Feature Race. The main race began on a damp track, with Bearman starting on slicks, while Leclerc opted for rain tyres for the rolling start. The track proved too slippery for those who went with the dry weather tyres. At turn 1, Bearman was hit by Correa, ending up in the gravel trap, dropping to 14th. Then the Safety Car came out, the race resuming at the end of lap 3. The track dried quickly, so Leclerc had to pit on lap 5 for slicks, the stop taking longer than usual. On lap 9, the Safety Car came out again when Theo Pourchaire crashed, the race resuming after five laps with Bearman sixth. At the restart, Oliver got ahead of Victor Martins, who then attacked him down the inside of turn 3, pushing him into the outside barrier, for which he picked up a 10 second penalty. Unfortunately, that was the end of Bearman’s race as his car was too badly damaged to continue. Leclerc had an uphill struggle, restarting 17th and taking the chequered flag in 14th place.