Hadjar holds off Bortoleto for win after Bearman’s pit stop disaster

Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar took his second consecutive Formula 2 feature race win at Imola after resisting heavy pressure from Gabriel Bortoleto.

The Campos driver took advantage of a pit stop error for early race leader Oliver Bearmanand then kept his cool under pressure from Bortoleto to win by less than a second.

Pole winner Gabriel Bortoleto made a poor start, allowing Bearman to take the early lead ahead of Isack Hadjar and Joshua Duerksen in third. With all of the leaders having started on soft tyres, it took until only the end of lap six for Hadjar and Duerksen to pit for hard tyres.

Bearman stopped from the lead on the next lap but he stalled, twice, as he attempted to leave the pit box, dropping him from the lead down to 21st. That gave Hadjar the effective lead of the race in seventh behind six drivers who had started on hards.

It took until the end of lap 30 for on-track race leader Amaury Cordeel to eventually pit with several other hard runners making their stops with him. However, Cordeel’s right-rear wheel came off as he exited the pit lane, though fortunately no one appeared to be struck by the flying wheel.

Incredibly, the same happened to Pepe Marti’s left-rear wheel when he pitted at the same time. Again there appeared to be no injuries, but both drivers were eliminated from the race.

Hadjar assumed the lead but came under instant pressure from Bortoleto behind. The fight for the win came down to the final lap, with Bortoleto coming agonisingly close to the Campos car. However, Hadjar was unfazed and kept his cool to hold onto the lead and claim his second consecutive feature race win by just half a second.

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Duerksen claimed the final podium position in third, 13 seconds behind the leading duo, taking his first rostrum finish in the championship. Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli was fourth ahead of sprint race winner Franco Colapinto.

Paul Aron finished in sixth, followed byJak Crawford and Juan Manuel Correa, the latter claiming his first points of the season. Victor Martins and Richard Verschoor took the final points in ninth and tenth.

Despite failing to score, Zane Maloney continues to lead the championship with 68 points, with Aron now five points behind in second. Hadjar’s win moves him up to third ahead of Dennis Hauger.

Formula 2 Italy race two results

Position	Car	Driver	Team
1	20	Isack Hadjar	Campos
2	10	Gabriel Bortoleto	Invicta
3	24	Joshua Duerksen	PHM
4	4	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	Prema
5	12	Franco Colapinto	MP Motorsport
6	17	Paul Aron	Hitech
7	7	Jak Crawford	DAMS
8	8	Juan Manuel Correa	DAMS
9	1	Victor Martins	ART
10	22	Richard Verschoor	Trident
11	5	Zane Maloney	Rodin
12	11	Dennis Hauger	MP Motorsport
13	2	Zak O’Sullivan	ART
14	9	Kush Maini	Invicta
15	6	Ritomo Miyata	Rodin
16	15	Rafael Villagomez	Van Amersfoort
17	14	Enzo Fittipaldi	Van Amersfoort
18	23	Roman Stanek	Trident
19	3	Ollie Bearman	Prema
20	25	Taylor Barnard	PHM
DNF	16	Amaury Cordeel	Hitech
DNF	21	Josep Maria Marti	Campos

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