Iwasa starts the race in 6th and regains the same position on the final lap to finish the race
Zandvoort CircuitRound 12’s Sprint Race in the FIA Formula 2 Championship took place at the Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands.
In the qualifying session on Friday 2 September, Ayumu Iwasa, a Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP) driver qualified 5th, 0.002 seconds behind 3rd. He started from P6 in Row 3 in the Sprint Race, where a reverse grid is applied.
Under sunny skies with an ambient temperature of 27°C and a track temperature of 38°C, the formation lap of the Sprint Race got underway at 5:00pm. Despite having held his position at the start, Iwasa was passed by a trailing car at the crowded Turn 3 to drop to 7th.
On this track, tyre degradation is challenging, and it is difficult to overtake. As such, each car controlled its pace from the early stages and the race entered the final stage with the top positions unchanged. Iwasa also maintained his 7th position, keeping the gap to the car in front within one second.
With five laps to go in the race, it was time for the cars with some reserve in their tyre performance to pick up the pace and try to improve positions. However, on Lap 26, a car at the back of the field stopped on the gravel and the Safety Car was brought on. As the race resumed on the final lap (# 29), Iwasa overtook a car in the first corner and climbed to 6th. He closed the gap with another car in front in his attempt to overtake, but came up a little short, finishing 6th and earning three points.
In the end, it was a positive race, especially on the last lap I was able to overtake on the restart after the SC. My start wasn't perfect, and I was caught up by another car, but I managed to keep my position. However, on Turn 3, as I intended to use the bank to accelerate, my acceleration slowed due to a jam in front. Then a car coming from the inside passed me. My car had good potential, so if I had got a perfect start I think I could have finished 4th or 5th. I was good in nursing the tyres, so I was able to increase my pace in the second half of the race. I had at least two chances to overtake. We are in good shape overall and I'm looking forward to the Feature Race. It is likely to be quite limited for movement in the field again, so I will concentrate on the start and [tyre] strategy to aim for a top position.
In the end, it was a positive race, especially on the last lap I was able to overtake on the restart after the SC. My start wasn't perfect, and I was caught up by another car, but I managed to keep my position. However, on Turn 3, as I intended to use the bank to accelerate, my acceleration slowed due to a jam in front. Then a car coming from the inside passed me. My car had good potential, so if I had got a perfect start I think I could have finished 4th or 5th. I was good in nursing the tyres, so I was able to increase my pace in the second half of the race. I had at least two chances to overtake. We are in good shape overall and I'm looking forward to the Feature Race. It is likely to be quite limited for movement in the field again, so I will concentrate on the start and [tyre] strategy to aim for a top position.
