Richard Verschoor snatched a dramatic Feature Race victory in Jeddah, executing a brilliant alternative strategy to deny his rivals in a captivating final-lap showdown.
The MP Motorsport driver hunted down DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford in a breathtaking final tour, while ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins secured the final spot on the podium in third.
Race Highlights:
The race began with Crawford holding off Martins from the front row. Behind them, Sprint Race winner Arvid Lindblad lost ground early, falling from fifth to seventh within the opening two laps after battles with Luke Browning and Campos Racing teammate Josep María Martí. Martí’s clean outside pass on Lindblad through Turns 1 and 2 was a highlight of the initial laps.
Browning, having shadowed Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli, used DRS effectively on Lap 6 to seize third place. Alexander Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) then made a late dive to demote Fornaroli further down the order.
The strategic element of the race began to unfold on Lap 7 as Fornaroli, Martí, and Gabriele Minì (Prema Racing) opted for their mandatory pit stops, switching to the Medium compound tyres. This promoted Richard Verschoor, who had started on the Soft tyres, into clear air in fifth position, making him the highest-placed driver on the alternative strategy.
Leader Crawford pitted on the following lap, along with Browning and Dunne. They rejoined the race on Medium tyres in 11th, 12th, and 13th respectively. Martins, running a longer first stint, made his pit stop on Lap 9, re-emerging in ninth place, just ahead of Crawford.
An intense moment occurred between Dunne and Browning as they went wheel-to-wheel into Turn 1. Dunne ran wide, rejoining and forcing Browning to concede a position to Fornaroli. However, following team orders, Dunne later relinquished the place back to his Hitech TGR rival.
A brief Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period was deployed to clear debris, just as Martins and Crawford approached the first DRS zone. This offered a temporary reprieve for Martins, whose tyres were still coming up to temperature.
As the VSC ended on Lap 19, Crawford was hot on the heels of the effective race leader, Martins. The DAMS driver used DRS to pull alongside the Frenchman into Turn 1, and the pair remained side-by-side until Turn 4, where Crawford had to slot back in behind Martins. Crawford finally made the move stick on the following lap, using DRS out of Turn 27 to take ninth place from Martins.
Further back, Martí made decisive moves, first overtaking Dunne for 13th and then clearing Browning for 12th on Lap 16.
Meanwhile, race leader Verschoor was maintaining a consistent pace, building a comfortable gap over second-placed Kush Maini (Invicta Racing) and consistently lapping quicker than Crawford, setting multiple purple sector times and fastest laps.
By Lap 24, Verschoor had established a significant 26.8-second lead over Crawford and finally pitted for his mandatory tyre change, switching to the quicker Supersoft compound. A clean pit stop saw him rejoin behind Crawford but crucially ahead of Martins in fourth.
With just four laps remaining, Verschoor was three seconds adrift of Crawford. The gap narrowed to 2.5 seconds with three laps to go and then to a mere 1.3 seconds as they crossed the line into the penultimate lap.
The tension reached its peak on the final lap. Verschoor entered DRS range through the first sector and, with a brilliant exit out of Turn 27, used the DRS along the main straight to surge past Crawford and snatch the race lead in a dramatic final-lap overtake.
Richard Verschoor crossed the finish line to claim a well-deserved victory in a true redemption drive. Crawford finished second, with Martins holding off a late charge from Fornaroli to secure the final podium position. Martí finished fifth, followed by Browning, Lindblad, Dunne, Minì, and Maini completing the top ten.
Championship Standings Update:
Richard Verschoor’s victory propels him to the lead of the Drivers’ Championship with 53 points. Josep María Martí sits second with 41 points, closely followed by Leonardo Fornaroli in third with 40 points, continuing his impressive start to his rookie season. Alexander Dunne is fourth with 35 points, and Luke Browning occupies fifth with 33 points.
In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing lead with a total of 65 points, ahead of MP Motorsport on 59. Invicta Racing are third with 48 points, with Hitech TGR just behind in fourth with 45 points. Rodin Motorsport are fifth with 35 points.
Up Next:
The FIA Formula 2 Championship will take a short break before resuming with Round 4 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola from May 16-18.