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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Ireland's Alex Dunne demoted from Belgian F2 Grand Prix race win to ninth after being hit with ten-second penalty
The Offaly native had earlier moved back to the top of the title race after securing what seemed to be a commanding feature race win in the wet at Spa-Francorchamps circuit for Rodin Motorsport. Dunne, who had dominated qualifying in dry weather on Friday, had delivered a composed drive in challenging conditions to take the chequered flag and went through the podium presentation before being summoned to the stewards. An investigation then found that the Irishman had failed to activate the start set-up procedure at the beginning of the formation lap. The ruling stated that Dunne had checked with his team but been advised it wasn't necessary with the race starting behind the safety car due to the heavy rain. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content "Following the conclusion of Sunday's Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race, Rodin Motorsport's Alexander Dunne has been penalised,' the ruling stated. "After the race, Car 17 was referred to the Stewards by the Technical Delegate for an alleged breach of Article 1.6.1 FIA Formula 2 Technical Regulations, after failing to engage the start-up procedure, "A defined set-up procedure activation must be used during all formation starts and race starts and Car 17's data shows that the driver did not engage the starting procedure. "The Stewards then spoke to a team representative and the driver and having considered the matter extensively elected to give Dunne a 10-second time penalty in accordance with the FIA F2 penalty guideline. This means he loses the Spa Francorchamps Feature Race victory." With his main championship rivals starting down the grid, Dunne had made the most of his pole position advantage when the rolling start eventually got the action underway. The McLaren junior managed the early laps well, building a comfortable lead before being called into the pits as his wet tyres began to degrade. Upon rejoining, he came under immediate pressure from Invicta Racing's Roman Stanek, but defended strongly to retain his position as effective race leader. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The 19-year-old then found himself behind MP Motorsport's Ollie Goethe, who had yet to pit, but made a superb overtake around the outside to set up what looked like a straightforward run to the finish. However, a late-race safety car bunched up the field with just five laps remaining after Sebastian Montoya aquaplaned and spun across the track before stalling. A further incident behind the safety car when Goethe's engine blew led to the race being red-flagged and declared with one lap to go, confirming Dunne as the winner, only for the result to be later overturned. Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad was initially promoted to the race win from second until falling foul of the stewards himself where a tyre pressure issue led to his disqualification, meaning Czech driver Roman Stanek was declared the winner from his initial third place. The amended result means Dunne remains fourth in the standings, 11 points behind new leader Leonardo Fornaroli after other title rivals Richard Verschoor and Jak Crawford both failed to score. There are now five rounds remaining in the season with Dunne returning to action next weekend at the Hungaroring in Budapest where he'll look to put today's disappointment behind him as the title battle heats up.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Ireland's Alex Dunne produces masterful wet drive at Spa-Francorchamps to claim victory and move top of F2 Championship
The Offaly native, who had dominated qualifying in dry weather on Friday, delivered a composed drive in challenging conditions to take maximum points and reclaim the lead in the title race. The Belgian track, where Jordan had their first Formula 1 race win when Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher secured a famous one-two in similar conditions 27 years ago, now has another Irish success to add to its storied history. With his main championship rivals starting down the grid, Dunne made the most of his pole position advantage after a formation lap behind the safety car due to the conditions, before a rolling start eventually got the action underway. The McLaren junior managed the early laps well, building a comfortable lead before being called into the pits as his wet tyres began to degrade. Upon rejoining, he came under immediate pressure from Invicta Racing's Roman Stanek, but defended strongly to retain his position as effective race leader. The 19-year-old then found himself behind MP Motorsport's Ollie Goethe, who had yet to pit, but made a superb overtake around the outside to set up what looked like a straightforward run to the finish. However, a late-race safety car bunched up the field with just five laps remaining after Sebastian Montoya aquaplaned and spun across the track before stalling. A further incident behind the safety car when Goethe's engine blew led to the race being red-flagged and declared with one lap to go, confirming Dunne as the winner. Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad was second and Czech driver Roman Stanek completed the podium in third. "I had to work really hard for that one," Dunne said afterwards. "It was really tough." The result moves Dunne ahead of Richard Verschoor at the top of the championship standings by 15 points after Verschoor and title rival Jak Crawford both failed to score. There are now five rounds remaining in the season with Dunne returning to action next weekend at the Hungaroring in Budapest as the title battle heats up.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Offaly's Alex Dunne storms to pole after dominating F2 qualifying at Belgian Grand Prix
The 18-year-old from Offaly, backed by McLaren and driving for Rodin Motorsport, laid down a marker early in the session, topping the timesheets by the slimmest of margins – just 0.003 seconds ahead of Invicta Racing's Leonardo Fornaroli. Fornaroli briefly fought back to take provisional pole, but Dunne responded in style, going more than four-tenths faster with a commanding lap featuring purple sectors across the board. With a fresh set of tyres in the closing stages, Dunne found yet more pace, clocking a superb 1:56.151 – a time none of his rivals could come close to matching. ART Grand Prix pair Victor Martins and Ritomo Miyata tried to mount a challenge, with the latter ultimately slotting into second ahead of Invicta's Roman Stanek. All three finished over four-tenths adrift of Dunne's benchmark. Behind the front rows, Campos Racing's Arvid Lindblad and Pepe Marti will start fifth and sixth, just ahead of Fornaroli and Gabriele Mini. Dunne's Rodin team-mate Amaury Cordeel, racing on home soil, took ninth. There was drama further down the order as Oliver Goethe, who had yet to register a representative time, surged to second on his first lap with the second tyre set. The MP Motorsport driver eventually fell to 10th, but it was enough to secure reversed-grid pole for Saturday's sprint – narrowly denying his team-mate and championship leader Richard Verschoor. Hitech pair Luke Browning and Dino Beganovic were among those unable to complete a final flying lap having not crossed the start line before the flag ending the session came down, finishing 12th and 13th respectively. Just behind them was Jak Crawford, Verschoor's nearest challenger in the title race at six points back with Dunne a further eight behind in third.
