It was back to school for the Formula 2 drivers. In Zandvoort, the weekend was chaotic for Théo Pourchaire under extreme conditions.
Rainy return, happy return? A saying that doesn’t always hold true. At least not for Théo Pourchaire. Tenth after the qualifying session, the driver from Grasse was supposed to start from pole position in Saturday’s sprint race. Except that during the formation lap, the Frenchman’s ART was victim of a transmission failure on the right rear wheel. As a result, he ultimately started from the pit lane after a quick repair.
In rainy conditions, the race was marked by numerous collisions quickly resulting in a red flag. As the conditions worsened, the track marshals decided not to restart the race. Not having completed enough laps on track, no driver scored any points. A first stroke of luck for Théo Pourchaire.
The leaders at a standstill
For Sunday’s long race, the conditions were mixed. On a track still wet and cold, making the right tire choice was challenging. While almost the entire grid started on wet tires, the risk proved very high. The first to pay the price was Frederic Vesti. Théo Pourchaire’s championship rival made a mistake at the first corner. He rejoined the race further down the order while the Maralpin took advantage of the race developments to climb to sixth place. Following two safety car interventions, the drivers pitted to switch to medium tires. Moving up to second by being the last to change his tires, Théo Pourchaire gained an advantage over Isac Hadjar. In a provisional fifth position, the local driver pushed a bit too hard on his first lap and made a mistake.
With a destroyed car, he watched Frederic Vesti climb back up and have the opportunity to gain valuable points in the title race. But just a lap later, the Dane found himself facing the wrong way on the track without rear wheels. An incredible stroke of fate that allowed the Frenchman to maintain the championship lead without scoring a single point. Considering Jack Doohan’s retirement and Ayumu Iwassa’s 13th place finish, none of the title contenders scored any points during this weekend.
Now, they will have to bounce back next weekend at Monza.
