F2 Saudi Arabia GP review: Verschoor triumphs, Lindblad makes history

As the Formula 2 championship continued its Middle Eastern tour after Bahrain and Melbourne, Jeddah’s ultra-fast street circuit provided plenty of twists during the third race of the 2025 season. Between the historic victory of the youngest winner in F2 history and the strong comeback of Richard Verschoor, the Saudi weekend reshuffled the championship standings.

Free practice: Martins leads the way

In the heat of Jeddah, Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) immediately set the pace by recording the fastest time in the free practice with a lap of 1:45.671. The Frenchman was ahead of Roman Stanek (Invicta Racing) by 0.146 seconds and Dino Beganovic (Hitech GP) by 0.319 seconds. These sessions took place during the day, in much hotter conditions than those expected for the evening’s qualifying and races.

Despite an initially deserted track for the first ten minutes, the activity gradually intensified. Joshua Duerksen (AIX Racing) was the first to set a benchmark time, which was quickly improved by Gabriele Mini, and then by Martins, who ultimately maintained his advantage until the end of the session.

Free practice ranking

Qualifications: Crawford emerges victorious at the last moment

The qualifying sessions saw multiple twists and turns, culminating in a suspenseful finish. While Victor Martins appeared to have secured his first pole position of 2025 with a time of 1:43.601, it was ultimately the American Jak Crawford (DAMS) who clinched the top spot on his final flying lap. With a time of 1:43.579, he edged out the Frenchman by just 0.022 seconds.

The session was interrupted by a red flag ten minutes before the end following John Bennett’s (Van Amersfoort Racing) accident at turn 17. When it resumed, all the drivers had only one flying lap, adding considerable pressure to their final attempt.

Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing) completed the top three, followed by Luke Browning (Hitech GP) and Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing). Richard Verschoor, who was set to play a major role this weekend, qualified in ninth position.

Roman Stanek, initially tenth and therefore in reverse pole position for the sprint race, received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Alexander Dunne, thus promoting Verschoor to pole for the sprint.

Qualification standings

Sprint Race: Lindblad Makes History

Saturday’s sprint race saw Richard Verschoor cross the finish line first, but it was ultimately Arvid Lindblad who was declared the winner after a five-second penalty was applied to the Dutch driver.

Verschoor, starting from pole, had dominated the majority of the race. After briefly losing the lead to Pepe Martí on the fourth lap, he regained the advantage on the following lap. But this maneuver cost him dearly: the stewards judged that he had forced Martí off the track and imposed a five-second penalty on him.

This verdict allowed Lindblad to achieve his first F2 victory at just 17 years old, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the championship. His teammate Martí finished second, giving Campos Racing its first one-two finish in F2. Alexander Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) completed the podium.

The race was marked by a virtual safety car intervention after Cian Shields’ accident on the first lap, followed by a full safety car due to a collision between Jak Crawford and Gabriele Mini on the 15th lap.

Sprint race results

Main Race: Verschoor Takes His Revenge

Determined to erase the previous day’s disappointment, Richard Verschoor delivered a masterful performance during Sunday’s main race. Starting ninth on the grid, the MP Motorsport driver opted for an alternative strategy by starting on medium tires while most of his opponents chose the supersofts.

This decision proved to be rewarding. While the leaders made their pit stops as early as the seventh lap, Verschoor extended his first stint, maintaining an impressive pace despite worn tires. He even set several fastest laps consecutively.

When he finally stopped on the 24th lap of the 28-lap race, he came out in fourth place, behind Crawford but ahead of Martins. With new supersoft tires, he quickly made up the gap to the leader and overtook him in the first corner of the last lap to win brilliantly.

Crawford finished second, followed by Martins who held off Fornaroli for the final spot on the podium. This victory propelled Verschoor to the top of the drivers’ championship.

Results of the main race

Assessment and Rankings: Verschoor and Campos Take the Lead

At the end of this third round, Richard Verschoor takes the lead in the championship with 53 points, ahead of Leonardo Fornaroli (42 points) and Pepe Martí (41 points). Alexander Dunne and Luke Browning complete the top 5 with 35 and 33 points respectively.

On the teams’ side, Campos Racing takes the lead in the constructors’ standings with 65 points, ahead of MP Motorsport (59 points) and Invicta Racing (48 points). Hightech TGR follows closely with 45 points.

The championship now heads towards its first European round, with a balance of power quite different from before Jeddah. The 2025 season promises to be more competitive than ever, with already three different winners in six races.

Drivers’ standings after 3 rounds

Team standings after 3 rounds