Australian F2 Grand Prix 2025 Roundup

The F2 season was off to a chaotic start at the 2025 Australian GP, as Albert Park hosted the series’ season opener for the first time. In a weekend filled with highs and lows, the teams navigated adverse weather, penalties and power outages. While the track cleared up in time for the Formula 1 race to take place later on Sunday, the F2 Feature race was abandoned as torrential rain hit Albert Park for the umpteenth time this weekend.

The Paddock Headlines:

TORRENTIAL RAIN wreaked havoc across the 2025 Australian GP weekend, causing carnage on-track and disrupting the running for the F2 teams and drivers.
POWER CUTS affected the performance of multiple cars in the weekend Practice session, leaving the FIA, Formula 2 and the teams scrambling to resolve the solution before the rest of the weekend got underway.
GRID PENALTIES, which must now be served in both races in a weekend, were dealt to five drivers, dropping them down the grid ahead of the races. Four drivers were demoted ten places for technical infringements during pre-season testing. Provisional Feature race polesitter Gabriele Minì was dealt a three-place grid penalty for impeding DAMS driver Jak Crawford in Qualifying.
THE FIRST VICTORY OF THE SEASON went to Paraguayan prodigy Joshua Duerksen. The AIX driver dominated the Sprint Race and navigated two Safety Car restarts to take the top spot on the podium for the third time in his F2 career. Having won the final Feature Race last year in Abu Dhabi, Duerksen has bookended winter break with the first win in 2025.
THE FEATURE RACE WAS ABANDONED as another bout of torrential rain battered Albert Park and the track was considered too dangerous to drive on. The only one to gain from the disappointment of the cancellation was Victor Martins, who gained two points for securing Pole Position earlier in the weekend.

A Tumultuous Start in Albert Park

In a chaotic practice session, ART GP’s Victor Martins set the pace, topping the timesheets at the end of the session amidst a slew of red flags. The Frenchman clocked a 1:32.587, edging out DAMS Lucas Oil’s Kush Maini and AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen. However, the session ground to a halt as driver after driver found themselves in the barriers—Rodin’s Alexander Dunne was first to find himself in trouble, beaching himself in the gravel at Turn 11 after hitting the barrier.

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Oliver Goethe spun off at Turn 10, sending his MP Motorsport out of the session after stopping on track a short while later. Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad – who recently made headlines amidst reports of a Super Licence Exemption for the 17-year-old – was off at the same corner in the final minutes of the session. The session was called off when, on the same lap, Amaury Cordeel was into the gravel at Turn 13.

Adding to the complete chaos of the first session of the season, Formula 2 reported cuts in power to a number of cars in the session which “compromised their performance”. They were able to partially resolve this ahead of the Qualifying session, adding in a fifteen-minute shakedown to test the solution ahead of the Sprint, however the body admitted that the problem was not completely solved. In a statement, Formula 2 said they’d continue to look for a full solution;

“Together with the FIA and the Formula 2 teams, Formula 2 is hard at work to understand the origin of the problem and to find a full fix.”

It was three veterans at the top of the timesheet as the cars returned to the pits; Martins was trailed by Kush Maini and Joshua Duerksen in the timesheets, showing early-season promise.

Martins Inherits Pole

Qualifying was equally dramatic, with Gabriele Minì snatching pole position from Martins on his final lap. The session saw contact between Max Esterson and Oliver Goethe, who was off to a rocky start this weekend, at the penultimate corner, forcing both drivers into the pits for repairs and triggering a post-session investigation. Despite a flurry of late improvements, Minì’s 1:29.286 lap secured the top spot, with Martins settling for second and Jak Crawford in third.

The grid had been provisionally set, but a slew of penalties post-race saw Minì stripped of his pole position. The PREMA driver was summoned to the Stewards for impeding Crawford, who was also one of four drivers demoted following pre-season testing infraction penalties. Crawford, along with Cordeel and Dunne of Rodin Motorsport and Trident’s Max Esterson, were handed ten-place grid penalties for both races after their cars were discovered to have modified a standard car part outside of regulation. Stewards came down on the teams with the grid penalties and also a €10,000 fine per car, determining that the action could have been used as an advantage in the discipline which uses 22 identical cars.

FEATURE RACE STARTING 4:

P1: Victor MARTINS (ART)
P2: Richard VERSCHOOR (MP)
P3: Roman STANEK (Invicta)
P4: Gabriele MINÌ (PREMA)

SPRINT RACE STARTING 4:

P1: Leonardo FORNAROLI (INVICTA)
P2: Joshua DUERKSEN (AIX)
P3: Luke BROWNING (Hitech)
P4: Dino BEGANOVIC (Hitech)

Duerksen Dominates Sprint Race Amid Incidents

Saturday’s 23-lap Sprint Race saw Joshua Duerksen claim a commanding victory, making the most of a strong getaway from P2 on the grid. The AIX Racing driver had to navigate two Safety Car restarts and fended off pressure from rookie Fornaroli to secure the first win of the Formula 2 season. Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning rounded out the podium in third.

The session was once again plagued by multiple incidents. Victor Martins, hot off the back of two solid sessions at the beginning of the weekend, had his race ended prematurely after hitting the barrier at Turn 6 on Lap 3. The shunt brought out the first Safety Car of the race. To add to his woes, the damaged his suspension as he slammed into the barriers, caught up in a battle for position. Trident’s Max Esterson was the next driver of the weekend to take a trip into the the gravel at Turn 10, triggering a second caution period. The American driver had already been dealt his grid penalty, and found himself out of the race altogether. Further drama unfolded when Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney suffered a puncture following contact with Roman Staněk, forcing him into retirement.

Despite the Safety Car interruptions, Duerksen managed the restarts and extended his lead at the end of the race to cruise to the win. Fornaroli and Browning were locked in a close battle for the remaining podium places behind, with rookie Fornaroli emerging in P2 followed by the Brit. Speaking in the Formula 2 press conference following the Sprint, Fornaroli said he’s happy with the result for his first Formula 2 race;

“Yesterday, we proved we’re very competitive even with a messy second set, but still, happy about today’s result. Unfortunately, I lost the lead before T1 then I tried in all the ways to retake that P1, but we lacked a bit of pace today. But still, first race and I have a podium. So, happy about today.”

TOP 4 FINISHERS:

P1: Joshua DUERKSEN (AIX)
P2: Leonardo FORNAROLI (Invicta)
P3: Luke BROWNING (Hitech)
P4: Richard VERSCHOOR (MP)

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A Premature End to the Weekend As Feature Race Cancelled

Sunday’s highly anticipated Feature Race never got underway, as torrential rain washed out any hopes of running for the F2 drivers. The race start was initially delayed and later red-flagged, before officials ultimately decided to call it off due to unsafe conditions. No points were awarded, except for Martins, who gained two points for securing pole position.

FIA Formula 2 CEO Bruno Michel expressed disappointment over the cancellation but emphasised safety as the priority;

“We tried everything we could to make it happen, but ultimately, the track conditions were too dangerous,” he stated. “We now focus on Bahrain.”

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Looking Ahead: Bahrain Next on the Calendar

With the Melbourne weekend concluding under torrid circumstances, teams and drivers now turn their attention to Round 2 in Bahrain from on the 11th to 13th of April. Duerksen leads the standings heading into the desert, but with a full Feature Race on the horizon, and last year’s Championship coming down to the very last race of the season, the battle for the title has barely begun.