Formula 2 went racing for one final time in 2025 around the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi with some final twists in the season finale. Here’s how it all unfolded.
The Paddock Headlines
- Jak Crawford set the fastest time of 1:39.545 in the final Practice Session of 2025 in Abu Dhabi.
- Roman Stanek secured Pole Position for Sunday’s Feature Race.
- Arvid Lindblad claimed Reverse Pole for Saturday’s Sprint Race.
- Arvid Lindblad cruised to victory in a dominant Sprint Race.
- Joshua Dürksen won the final race of the year in Sunday’s Feature Race with Stanek and Mini beside him on the Podium.
- Invicta Racing were crowned Team’s Champions for the second consecutive year.
Free Practice – Crawford Leads the Way
In the opening stages of the final practice session of the year, a flurry of drivers duked it out with one another to claim first blood. Montoya, Verschoor, Dürksen, Goethe and Mini all traded fastest lap times in a bid to outdo each other. Newly announced Formula 1 driver for 2026 Arvid Lindblad briefly went to P1 for Campos Racing too. But his effort was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Lindblad, Mini and Crawford fought further in the dying moments of the session. But in the end, the spoils went to Crawford, just under a tenth of a second clear of everyone else. Mini, Lindblad, Dürksen and Goethe completed the top five.
Meanwhile, Lindblad, Browning, Crawford and Shields all had the chance to show their worth in FP1 over in Formula 1 too. They were driving for Red Bull, Williams and Aston Martin respectively. The four drivers finished as listed above, in P15, P18, P19 and P20.
Qualifying – Stanek Strikes Back
Sebastian Montoya once again attempted to set the early pace as qualifying got underway. But Jak Crawford threw a spanner into the works for the Colombian driver, setting a time 0.339s quicker. Montoya fought back to go quicker still, only for Dürksen to steal the top spot away from him on this occassion. Recently crowned 2025 Formula 2 Champion, Leonardo Fornaroli then squeezed between the pair of them.
But in the end, it was Fornaroli’s teammate, Roman Stanek who spoiled the party for everyone else with a time of 1:36.836 placing him firmly out in front. Despite everyone else’s best efforts, none would be enough to topple the Czech driver. He secured his second Pole Position of the season, having last done so in Budapest.
“The car was on rails, and I’m very happy with it.” – Roman Stanek
Crawford, Fornaroli, Beganovic and Montoya rounded out the top five. Goethe, Martins, Dürksen, Tsolov and Lindblad would complete the top ten. As a result, Lindblad would take Reverse Pole for Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Dunne, Verschoor and Browning were all in the fight for P2 in the Driver’s Championship this weekend. But they all had their work cut out for them with only P11, P12 and P17 the highest they could each manage respectively.
Post qualifying, Tsolov was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Browning. Maini was also referred to the stewards who determined that the rear tyres from the second set used by Maini had been fitted to the incorrect side of the car. All lap times set on that set of tyres were subsequently deleted, leaving Maini ultimately in P20 for the weekend’s races.
Sprint Race – Lindblad Dominates
Launching from Pole Position comfortably into the lead as he headed into T1, Arvid Lindblad controlled the penultimate race of the year from start to finish. Similar to the race weekend in Qatar, the Sprint Race in Abu Dhabi felt more like an Endurance Race than a Sprint. Tyre management and keeping an eye on those behind were critical elements to ensure success at the Yas Marina Circuit. Even with two Virtual Safety Car periods, nothing seemed to fluster Lindblad all race long and twenty three laps later, the recently minted Formula 1 driver for 2026 crossed the line in first. It was his third victory of the year after winning in Saudi Arabia and Spain
“I think we were really good the first half of the race and then I didn’t manage everything perfectly. I gave Joshua a bit of a sniff in the second part of the race. A few things to work on but good enough for the win.” – Arvid Lindblad
Best of the Rest in Abu Dhabi
Try as he might, Joshua Dürksen would have to settle for P2 come the end of the Sprint Race. It’s his fourth second place finish in the last six races in what is set to be an incredibly strong end to the season for the Paraguayan driver. Behind him on the final step of the podium was Nikola Tsolov – in just his third ever Formula 2 race. The Bulgarian driver helped to keep Campos Racing in the battle for the Team’s Championship with his podium too – and is already proving that the Spanish outfit made the right choice by signing him to race for them in 2026.
“Nikola is always learning and improving. He is the only one of the drivers that came for the last two rounds that is up there fighting with the big guys. Very happy for him, and very proud of the year that he is doing.” – Adrián Campos Jr
Ones to Watch
Dino Beganovic had a strong race to finish in fourth. He got past the likes of Victor Martins and Ollie Goethe on his way there, making statement moves on both to get further up the order.
Behind them, Jak Crawford was on a charge too as he did what he could to secure second place in the Driver’s Championship. Clinical clean moves from the American came to end however when he attempted to get past Martins in the closing stage of the race. The pair made contact, leaving the DAMS car with front wing damage. But Crawford was still able to take P6 heading into Turn 9. Going into Sunday, he had a three point lead over Verschoor in P3 overall.
Bad Day in the Office
It wasn’t such a good day in the office for Fornaroli, Verschoor, Montoya, Browning or Stenshorne. Having wrapped up the title in Qatar, Fornaroli proceeded to have his worst finishing result of the season in P11. Post race, he was then handed a ten second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage when battling Verschoor. He dropped down to P17 as a result.
Verschoor meanwhile left the Sprint Race pointless, thereby putting securing P2 in the Championship at risk. Elsewhere, Montoya stalled at the start of the race, dropping to the rear of the field and could only make it back up as far as P13.
Browning struggled again after his poor qualifying session and would finish in P20. The most recent time before this weekend that he scored points was back in the Sprint Race in Baku when he finished in second. Finally, after avoiding making contact with cars around him at the start, Stenshorne launched his car into the air at T1 on Lap 1 before eventually retiring from the race. If he didn’t have bad luck in Formula 2, he’d have virtually no luck at all.
Feature Race – Dürksen Wins
Sunday’s Feature Race was a completely different affair from Saturday’s Sprint. There was action immediately off the line as Beganovic slipped past Fornaroli for P3 on the inside of T1. The Swede then went one better as he got past Crawford for second a few corners later. Dürksen too made progress up the order at the start as he found a way past the recently crowned Formula 2 Champion of Fornaroli.
The close, clean racing wouldn’t last for long though. On Lap two, Dunne and Martins made contact with one another coming out of T7. This was then compounded as Shields ploughed straight into Dunne who was stuck in the middle of the circuit. Unsurprisngly, the Safety Car came out as a result.
Pit Stops & Another Safety Car
Racing got underway again on lap six and on the following lap, those on the super soft tyres made their mandatory pit stop to switch onto the medium tyres. As drivers tried to out strategize one another, Sebastian Montoya threw a spanner into the works for everyone by pulling over to the side of the track to retire from the race. An initial VSC turned into a full Safety Car one lap later with racing not resuming until lap fifteen.
Fornaroli now led the race with Lindblad closing in behind him. The two battled hard for the lead, having eked out a gap to Verschoor behind in P3. Back and forth they went in some classic Formula 2 style action that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Lindblad won out in the end on lap twenty-two and began to try and build a lead over those behind him. Both drivers still had to pit though and did so with just three laps of the race left.
Cruise to the Finish in Abu Dhabi
With all of the pit stops for the 2025 Formula 2 Season complete, it was Joshua Dürksen who ended up in front come the end of the race. The Paraguayan won the race for the second year in a row, finishing his time with AIX Racing on a high.
“I was just super motivated, and we were quite confident that we could do a good race because we showed it also last year. Everything just went really well and I’m really happy to finish this chapter with them (AIX Racing) like this.” – Joshua Dürksen
Stanek finished in second with Mini in third. Beganovic, hampered somewhat by a five second penalty for speeding in the pitlane, finished in fourth. Goethe completed the top five. Villagomez, Maini, Miyata, Lindblad and Crawford rounded out the top ten.
Championship Fallout
Crawford had an uphill battle to secure P2 in the Feature Race. Handed a ten second stop/go penalty before the race even began for his team attending to his car in an improper manner put him down to the very rear of the field when he pitted at the end of lap two to serve his penalty. The Safety Car helped the American somewhat though. P10 and an extra point for achieving the fastest lap of the race though was enough to help fend off Verschoor in the fight for second. With Verschoor and Browning finishing out of the points in P13 and P14, there was a five point cushion for Crawford once the race came to end, solidifying P2 for the American overall in the Driver’s Championship.
As a result of Stanek’s podium finish, Invicta Racing won the Team’s Championship for the second year in a row in Abu Dhabi. Hitech TGR finished in second with Campos Racing in third.
“It’s hard to find the words right now, it keeps sinking in. It’s obviously a huge relief. We had a comfortable points margin coming into today, but you never know.” – James Robinson, Invicta Racing Team Principal
Formula 2 Finale in Abu Dhabi
Even though Leonardo Fornaroli wrapped up the Driver’s Title in Qatar, there was still a lot to play for in Abu Dhabi. Arvid Lindblad perfectly displayed all weekend why he’s getting promoted to Formula 1 in 2026. Invicta Racing look set to be a force to be reckoned with again in 2026 with Joshua Dürksen joining the team. Nikola Tsolov teased what he’s capable of and will give Campos Racing some comfort heading into the winter break. Other drivers looking to compete again next year, such as Miyata, Goethe, Villagomez and Beganovic finished the season well too.
With next year’s field also set to include the likes of Colton Herta, Nicholas Varrone and Emerson Fittipaldi Jr., 2026 is shaping up to potentially be something truly special. Will we get a Championship showdown in Abu Dhabi? We’ll have to wait and see.
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Formula 2 returns March 6th 2026 in Melbourne, Australia.
Feature Image: Red Bull Content Pool