Components 2 dash race winner Zak O’Sullivan admitted it felt unusual to be awarded factors for the drastically shortened occasion.
Persistent rain on Saturday performed havoc with F2’s schedule. Its dash race was initially as a result of happen earlier than Components 1’s qualifying session however was postponed by 4 hours because of the situations.
The race lastly started on a humid monitor with recent rain falling. The Security Automobile was summoned as a result of a stationary automobile after three laps, at which level the rain intensified to a degree the place the race was red-flagged and swiftly deserted.
Zak O’Sullivan gained the race from pole place on the partially-reversed grid, having certified tenth. He admitted the shortened race got here as a disappointment.
“It could have been good to do 18 laps, I feel it was meant to be,” mentioned O’Sullivan after his second victory of the season. “4 or 5 push laps and it’s classed as a race, however probably not a race.”
As lower than half of the race distance was lined, drivers obtained a decreased factors allocation. Solely the highest 5 scored and O’Sullivan obtained 5 factors. The factors awards for shortened races have been revised after F1 controversially awarded half factors for a race which formally lasted only one lap at Spa in 2021.
Richard Verschoor, who completed second, was additionally dissatisfied by the early finish to the race, although he admitted it could have helped him beat Zane Maloney to the ultimate podium place.
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“In fact you would like to do the complete race,” he mentioned. “At this level, I used to be being attacked by Zane so in fact I didn’t thoughts the Security Automobile at that time, and get away with the trophy. However I’m right here to race so in fact I’d have proved to have a full race.”
Nevertheless drivers agreed the pink flag was obligatory because of the worsening situations on the monitor.
“It began off fairly okay, that’s additionally the explanation why we did a standing begin,” mentioned Verschoor. “But it surely obtained progressively worse all through the race.
“To be trustworthy I used to be simply serious about the pink for I feel 10 seconds after which it grew to become pink. Then there was an excessive amount of [rain] and I might solely think about the blokes behind me, that they had a lot extra spray. Already for me in third it was fairly dangerous so it did worsen through the race.”
Dennis Hauger, who completed second, loved higher visibility however accepted it might have been a lot worse for these working additional again within the 22-car discipline. He mentioned he “had no concept” why the pink flag was proven at first and puzzled “what occurred on monitor, as a result of for me it didn’t really feel prefer it was that moist.”
“Even the spray for me wasn’t that dangerous so it wasn’t actually in my thoughts,” he continued, “however wanting again clearly for the blokes additional again for positive it might have been extra of a problem.
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“However I felt we’ve been in these comparable situations in Silverstone the place possibly it additionally ought to have been red-flagged. Not less than from my standpoint it wasn’t too dangerous however for positive the protection is a very powerful and ultimately it’s their name and so they know higher than us who has the complete image? So ultimately it was the appropriate name, I suppose.”
Rain has triggered visibility issues for a lot of races at Spa in recent times. Final yr Dilano van ‘t Hoff was killed in a crash throughout a Components Regional European race on the monitor following a restart in moist situations with poor visibility.
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