24/08/2017
NEWS STORY
Round 8 sees the teams arrive at the fabled Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium fresh and recharged from their summer break and ready to get racing again for the second half of the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
The long, winding circuit is known and loved by drivers and teams alike, all of whom will be looking for a strong result at what is considered the toughest circuit on the calendar. Qualifying is as important as ever, but with long straights and fast corners overtaking could happen almost anywhere.
Budapest saw Oliver Rowland close the gap in the drivers' championship to Charles Leclerc: the Briton picked up pole when the Monegasque was disqualified for a technical infringement before turning it into a fine win after seeing off a strong challenge from Artem Markelov in the closing stages of the feature race for victory ahead of teammate Nicholas Latifi and Nyck de Vries, with Leclerc closing in for 4th at the line after starting from the back of the grid.
Nobuharu Matsushita dominated the sprint race with a stunning start from P4 to snatch the lead from teammate Alexander Albon at turn 1 before heading off into the distance, while Rowland sliced his way past his rivals for second at the flag ahead of De Vries, who rounded out the podium once again after moving up in the closing stages of the race, once again ahead of Leclerc.
Mario Isola, Pirelli: "At Spa, the Formula 2 drivers will race on the same compounds as they did at the Hungaroring, but for different reasons.
In Hungary, we were expecting high temperatures, on a track that never lets the tyres cool down. In Belgium, temperatures will be milder but the energy going through the tyres will be higher, because of the track layout. These two factors essentially balance each other out, leading to the same tyre choice for two very different circuits. The unpredictable weather at Spa can often play its part too and is likely to reward flexible strategies. Unlike Formula 1, there is no intermediate tyre in Formula 2, and this makes tyre choice even more complicated in the event of
marginal weather. As a test of bravery of skill, Spa is one of the biggest challenges of the year."
Note
There are 3 driver changes in the line-up: Nyck de Vries and Louis Deletraz swap seats, with the Swiss driver moving to Rapax in car #18
whilst the Dutchman joins Racing Engineering in car #3. Also, Sergio Canamasas will not take part to this event: he will be replaced by Roberto
Merhi in car #19 at Rapax.
Driver Standings
| Pos | Name | Nat | Team | Points |
| 1 | Leclerc | MON | Prema Racing | 208 |
| 2 | Rowland | GBR | DAMS | 158 |
| 3 | Markelov | RUS | Russian Time | 123 |
| 4 | Latifi | CAN | DAMS | 115 |
| 5 | Ghiotto | ITA | Russian Time | 95 |
| 6 | Matsushita | JPN | ART Grand Prix | 91 |
| 7 | Nato | FRA | Pertamina Arden | 79 |
| 8 | de Vries | NED | Rapax | 72 |
| 9 | Albon | THA | ART Grand Prix | 65 |
| 10 | King | GBR | MP Motorsport | 49 |
| 11 | Malja | SWE | Racing Engineering | 28 |
| 12 | Fuoco | ITA | Prema Racing | 23 |
| 13 | Canamasas | ESP | Rapax/Trident | 21 |
| 14 | Cecotto | VEN | Rapax | 16 |
| 15 | Boschung | SUI | Campos Racing | 11 |
| 16 | Sirotkin | RUS | ART Grand Prix | 9 |
| 17 | Gelael | INO | Pertamina Arden | 3 |
| 18 | Ferrucci | USA | Trident | 2 |
| 19 | Deletraz | SUI | Racing Engineering | 1 |
Team Standings
| Pos | Team | Points |
| 1 | DAMS | 273 |
| 2 | Prema Racing | 231 |
| 3 | Russian Time | 218 |
| 4 | ART Grand Prix | 165 |
| 5 | Rapax | 106 |
| 6 | Pertamina Arden | 82 |
| 7 | MP Motorsport | 49 |
| 8 | Racing Engineering | 29 |
| 9 | Campos Racing | 11 |
| 10 | Trident | 5 |