The junior category kicks off the season with the first F2 Sprint Race in Australia. Claiming the first victory of 2025 in Melbourne was Joshua Dürksen! Special mention goes to the Italian drivers for their strong performances on their series debut.
The F2 Sprint Race in Australia has just ended, with Joshua Dürksen securing the first win of the 2025 season. At the checkered flag, the race seemed to struggle to find a steady rhythm, largely due to the numerous incidents that unfolded over the 23-lap sprint race. Three Safety Cars were deployed, leading to the retirements of Martins, Esterson, and Meguetounif. Jak Crawford also failed to finish.
On the Italian front, Leonardo Fornaroli was overtaken by the young Paraguayan at the start. Despite this, the Piacenza-born driver managed to hold onto second place, securing his first podium of the season. Joining them on the podium was Luke Browning. Gabriele Minì put in an impressive recovery drive, climbing from 13th to finish inside the points in P7 while also setting the fastest lap with a time of 1:32.767. Now, the final event of the weekend is scheduled for 01:30 AM on Sunday with the Feature Race on the Australian circuit.
Live Coverage of the F2 Sprint Race in Australia
04:58 – The final lap begins. Further down the field, Lindblad attempts to overtake Dunne but is unsuccessful. Dürksen crosses the finish line first, while Minì claims the bonus point for the fastest lap! Here is the complete race classification:
04:48 – The Safety Car ends on Lap 16. Leonardo Fornaroli is now closing in on Dürksen, trailing the leader by just +0.678 seconds. Meanwhile, Sebastian Montoya successfully defends his position against his teammate Minì.
04:44 – The Safety Car is back on track for the third time in this race. The reason? Meguetounif crashes into the barriers at Turn 11 after misjudging his racing line on Lap 14.
04:37 – The Safety Car comes in at the end of Lap 10. A dramatic moment as Dino Beganovic spins but manages to keep his car on track, though he drops to 17th place.
04:28 – Another Safety Car is deployed after Max Esterson goes off track, potentially aiding Gabriele Minì in gaining more positions. The Palermo-born driver is now in P8, just behind his teammate, Sebastian Montoya.
04:25 – The second retirement of the race comes from Jak Crawford, though the cause of his DNF remains unknown. Meanwhile, the leading quartet—Dürksen, Fornaroli, Browning, and Verschoor—stay tightly packed. Beganovic makes a move on Stanek around the outside of Turn 11, using DRS to complete the pass and enter the top five.
04:21 – The drama starts early on Lap 2. Victor Martins loses control of his car at Turn 6 due to oversteer and crashes into the barriers. Virtual Safety Car is deployed.
04:19 – Lights out! Dürksen gets a strong start, immediately taking the lead from Fornaroli, who tries to fight back. Gabriele Minì gains two positions on the opening lap.
03:51 – Here we go! The first race of the season is set to start at 04:15 AM! After the third Free Practice session of Formula 1, where Oscar Piastri topped the timesheets, the Melbourne circuit is now ready to host the first F2 Sprint Race of 2025. The start of the junior category’s season in “Down Under” was marked by an unusual event affecting the Rodin, Trident, and DAMS teams: six drivers—Amaury Cordeel, Alex Dunne, Sami Meguetounif, Max Esterson, Jak Crawford, and Kush Maini—were handed a 10-place grid penalty for both the Sprint and Feature Races. The main reason? A technical regulation violation.
Another unlucky driver this weekend was Gabriele Minì. After an incredible qualifying performance on his series debut, he received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Jak Crawford. As a result, despite securing pole position on Friday night, Minì will start from 3rd place in the Feature Race and from 13th in the reverse-grid Sprint Race.
For the other Italian in the series, the story at Albert Park is quite different: Leonardo Fornaroli starts from pole position, aiming for his first victory of the year, alongside Dürksen. Below is the full starting grid for the F2 Sprint Race in Australia.
Photo: Formula 2.
