Sergio Sette Camara takes first F2 win in Belgian Sprint Race

Following the Feature race's dramatic conclusion that seen Leclerc finish 26 seconds ahead of Markelov and Rowland, who were separated by just seven hundredths, there was a late night announcement that Leclerc and Rowland had been disqualified for excessive plank wear.

That being the case, we found ourselves in a situation where the back of the grid was as worth watching as the front, as Latifi, Rowland and Leclerc occupied the last three grid slots.

Norman Nato had been promoted to pole following the disqulifications, with Roberto Merhi alongside him, but it was Sergio Sette Camara who shot of the line from third on the grid, past them both and into the lead.

From there he managed to hold the gap with no trouble to take his first win in the series and his first win of his professional career. The youngest man on the grid was delighted with his performance and his team, MP Motorsport, appeared equally overcome at the victory.

Sergio Sette Camara takes his first F2 victory [Image: FIA F2]

Sergio Sette Camara takes his first F2 victory [Image: FIA F2]

Nyck De Vries took second in only his second race for Racing Engineering, making this their most successful weekend of the season by far. From fourth on the grid, he got a great start, following Camara through to the front, where he stayed for the full race, securing second place on the podium. With performances like that, he Spanish outfit have got to be delighted with the young Dutchman’s arrival at the team.

The third spot on the podium was a more contested affair and one that Nato was not able to hold on to. In the closing stages, Luca Ghiotto used his DRS on the Kemmel straight to get past him and, with a late safety car, Nato would have no time to answer. So, Ghiotto took third and, having been promoted to second in the Feature Race, this also marks his most successful weekend of the year with a nice 28 point haul.

If the midfield thought they would be fighting among themselves to move forward, they were in for a surprise when the championship leaders came tearing through from the back at a rate that was scarcely believable, showing why they deserve to be at the sharp end of the standings.

Charles Leclerc went wide at La Source but kept his foot in it and positioned his car well enough in lap one to have made it from 19th to 13th as he crossed the line. A gutsy move on Matsushita, up the inside at Eau Rouge made that 12th.

Oliver Rowland got an even better start. From dead last on the grid, he was finding space on the track and threading his car through those ahead with relative ease so that, by the start of lap two, he was up in eleventh.

Leclerc then managed to pass Rowland at the bus stop and go on to make some of the kind of overtakes he has become known for. Moves that shouldn’t be viable, like around the outside of Fanges to take Robert Visoiu and passing Markelov at Pouhon.

He was pulling his rivals along behind him though as Rowland and Latifi (who had also had to start from the back due to engine failure on Saturday) were making their way up the order as well.

It took Leclerc two attempts to pass the Rapax of Merhi as, at the first time of asking, they both ended up off the road at Les Combes, but no further action was called on the incident and the next time around, on lap 13, he made the move stick to take fifth.

With Rowland and Latifi in eighth and ninth, all progress was halted as Nobuharu Matsushita lost the car at the top of Radillon and hit the barrier at 170mph. It was a big impact, the car was totally destroyed, so it was a huge relief to see Nobu get out and walk away, appearing winded but with no lasting damage, as was confirmed following a check at the medical centre.

The safety car was deployed but with the damage to the barrier and debris strewn all over the runoff area, the remaining four laps were not long enough to get the race going again, so the order was decided.

Official Classification from the Belgian Sprint Race

Official Classification from the Belgian Sprint Race

This means that with just three rounds to go, the lead at the top of the championship is now 59 points. So, there is a mathematical possiblility that the championship could be wrapped up at Monza next week, although this would require a nightmare from Rowland to be the case.

Here are the updated 2017 standings

2017 F2 Driver Standings [Image: FIA F2]

2017 F2 Driver Standings [Image: FIA F2]

The next round of the F2 Championship will be this weekend in Italy

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