Iwasa shines in Formula 2® Feature Race
Sunday, 2 April 2023
The Japanese driver with a triumphant win at Albert Park.
Ayumu Iwasa has marked himself as the rising star of Japanese motorsport with an impressive win in the Formula 2® Feature Race at the FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2023.
The 21-year-old Japanese driver took his second win of the season but only after a fierce fight. He leapt away from pole position at the start and led by 1.5sec at the end of the opening lap, and kept extending the lead of his Red Bull/DAMS entry until there was a Safety Car.
He
pitted with the leading group while a number of drivers in the mid-pack stayed
on the track, but when the pit cycle played out he found himself in a big battle
for the win with Kush Maini. The Indian’s Campos Racing entry took over at the
front before Iwasa reclaimed the lead, which he cemented when Frenchman Theo
Pourchaire, who had forced his way past Enzo Fittipaldi with the help of DRS
help on lap 16, burst through to second.
There was a great battle for the minor places between a pack of drivers, with Norwegian Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport) climbing up to third by mid-race. But he speared off at the final restart, handing the spot to Arthur Leclerc (DAMS), who had late-race stopper Frederik Vesti (Prema Racing) all over him. But that is the way they stayed until the flag, with Iwasa winning by just under 1s.
Jack Doohan had a troubled race. He moved forward at the start and settled into 12th, but later clashed with American Jak Crawford, prompting the first Safety Car on lap 8. The Queenslander hung onto the leading pack through the SC periods and came home in eighth place, the same place he holds in the series points.
Iwasa leads the series on 58 points, with the Formula 2® action will resume in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 28-30 April.
