Photo: Gedlich Racing
Dries Van Langendonck concluded his title-winning Formula Winter Series campaign with a ninth victory in the last race at Barcelona.
The Rodin Motorsport driver started on pole, but lost the lead in a three-wide move a the opening corner.
US Racing’s Ary Bansal was on his outside, with Rodin team-mate Ethan Lennon to the outside of him, and it was Bansal who led through turn one. But Van Langendonck carried more speed through turn two to reclaim the lead before the safety car was called as Cram Motorsport’s Andre Rodriguez and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Pedro Lima crashed out.
There had already been pre-race drama, as a second formation lap was required after Cram’s Oscar Repetto had parked up near sideways in his grid spot. He got a drive-through penalty for his mistake.
The restart was not until lap six, and Van Langendonck was unchallenged. While it took until lap nine to be a second clear, he had a 3.128-second gap by the end of the 15-lap race.
Bansal was also comfortable in second, while Van Amersfoort Racing’s Thomas Bearman attacked Lennon at turn two on lap 11 and then forced him into defending down the pit straight as they began the last lap. By finishing fourth, Bearman secured the championship runner-up spot.
Cram’s Samuel Ifrid, Jenzer Motorsport’s Levi Arn, AKM Motorsport’s Georgen Proudford-Nalder, Rodin’s Alfie Slater, US’s Arjen Kraling and Repetto initially filled the rest of the points positions.
Proudford-Nalder and Slater overtook Arn on lap six, with Kraling getting past him on lap eight. Olexandar Savinkov started 20th, and made it into the top 10 at the end of lap nine after clearing Campos Racing’s Timo Jungling and his battling US team-mates Ludovico Busso and Noah Killion.
Slater lost seventh to Kraling on lap 10, then Igrid lost four places on the next tour so Slater recovered the position.
Proudford-Nalder had looked safe from attack, but on lap 12 Kraling dived past him at turn five for fifth and Savinkov overtok Arn for eighth.
Race results (15 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dries Van Langendonck | Rodin Motorsport | 30m26.191s |
| 2 | Ary Bansal | US Racing | +3.128s |
| 3 | Ethan Lennon | Rodin Motorsport | +10.367s |
| 4 | Thomas Bearman | Van Amersfoort Racing | +10.936s |
| 5 | Arjen Kraling | US Racing | +11.437s |
| 6 | George Proudford-Nalder | AKM Motorsport | +13.081s |
| 7 | Alfie Slater | Rodin Motorsport | +14.274s |
| 8 | Olexandar Savinkov | US Racing | +14.827s |
| 9 | Levi Arn | Jenzer Motorsport | +16.432s |
| 10 | Samuel Ifrid | Cram Motorsport | +19.883s |
| 11 | Teodor Borenstein | Jenzer Motorsport | +20.271s |
| 12 | Platon Kostin | Van Amersfoort Racing | +20.876s |
| 13 | Markas Silkunas | Jenzer Motorsport | +21.379s |
| 14 | Chiara Battig | Campos Racing | +21.945s |
| 15 | Noah Killion | US Racing | +22.930s |
| 16 | Leon Hedfors | Campos Racing | +23.112s |
| 17 | Ludovico Busso | US Racing | +23.463s |
| 18 | Vittorio Orsini | AKM Motorsport | +27.102s |
| 19 | Georgiy Zasov | Jenzer Motorsport | +27.789s |
| 20 | Alex Chartier | AS Motorsport | +28.534s |
| 21 | Max Kammerlander | Cram Motorsport | +30.949s |
| 22 | Ginevra Panzeri | AS Motorsport | +31.678s |
| 23 | Viktor Poulsen | AS Motorsport | +33.489s |
| 24 | Erik Poulsen | Step Motorsport | +33.947s |
| 25 | Oscar Repetto | Cram Motorsport | +40.790s |
| 26 | Timo Jungling | Campos Racing | +1 lap |
| Ret | Andre Rodriguez | Cram Motorsport | |
| Ret | Pedro Lima | Van Amersfoort Racing | |
| Fastest lap: Van Langendonck, 1m43.796s
Championship standings |
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