F2 Barcelona Sprint: Maini takes flawless win as Minì grabs championship lead

The FIA F2 Barcelona Sprint Race at a boiling Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya delivered an absolute masterclass in tyre management and late-race chaos.

Kush Maini executed a flawless performance to conquer the scorching Catalan heat, while a dramatic multi-car battle behind him fundamentally reshaped the podium in the dying laps.

Maini takes charge as Minì goes on the attack

The drama ignited immediately at the launch. Pole-sitter Noel Leon suffered a disastrous getaway on the baking tarmac, instantly surrendering the lead to a fast-starting Kush Maini.

Behind them, Nikola Tsolov surged forward to pick off Colton Herta, while Gabriele Minì launched a spectacular assault from seventh to rocket up to fifth. Further back, Joshua Dürksen’s race was ruined on lap one following a heavy collision with Martinius Stenshorne at the final sector.

With Maini pulling away at the front, Minì continued his aggressive charge. On lap two, the Italian pulled off a brilliant move around the outside of Turn 4 to snatch fourth from Herta. By lap six, Minì repeated his heroics on Leon to lock himself into the final podium spot, trailing a dominant Maini who had already opened a comfortable four-second cushion over Tsolov.

Tyre preservation and mid-race battles

As the race crossed the mid-way point, the field settled into a tense game of tyre preservation. While Maini comfortably managed his lead, Herta capitalized on Leon’s fading rubber to move into fourth.

Further back, tomorrow’s Feature Race poleman Rafael Câmara finally won a punishing, multi-lap war with a hyper-aggressive Rafael Villagomez, who was later hit with a five-second penalty for track limits, to claim sixth place.

With Villagomez struggling for grip, Dino Beganovic and Alex Dunne also made quick work of him to move up the order.

Late-race drama and final-lap heartbreak

By lap 20, Tsolov’s tyres began to drop off a cliff. Minì lunged back into the Bulgarian’s DRS zone, bringing a rapidly closing Herta right with him to set up a thrilling, three-way shootout for the podium over the final five laps.

The pressure erupted on lap 23; Minì forced his way past Tsolov with a robust move into Turn 1, surviving a slight contact. Sensing blood, Herta threw his elbows out later that same lap, muscling his way past the struggling Tsolov through Turn 7 to claim third.

Herta then set his sights on Minì for second, but the race had one final twist. Pushing beyond the limit on the final lap, the American committed a costly error, sliding off line and dropping to a heartbreaking fifth place.

Herta’s mistake gifted Tsolov a surprise return to the podium in third, with Leon inheriting fourth, and Câmara crossing the line in sixth.

Unbothered by the chaos, Maini secured a majestic seven-second victory, while Minì’s brilliant drive to second comfortably elevated him into the lead of the Formula 2 championship.