Gabriel Bortoleto became Formula 2’s 12th winner in 2024 with a confident drive to victory in the Spielberg feature race. The result propelled him to third in the championship, and the Brazilian driver told Feeder Series that if the pace continues, he will be part of the championship fight.

By Steven Walton

Bortoleto began Sunday’s feature race in third and was already in the lead on Lap 4 when he passed early race leader Joshua Dürksen.

The only material threat to the Invicta Racing driver during the race was Campos Racing’s Pepe Martí, who made up time by pitting during a brief virtual safety car.

Bortoleto lost track position, but soon caught and passed Martí to retake the lead. After the race, Martí was penalised due to the timing of his pit stop.

Bortoleto was unchallenged to the end and picked up his first-ever victory in F2.

Bortoleto taking the season ‘race by race’

Bortoleto’s breakthrough victory elevated him from sixth in the championship standings to third. He currently has 85 points, placing him 32 points behind championship leader Paul Aron and 21 points behind second-placed Isack Hadjar.

Bortoleto told Feeder Series that he was taking the season “race by race” and not looking at the championship.

Still, he said, “If we do a good job every weekend, I think we are going to be able to be there [in the fight] at the end of the season.

“I think it’s about a lot of consistency and being fast. Everything can change from now on. I’m happy that we won today,” he said.

“If we keep doing this, we’re going to be in the [championship] fight. If not, we’re not going to be there, so it’s quite a simple situation.”

Bortoleto scored 30 points throughout the entire Spielberg weekend – more than any other driver.

Colapinto and Hadjar complete the podium

MP Motorsport’s Franco Colapinto secured second in the Spielberg feature race thanks to an impressive overtake spree in the final laps.

He was on the alternative strategy, and after emerging from the pits with eight laps to go, he moved from seventh to second place.

The result marked back-to-back feature race podiums for Colapinto, who has now moved to fifth in the standings with 75 points, tying with fourth-placed driver Zane Maloney.

Colapinto told Feeder Series the championship was still wide open. “So to be honest, I think we still have a chance [in the championship]. Of course, there is a lot to play for,” he said.

“It’s good that we have been having good weekends and been scoring quite a lot of points in the last few races, but we need to keep this up,” Colapinto said.

Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar finished third in the Spielberg feature race and told Feeder Series he was “doing the job race by race”.

“Honestly, the only mistake I’ve done, that I believe I’ve done, is Barcelona qualifying. We didn’t maximise it at all. So far I’m pretty happy with the job done,” he said.

“Every time we put the car on track it’s always super fast straight from lap one in free practice, so we have no doubt we can win the championship if we keep doing that.”

Championship standings after Spielberg:

1st: Aron – 117

2nd: Hadjar – 106

3rd: Bortoleto – 85

4th: Maloney – 75

5th: Colapinto – 75

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency