The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and support series F2 and F3 took the headlines this weekend, but the Formula Winter Series had a decisive penultimate round in Aragón too. We review the action.

By Feeder Series

If you were focussed on Melbourne as most of the racing world was, it’s easy to forget that there was other on-track activity this weekend in junior single-seaters. The Formula Winter Series was in action in Aragón, however, to produce some of the best racing in the series’ four-year history. Read on to find out what happened and why it mattered.

Want to follow this weekend’s action in other ways too? We’ve got our F3 and F2 reviews coming up this afternoon and tomorrow morning. Those come in addition to Race Recap, our new Monday edition of the Feeder Series Podcast, reviewing all the action from the weekend. And we also now cover F2, F3 and F1 Academy races live on Feeder Series Live. Head to the X account to check out what you may have missed, and stay tuned this coming weekend as we cover F1 Academy’s Shanghai races.

1. Formula Winter Series: Van Langendonck seals drivers’ title with three races to spare

Formula Winter Series: Van Langendonck seals drivers’ title with three races to spare

Dries Van Langendonck took the Formula Winter Series drivers’ championship as well as the rookie championship following a mighty weekend in Aragon.

Thomas Bearman dominated qualifying one on Saturday, achieving a 2:09.642 on the damp circuit. Ary Bansal followed nearly 0.903 seconds behind, with third-placed Van Langendonck holding a gap of 1.075s. 

Saturday’s race was almost immediately declared wet, and several drivers went off track on the opening lap.

On lap three, Van Langendonck overtook Bansal for second after the Indian driver struggled exiting Turn 1. The McLaren junior then gained ground on leader Bearman on the following lap but went wide at Turn 16, putting Bansal back in contention for second. 

Bearman once again fell under threat from Van Langendonck, with Bansal joining the fight as the trio went three-wide into Turn 16 on lap six. They kept positions that time, but Van Langendonck overhauled Bearman the next lap.

Aleksander Ruta joined the fray as they battled, passing Bearman and Bansal on laps eight and nine respectively. But he and Bansal made contact exiting Turn 7, sending Ruta onto the grass and down to ninth. Bansal survived unscathed and began hunting down Van Langendonck, who finally faltered on the final lap at Turn 1, running wide and allowing Bansal through for victory.

Bearman had pole once more for race two, with Ruta due to start fourth but unable to participate in races two and three after sustaining a hand injury in his incident with Bansal. 

The Briton held the lead as Bansal passed Van Langendonck for second. Lima’s false start allowed him to surge from ninth to fourth but ultimately earned him a five-second penalty.

Van Langendonck began his recovery by passing Bansal on lap eight. Bearman eventually succumbed to Van Langendonck’s overtaking efforts  on lap 11 at Turn 5 and did not catch the Belgian for the remainder of the race. A penalty for Bearman for track limits dropped him to third and promoted Savinkov, who scythed through the field from 21st, to second for his third podium of the season.

Bansal ended up in the midst of a thrilling upper-midfield battle and finished 11th after penalties were applied, barely keeping him in the title hunt. With that, Van Langendonck, the race three polesitter, needed to outscore Bansal by just two points to become champion.

The safety car came out at the start after Ginevra Panzeri was stranded at Turn 3 with front wing damage. It was withdrawn a lap later, and Savinkov passed Slater for fourth at Turn 16 on lap three just before Kräling, who started third, took the lead from Van Langendonck at Turn 1.

Then came the race’s most decisive moment. Bansal collided with Lima and retired in the Turn 5 gravel trap, releasing the safety car once more for two laps and all but quashing his title hopes, with Van Langendonck now just needing to finish ninth or higher.

Teo Borenstein, running sixth, lost a tyre on lap nine, bringing out the safety car for a third time. Kräling kept the lead thereafter – until the last lap. As he and Bearman went side by side for the lead at Turn 15, Van Langendonck slipped through, taking the title with a 97-point advantage after his record sixth win of the season. 

Report by Grayson Wallace

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying 1	Thomas Bearman, 2:09.642	Ary Bansal, +0.903s	Dries Van Langendonck, +1.075s
Race 1 (15 laps)	Ary Bansal, 32:54.716	Dries Van Langendonck, +0.991s	Thomas Bearman, +4.037s
Qualifying 2	Dries Van Langendonck, 2:12.406	Alfie Slater, +0.377s	Arjen Kräling, +0.549s
Race 2 (16 laps)	Dries Van Langendonck, 32:16.100	Oleksandr Savinkov, +8.056s	Thomas Bearman, +8.955s
Race 3 (14 laps)	Dries Van Langendonck, 33:49.798	Thomas Bearman, +0.027s	Ethan Lennon, +0.587s

Standings	Drivers	Teams	Rookies
P1	Dries Van Langendonck, 226	Rodin Motorsport, 308	Dries Van Langendonck, 255
P2	Thomas Bearman, 129	US Racing, 305	Samuel Ifrid, 121
P3	Ary Bansal, 120	Van Amersfoort Racing, 287	Ethan Lennon, 115
P4	Oleksandr Savinkov, 101	Jenzer Motorsport, 63	Rocco Coronel, 112
P5	Aleksander Ruta, 93	Cram Motorsport, 35	Alfie Slater, 106
P6	Ethan Lennon, 72	Campos Racing, 31	Levi Arn, 94
P7	Rocco Coronel, 70	AKM Motorsport, 27	Roman Kamyab, 71
P8	Alfie Slater, 56	Mathilda Racing, 25	Oscar Repetto, 49
P9	Ludovico Busso, 55	Renauer Motorsport, 4	Felipe Reijs, 47
P10	Arjen Kräling, 54	AS Motorsport, 3	Markas Šilkūnas, 35

Read the previous round’s report here.

Header photo credit: Gedlich Racing