F2 Abu Dhabi: Pourchaire clinches title despite Vesti fightback, Doohan wins

Invicta Virtuosi driver Doohan put in an assured performance to take the final win of the season as F2 waved farewell to the current specification chassis.

But the Alpine Formula 1 reserve's uneventful run to a third feature win of the year was shaded by a thrilling battle for championship honours between Pourchaire (ART) and Prema rival Frederik Vesti.

After a charging victory in Saturday's sprint race, Vesti fell painfully short of making back the 16-point deficit with which he had been faced, crossing the line in third after starting ninth.

Pourchaire, who had started 14th, finished fifth with a stout three-lap defence when battling Vesti a period that can be pinpointed as the moment he secured his title.

The opening lap was a relatively calm affair in F2 terms, with the only incident of note being Ayumu Iwasa making use of the runoff at the Turn 6-7 chicane and gaining fourth from Zane Maloney. One lap later, he handed the position back at the same place but immediately retook the place, meaning the incident was noted by race control, although no further action was taken.

Prema put Vesti on the alternate strategy, running the medium tyres in the opening stint and going long while those ahead fitted softs. Conversely, Pourchaire started on the red-walled softer option.

At the end of lap six of 33, Pourchaire pitted for mediums, removing the risk of a poorly timed safety car interruption ruining his charge.

Neither championship protagonist had made significant progress in the early laps with Vesti finding himself stuck behind Isack Hadjar (Hitech). But once the Frenchman pitted at the end of lap eight, he could get the hammer down, with his engineers urging him on and demanding the next 10 laps to be “like one big quali lap”.

Race leader Doohan pitted for mediums at the end of lap nine, returning to the track in 12th spot.

Jack Doohan (Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd)

As the drivers on fresher rubber led by Doohan began to close on those yet to stop, Vesti’s Prema team-mate Oliver Bearman was forced to retire as his engine went into a self-preservation mode.

Although he was able to recover to the pitlane, his car came to a halt at the pit entrance, causing it to be temporarily closed. But happy that the car was far enough out of the way, the recovery action was halted and the lane reopened.

At the end of lap 22, Vesti filed into the pits and fitted soft tyres, ready for his final push for glory and rejoined immediately behind Pourchaire.

Arthur Leclerc was the final driver to pit on lap 24, handing the lead back to Doohan.

On lap 25, Vesti and Pourchaire went wheel-to-wheel, with the former finding a way past into Turn 6 before dropping behind once again as Pourchaire made use of his DRS advantage. Kush Maini also found himself in the middle of the battle, ceding to the warring rivals after twice running wide.

Minus Maini, the situation repeated itself on the following lap as Vesti again made the move before being repassed by Pourchaire on the next straight. Losing precious time, Vesti was reminded he had “nothing to lose”.

However Vesti made the move stick at the third attempt on lap 27, remaining behind Pourchaire along the first straight and utilising the DRS on the run to Turn 9.

With Pourchaire in sixth, Vesti now needed to make up 13 seconds in six laps, to climb to the second spot held by Victor Martins (also on the alternate strategy) to take championship glory for himself.

But then came a further twist, with Pourchaire noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in the earlier battle with Maini.

Jack Doohan, Invicta Virtuosi Racing, 1st position, Victor Martins, ART Grand Prix, 2nd position, and Frederik Vesti, Prema Racing, 3rd position, celebrate on the podium by spraying champagne (Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images)

Moments after Vesti took fourth from Maloney, his charge was interrupted as the virtual safety car was deployed to cover the recovery of Joshua Mason’s PHM car, which had stopped on the straight opposite the support pit building.

Knowing he had fallen short, Vesti went all in when battling Maloney on the final lap, with contact on the exit of Turn 9 sending the Red Bull liveried car spinning as Vesti went on to take the final podium position.

Maloney's spin boosted Pourchaire another position to finish fifth and clinch the crown despite having only one win to his name all season.

With Martins second behind Doohan, who secured third in the drivers' standings, ART was also confirmed as the teams’ champion.

F2 Abu Dhabi feature race results 

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info

       

Driver Info			Main Information Additional Data
Cla	Driver	#		Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Bonus
1	J. Doohan Invicta Virtuosi Racing	14		33	-
2	V. Martins ART Grand Prix	6		33	+3.800 3.8	3.800
3	F. Vesti Prema Powerteam	7		33	+22.400 22.4	18.600
4	A. Iwasa DAMS	11		33	+26.200 26.2	3.800
5	T. Pourchaire ART Grand Prix	5		33	+27.600 27.6	1.400
6	A. Leclerc DAMS	12		33	+28.300 28.3	0.700
7	D. Hauger MP Motorsport	1		33	+29.000 29.0	0.700
8	I. Hadjar Hitech Pulse-Eight	10		33	+30.000 30.0	1.000
9	K. Maini Campos Racing	24		33	+33.100 33.1	3.100
10	J. Crawford Hitech Pulse-Eight	9		33	+36.200 36.2	3.100
11	R. Nissany PHM Racing by Charouz	16		33	+38.900 38.9	2.700
12	R. Staněk Trident	20		33	+43.600 43.6	4.700
13	J. Correa Van Amersfoort Racing	23		33	+48.300 48.3	4.700
14	E. Fittipaldi Rodin Carlin	4		33	+49.600 49.6	1.300
15	R. Boschung Campos Racing	25		33	+54.800 54.8	5.200
16	A. Cordeel Invicta Virtuosi Racing	15		33	+1'05.400 1'05.4	10.600
17	Z. Maloney Rodin Carlin	3		32	1 lap
18	P. Aron Trident	21		32	1 lap
19	J. Mason PHM Racing by Charouz	17		28	5 laps
dnf	R. Verschoor Van Amersfoort Racing	22		23	10 laps					Retirement
dnf	O. Bearman Prema Powerteam	8		16	17 laps					Retirement
dnf	F. Colapinto MP Motorsport	2		15	18 laps					Retirement
View full results

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