2017 Yas Marina Sprint Race

The 2017 Yas Marina Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2017 Yas Marina Race 2, was the twenty-second and final round of the 2017 FIA Formula Two Championship, staged at the Yas Marina Circuit on the 26 November 2017. The race would see Charles Leclerc sign off his title winning campaign with his seventh and final victory as Russian Time claimed the Teams' Championship.

Jordan King was set to lead the charge from pole, but a miserable start from the Brit saw him plummet down the order. That allowed Alexander Albon and Nobuharu Matsushita to duel for the lead into the first corner, Albon emerging ahead, with Nicholas Latifi in third.

Albon would try to escape up the road early on, aided by the fact that Latifi mugged Matsushita on lap two, and duly pulled out of the DRS zone. Behind, Artem Markelov and Luca Ghiotto would go three abreast with King in their pursuit of the Teams' Championship for Russian Time, resulting in puncture causing contact, while Oliver Rowland pushed into the top ten with ease.

Charles Leclerc was also on the warpath, moving past Nyck de Vries for fourth, before pouncing on Matsushita for third. He duly went charging off after Albon and Latifi, while Ghiotto tried to follow him through, only for Matsushita to put up a furious rearguard action.

Latifi fell to the Leclerc charge with four laps to go, with the Monegasque quickly sprinting clear to catch Albon. Indeed, time was against Leclerc in the closing stages, with a yellow flag denying a potential overtaking spot at the end of the second DRS zone.

Indeed, the pair finally came to blows on the final lap of the season, with Leclerc clattering into the side of Albon at the end of the back straight. A better line and traction combined to hand Leclerc the lead with half a lap to go into turn eleven, with the Monegasque ace duly sweeping home to claim his seventh and final victory. Albon would end the season with a second place ahead of Latifi, while Ghiotto and Markelov wrapped up the Teams' Championship for Russian Time.

Background
The Yas Marina Circuit was unchanged ahead of the final Formula Two race of the 2017 campaign, although the Sprint would be staged in daylight rather than at night. There were, however, changes to the grid after penalties from the Feature, with Oliver Rowland and Antonio Fuoco sent to the back of the field having been disqualified. That promoted Alexander Albon and Jordan King into the top eight, with the latter set to start the final Sprint from pole.

Into the Championship and victory, combined with the fact that Rowland had been disqualified from the Feature, settled the fight for second in the Championship in favour of Artem Markelov, with the Russian ace moving seventeen points clear of the Brit. Rowland could make up that seventeen point gap with a perfect race in the Sprint, but Markelov's greater number of wins would keep the Russian ahead on count-back. Rowland would therefore be fighting to hold onto third, with Luca Ghiotto in striking position just eight behind.

In the Teams' Championship it was advantage Russian Time heading into the finale, with the Russian squad eighteen points clear of Prema Racing. Indeed, with 29 points left to fight for it was still a two horse race for the title, with DAMS falling by the wayside in third after Rowland's retroactive reduction. Regardless, Russian Time could seal the inaugural F2 Teams' Championship if either of their drivers finished in the top four, even if Prema scored a one-two and fastest lap.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Grid
The grid for the twenty-second race of the 2017 campaign was formed from the finishing positions of the Feature Race, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA Formula Two rules:

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Nato was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
 * † King set fastest time of the race, but was ineligible to score points as he finished outside of the top ten.

Milestones

 * Russian Time declared as the inaugural 2017 FIA Formula Two Championship Teams Champions.
 * Final entries for Charles Leclerc, Gustav Malja, Nobuharu Matsushita, Oliver Rowland, Jordan King, Nabil Jeffri and Norman Nato.
 * 22nd and final race for Racing Engineering and Rapax as entrants in Formula Two.
 * Charles Leclerc claimed his seventh and final victory.
 * Prema Racing secured their eighth F2 win.
 * Also the Italian team's seventeenth triumph at GP2/F2 level.
 * 151st and final race for the Dallara GP2/11 chassis.
 * Also the 276th final race for the Mecachrome V8108 engine.

Standings
The Championship had already been settled ahead of the finale, although Charles Leclerc could now officially be declared as the 2017 FIA Formula Two Champion, ending the season with 282 points. Likewise, Artem Markelov was formally recognised as runner-up, with Oliver Rowland third having been Leclerc's closest competitor for most of the season. Fourth went to Luca Ghiotto ahead of Nicholas Latifi, as 24 of the 29 drivers entered in 2017 scored points.

In the Teams' Championship, meanwhile, it was Russian Time whom became the inaugural F2 Champions, emerging with 395 points at the end of the final day. Prema Racing were runners-up, ending with 380, while DAMS were a disappointed third on 369, with all three having entered the Abu Dhabi weekend with a shot at taking the crown. Fourth went to a lonely ART Grand Prix, while Trident ended the season last with nine points.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.