2020 Spa Sprint Race

The 2020 Spa Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2020 Spa Race 2 was the fourteenth round of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship, staged at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Liège, Belgium on 30 August 2020. The race, which was held in support of the Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2020, would see Robert Shwartzman claim the Championship lead after inheriting the race lead early on.

Roy Nissany would be a surprise pole sitter for the Sprint Race, having claimed eighth in the Feature Race. He would, however, slip behind a fast starting Dan Ticktum at the start of the race, as the Brit screamed up from third to lunge past Nissany into La Source.

Yet, Nissany would not simply fall away, and would instead draft back past Ticktum down the Kemmel Straight and reclaim the race lead. Further back, meanwhile, Championship leader Callum Ilott was spun out of the race by Feature Race winner Yuki Tsunoda, with the heavily damaged #4 UNI-Virtuosi requiring a Safety Car to be recovered.

When the race resumed Ticktum went on the offensive, weaving around Nissany on the run to Les Combes as Nissany took the defensive inside line into the right-left-right combination. Ticktum hence went to the outside, ran wide and clattered over the kerbs, before bouncing back onto the circuit and into the left-rear of Nissany's car. The #22 Trident was hence spat into the outside wall and out of the race, with Shwartzman sweeping past the pair of them to claim the lead as the SC was scrambled once again.

Ticktum appeared to have minor damage from the incident, and when the race resumed he was powerless to prevent Shwartzman escaping out front, and instead came under attack from Louis Delétraz. Delétraz would briefly manage to get ahead of the wounded #2 DAMS before Ticktum elbowed his way back past, with Delétraz instead slipping behind Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher.

As the race developed Ticktum's pace began to fade, meaning he would soon fall to both Schumacher and Zhou after the German racer passed the Chinese racer. That spelled the end of Ticktum hope of a point as he slipped further back, with Nikita Mazepin, Luca Ghiotto, Delétraz, Christian Lundgaard and Artem Markelov all passing the #2 DAMS before the end of the race.

Out front, meanwhile, Shwartzman was able to cruise to the chequered flag, collecting fastest lap as he did so to secure a ten point lead in the Championship hunt. Schumacher made it was Prema one-two ahead of Zhou, while Mazepin and Ghiotto squabbled for fourth in the Hitechs, the Russian racer emerging ahead. Delétraz was next up ahead of Lungaard and Markelov, while Ticktum ended the day under investigation in tenth.

Background
There would be no changes to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the Sprint Race, although there would be an increased threat of rain after two relatively dry days of running for the 2020 F2 field. There would, however, be a late wave of changes to the grid after the Feature Race, with several drivers receiving post-race penalties. Yet, these would primarily affect those in the bottom half of the field, leaving Roy Nissany on pole position after finishing eighth in the Feature.

Feature Fallout
Immediately after the Feature Race first place finisher Nikita Mazepin was awarded a five second time penalty, after he was ruled to have forced Yuki Tsunoda off track while defending the lead on the penultimate lap. That put the Russian racer back behind the Japanese racer, and led to a petulant display in Parc Fermé, as Mazepin drove straight into the 2nd place marker board, which almost struck Tsunoda as he walked to his pitcrew. That earned Mazepin a trip to the stewards, although he was only handed a suspended five place grid penalty despite being found to have caused a "potentially dangerous" situation in Parc Fermé.

Elsewhere, Marcus Armstrong was handed a retroactive five second time penalty for passing Jack Aitken on the final lap off-track, which was officially ruled as the New Zealander having gained a "lasting advantage". Nobuharu Matsushita, meanwhile, was given a three place grid penalty for Sprint Race after being deemed to have caused a collision, while teammate Felipe Drugovich was disqualified from the Feature race entirely. Indeed, the Brazilian was found to have befallen article 37.6 of the sporting regulations, after he failed to serve his mandatory pitstop within the specified pit window of the Feature Race.

Matsushita's penalty was subsequently made redundant when MP Motorsport withdrew the Japanese racer from the Sprint Race, citing damage sustained his his collision with teammate Drugovich in the Feature Race.

Tsunoda Thoughts
A single point for Callum Ilott in the Feature had ensured that the Brit retained a small margin at the head of the Championship, as it kept him seven clear of second placed Robert Shwartzman. The Russian racer himself had likewise done just enough to hold his position in the table, as the Spa Feature victory for Yuki Tsunoda had catapulted the Japanese rookie into third after he dedicated his triumph to the late Anthoine Hubert. Mick Schumacher and the furious Nikita Mazepin then completed the top five, both just shy of the 100 point barrier, with no new names on the score sheet.

In the Teams' Championship it had been a strong Saturday afternoon for Prema Racing, as they returned to the top of the title hunt for the first time since the 2020 Hungaroring Sprint Race. Indeed, the Italian effort had established a five point lead over UNI-Virtuosi as both broke into the 200 point region, while Hitech Grand Prix had moved into third with 138. Carlin had also gained ground as they moved up to fourth ahead of ART Grand Prix after their Feature triumph, while Trident had inched towards HWA Racelab at the foot of the table.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:
 * * Placeholder liveries are show for the second drivers in each team.

Grid
The grid for the Sprint Race was formed from the finishing positions from the Feature Race, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA Formula 2 Championship rules:


 * * Vips started the race from the pitlane after stalling on the formation lap.
 * † Matsushita was withdrawn from the race due to damage sustained in the 2020 Spa Feature Race.

Race
Conditions were still calm ahead of the second race of the Formula 2 Championship's trip to Spa on Sunday morning, with no threat of rain for the 120 km sprint. There would, however, be less stability in terms of the entry list, with Nobuharu Matsushita dropping out of the race due to having sustained too much damage in the Feature Race. There would then be a further change on the formation lap, as eleventh placed Jüri Vips stalled and had to be dragged away to the pit lane.

Report
At the start proper it was a clean start for pole sitter Roy Nissany as the Israeli racer launched into an early lead, only to be blindsided by Dan Ticktum as the Brit darted past from third. Indeed, such was the Brit's advantage that he was able to move literally ahead of Nissany into La Source and block any potential lunge, resulting in Robert Shwartzman challenging the Israeli on the outside of the hairpin. Nissany would, however, manage to hold on and keep Shwartzman at bay, as behind fellow front row started Guanyu Zhou dropped into the midfield after a miserable start from second.

As Yuki Tsunoda was elbowed onto the escape road exiting La Source by Nikita Mazepin, Nissany tucked right under Ticktum's rear wing through Eau Rouge, plotting a move into Les Combes. He duly out-braked the Brit on the outside of the right hand entry to the complex to claim the lead, as behind Tsunoda found himself in a five way fight for seventh with Mick Schumacher, Callum Ilott, Mazepin and Jack Aitken down the Kemmel Straight. Tsunoda would subsequently fall to the back of that particular battle pack, before tapping the back of Ilott into turn seven and sending the #4 UNI-Virtuosi into a half-spin.

As Ilott came to a stop and stalled in the middle of the circuit, Ticktum attempted to reclaim the lead with a lunge around the outside of Bruxelles, although Nissany ably fended him off through to Ickx. That fight was then put into a stalemate by a Safety Car, for Ilott's car had been left in a dangerous position in the middle of turn seven, and was unable to move. Fortunately the race would only lose two laps before the race resumed, with Nissany controlling the restart well enough to maintain the lead into La Source at the start of lap four.

Yet, Ticktum would get a run on the #22 Trident down the Kemmel Straight after the restart, with the Brit committing to the outside line into Les Combes. Ticktum then managed to out-brake Nissany into the corner and claim the lead, only to run wide and scramble of the outside kerb, which became the inside kerb for turn six. A second bounce on the kerb then carried the #2 DAMS into the left rear of the #22 Trident, which snapped the rear suspension and sent Nissany spinning backwards into the outside wall.

Shwartzman duly swept through to claim the lead, while Ticktum went ultra defensive into Bruxelles to hold second from a resurgent Zhou. Nissany, meanwhile, was left with heavy rear end damage and two wheels ripped from his car, leaving him out on the spot and the Safety Car being called upon once again. Once again there would be a two lap intervention before the race resumed, with Shwartzman now at the head of the field as they started lap seven.

It would be a measured restart from Shwartzman, who knew that Ticktum had sustained some minor damage to his front wing which would compromise the Brit's pace. Indeed, Ticktum would instead spend the restart lap defending from Louis Delétraz, who had passed Zhou moments before the SC was scrambled, only for the Swiss racer to elbow his way past around the outside of the #2 DAMS into the Bus Stop chicane. Behind, Schumacher moved up to fifth with a move on Mazepin into La Source, while Aitken found his way past Ghiotto at Les Combes a few moments later with a lunge down the inside of the #25 Hitech.

Ticktum, meanwhile, would surprisingly manage to scramble back past Delétraz down the Kemmel Straight, although given that he had slipped four seconds behind Shwartzman in the space of a lap it seemed to be delaying the inevitable. He would get some relief, however, for Delétraz had now slipped into the sights of Zhou, who duly fired the #3 Virtuosi around the outside of the #11 Charouz into the Bus Stop at the end of lap eight to claim third, a brief kiss of wheels getting the job done. That move also allowed Schumacher to dart past down the start/finish straight for fourth, before Delétraz put up a furious defence to keep Mazepin at bay into La Source to hold fifth.

Down the Kemmel Straight on lap nine and Schumacher was on a mission, darting around the outside of Zhou with the aid of DRS and the slipstream of Ticktum as Zhou had moved out to eye a move on the #2 DAMS into Les Combes. Yet, Schumacher would still require time to get past Ticktum, with his first chance to pass the #2 DAMS coming at the end of lap eleven when Ticktum locked up entering the Bus Stop and cut the chicane under pressure from the German racer. Yet, Ticktum opted against lifting off into La Source, meaning Schumacher would have to wait until they made the run from La Source through to Les Combes on the following lap to have another shot at passing the Brit.

That, ultimately, proved to be the best result for Schumacher, as he simply eased ahead of the #2 DAMS down the Kemmel Straight with the aid of DRS to claim second. With that, the #20 Prema was away to catch the sister car of Shwartzman, some ten seconds up the road, while Ticktum came under attack from Zhou. Indeed, having seen Schumacher get past and pull away the Chinese racer was rather keen to pass the ailing Ticktum, although his rather naive attempt around the outside of Blanchimont was met with a predictable ease off track by the Brit.

Zhou would instead have to wait for another lap and a half before passing the #2 DAMS down the Kemmel Straight, by which stage Schumacher had escaped by three seconds from the man in third. Behind, Delétraz's pace had been wavering since he had failed to get past Ticktum at the restart, and he had hence been knocked back to eighth by successive moves from Mazepin, Ghiotto and Tsunoda. Aitken, meanwhile, had been dumped out of the group after serving a time penalty for starting in the wrong grid position, while Tsunoda would serve a five second time penalty after the race for spinning Ilott out.

With four laps to go the the Ticktum train for fourth was entering the Bus Stop chicane with Mazepin halfheartedly looking at making a move, only for the #2 DAMS to lock-up and run wide. That compromised Ticktum's run onto the start/finish straight, although not enough for Mazepin to benefit, although it did cause a concertina effect behind as the rest of the train had to back off to compensate. As a result Jehan Daruvala would get caught out and nail the back of Marino Sato, spinning the #23 Trident out of the race and triggering a brief Virtual Safety Car.

A lap later and the VSC was over and the Ticktum train heading through Stavelot, with Mazepin now tucked right under the fourth placed DAMS's rear wing. As a result the #24 Hitech was able to simply draft past the #2 DAMS on the run through to Blanchimont, with Ghiotto following him through around the outside of Bus Stop. Ticktum tried to fight back down the start/finish straight but was forced to go around the outside of La Source, meaning he was unsurprisingly run out wide by the veteran Italian racer.

Delétraz duly used that to his advantage to dart past the #2 DAMS down the Kemmel Straight a few moments later, while Tsunoda harassed Ticktum into Bruxelles, but to no avail. Furthermore, the wounded DAMS' train now incorporated Ticktum's temporary teammate Vips, who had started the race from the pitlane, and had largely matched the pace of the leaders throughout. Indeed, through the final lap Ticktum would slide back behind Tsunoda, Lundgaard and Artem Markelov, the latter two passing through Blanchimont, with Vips finishing the race right behind his teammate as a result.

Out front, meanwhile, Shwartzman completed a dominant display to claim victory and the Championship lead, still eight seconds clear of teammate Schumacher as the chequered flag fluttered. The two Premas were joined on the podium by Zhou, while Mazepin resisted a late challenge from teammate Ghiotto down the Kemmel Straight to claim fourth. Delétraz was next up ahead of Tsunoda, Lundgaard claimed the final point in eighth, while Ticktum ended the day in tenth ahead of Vips.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Aitken recorded the fastest lap of the race, but was ineligible to claim the bonus points as he finished outside of the top ten.

Milestones

 * Third career victory for Robert Shwartzman.
 * Fifth podium for Shwartzman.
 * Prema Racing claimed their fifteenth win in Formula 2.
 * Also their 24th victory at GP2/F2 level.

Standings
Victory in the Spa Sprint combined with a non-score for the former leader would elevate Robert Shwartzman to the top of the Championship, with the Russian racer heading to Monza with a small ten point lead. Former leader Callum Ilott would hence slip to second having only claimed two points across the previous three rounds, while Yuki Tsunoda had held onto third on 111 points. Mick Schumacher was next up, five behind Tsunoda, while Nikita Mazepin completed the top five a further five points off of Schumacher.

A one-two for Prema Racing in the Spa Sprint had greatly enhanced their recently won lead in the Teams' Championship, with their advantage opening out to 24 points over UNI-Virtuosi. Indeed, the British squad had only kept pace with the Italian scuderia courtesy of Guanyu Zhou's podium in the Spa Sprint, although they had remained 62 ahead of Hitech Grand Prix. Elsewhere, Carlin had held fourth ahead of ART Grand Prix, while HWA Racelab had inched away from Trident at the foot of the table.