2018 Spa Sprint Race

The 2018 Spa Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2018 Spa Race 2, was the eighteenth race of the 2018 FIA Formula Two Championship, staged at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on the 26 August 2018. The race, held in support of the 2018 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix, would see Nicholas Latifi sweep to victory just ahead of an last gasp duel for second.

The Canadian ace would start the Sprint from pole by virtue of finishing eighth in the Feature Race. He then successfully blasted clear of the grid to take the lead into La Source, leaving Luca Ghiotto to fend off a fast starting Nyck de Vries.

Latifi soon established a small lead on the opening lap, while de Vries tried hard to take Ghiotto before the Canadian disappeared. Behind, Lando Norris and Artem Markelov kept swapping positions, the Russian ending the first lap ahead, while Alexander Albon and Championship leader George Russell fighting hard just behind.

de Vries managed to snatch second on lap two, although Latifi had already pulled out of striking distance before the Dutchman sneaked ahead of Ghiotto. Behind, Norris finally elbowed his way past Markelov and moved into attack position behind Ghiotto, while Albon escaped from Russell to harass Markelov.

Norris, Markelov and Albon all made their way past Ghiotto in the following laps, with no other major changes to the order as the race wore on. Indeed, de Vries seemed to be struggling to hang on to Latifi out front, and with five laps to go his pace looked on the verge of collapse.

Indeed, de Vries proved to be the catalyst for an excellent dice between Albon and Norris, whom both scythed past the Dutchman with a lap to go. The Thai ace would send a series of lunges at Norris during the final lap, but the Brit had just enough in hand to keep Albon at bay as they crossed the line. Ten seconds ahead, meanwhile, Latifi had cruised home to claim victory and fastest lap, while de Vries just fended off Markelov for forth.

Background
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit would remain unchanged for the second race of the weekend, although conditions had improved overnight with temperatures marginally higher. The grid, meanwhile, was unchanged from its expected format, meaning Nicholas Latifi would be one pole having finished eighth in the Feature Race. He would share the front row with Luca Ghiotto, with the entire field set to complete the race using the medium compound Pirelli tyres.

In terms of the Championship, George Russell still held the advantage after the Feature race, actually managing to extend his lead by three points for the first time since the Silverstone Sprint Race. Lando Norris had, however, remained a threat and could re-take the lead with victory in the Sprint, while Alexander Albon had lost ground in third. Indeed, the Thai racer was instead on the verge of slipping behind Feature winner Nyck de Vries, who had moved to fourth with his third victory of the season.

Elsewhere, Carlin had extended their lead in the Teams' Championship after their 2-4 finish in the first Spa race, moving 48 points clear of second placed ART Grand Prix. Indeed, the British squad were just five points away from the 300 point mark with seven races left, and with 48 points in hand could almost afford to miss a race and retain the lead. Behind, DAMS had secured themselves in third place, while Pertamina Prema had moved ahead of Charouz on count-back.

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

Grid
The grid for the second race of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps was determined from the results of the Feature Race, with the positions of the top eight reversed:

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

 * Second victory for Nicholas Latifi.
 * Latifi also recorded his fifth fastest lap.
 * DAMS claimed their seventh victory as an entrant in Formula Two.
 * Also the French team's 32nd triumph at GP2/F2 level.

Standings
George Russell continued to lead the Championship at the end of the Spa weekend, although his lead had been slashed to just five points. Indeed, a productive second race for Lando Norris had allowed the Brit to move within striking distance of his compatriot, and inch a little further clear of third placed Alexander Albon. Albon himself could not be ruled out with six races left to run, ending the weekend just 27 points back, while Nyck de Vries was also still in the hunt.

Into the Teams' Championship and Carlin smashed through the 300 point mark with Norris' podium finish leaving them on 307. ART Grand Prix remained their closest challengers in second, but had slipped over 50 points back after a poor second race in Spa. DAMS, meanwhile, had moved past the 200 point barrier as a result of Nicholas Latifi's triumph, meaning they had moved closer to ART and away from Pertamina Prema.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.