2017 Jerez Sprint Race

The 2017 Jerez Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2017 Jerez Race 2, was the twentieth race of the 2017 FIA Formula Two Championship, staged at the Circuito de Jerez on the 8 October 2017. The race would see Artem Markelov sweep to victory as the fight for second in the Championship heated up.

Álex Palou would start the race from pole on his F2 debut weekend, and duly streaked into the lead at the start, fending off fellow front-row starter Luca Ghiotto. Indeed, Ghiotto would have a bigger issue heading into the second corner, for contact with Jordan King saw the Italian go scrambling across the gravel.

King would undertake a furious rear-guard action in second after picking up damage from Ghiotto, allowing Palou to creep away out front. However, a gearbox failure for King on lap four opened the door for the chasing pack, with Nicholas Latifi immediately sprinting after the Spaniard.

However, Palou was not in the mood to be caught, and duly continued to eek out his lead from Latifi as the rest squabbled behind. In the middle of that pack was Antonio Fuoco, who ultimately decided to pit just before the halfway point for fresh tyres, followed in by Champion teammate Charles Leclerc.

Unfortunately the decision to pit for fresh tyres appeared to be the incorrect call, for Palou and Latifi stayed out, and were able to match the stoppers' pace. Indeed, the fastest man on circuit for a time would be Markelov, whom duly cruised onto the back of Latifi, just as the Canadian moved into striking position behind the Spaniard.

It was at this point that Markelov stole a march on the two ahead, with two brilliantly timed lunges in the space of three corners carrying the Russian racer from third to first. He soon disappeared up the road to claim victory, leaving Latifi and Oliver Rowland to mug Palou, whose pace fell dramatically, in the closing staged to complete the podium.

Background
There were no changes required for the Circuito de Jerez overnight, meaning there was no need for F2 to practice on Sunday morning. Furthermore, with F2 serving as the headline act, the start time had been pushed back to the afternoon, creating a more relaxed atmosphere in the paddock. In terms of the grid there were no late revisions, meaning Álex Palou would start from pole as expected.

Into the Championship and Charles Leclerc had been declared as the 2017 FIA Formula Two Championship Champion with three races to spare after the Feature, with the Monegasque moving 68 points clear with 65 left to fight for. Indeed, in spite of his efforts in the Feature Oliver Rowland had failed to keep the hunt alive, and was now set to fight for second to the end of the season. Fortunately the results of the Feature had put him seventeen clear of Artem Markelov, with Luca Ghiotto and Nicholas Latifi also still in that particular chase.

In the Teams' Championship it was Prema Racing whom moved to the top of the table during the Feature, winning the latest round of the eternal game of leap-frog between themselves, DAMS and Russian Time. In that game, Russian Time had gone from first to third in the standings during the Feature, while DAMS had moved back to second, a point ahead of the Russian squad. Behind, ART Grand Prix were still in fourth, with Rapax inching marginally closer, while Trident and Campos Racing were set to battle for the wooden spoon.

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

Grid
The grid for the twentieth 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.
 * * Binder set the fastest lap of the race but was ineligible to claim points as he finished outside of the top ten.
 * † Boschung was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.

Milestones

 * Fourth career victory for Artem Markelov.
 * Russian Time secured their fifth victory as an entrant in Formula Two.
 * The Russian squad also earned their fourteenth triumph at GP2/F2 level.

Standings
Victory for Artem Markelov put the Russian racer closer to second place Oliver Rowland in the Championship, with the pair ending the weekend twelve points apart ahead of the finale in Abu Dhabi. Indeed, there were still four drivers mathematically in the fight for second, with Luca Ghiotto and Nicholas Latifi within 35 points of Rowland. Pre-declared Champion Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, had nothing to fear ahead of the finale, leaving the rest to fight behind him.

In the Teams' Championship it was Prema Racing whom had emerged on top in Jerez, ending the weekend on 347 points, having arrived in third. DAMS, meanwhile, had been the big losers, dropping to third, although they were level with Russian Time in second on 343, with the latter's greater number of wins keeping them ahead. Elsewhere, ART Grand Prix had effectively secured fourth, while Rapax were a safe fifth.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.