The MP F2 team travelled to Spielberg for the second race of the triple-header this 2024 Formula 2 season. It was time for the Austrian GP, driven on the Red Bull Ring, known for its few corners and high speeds. The track always guarantees a spectacle, which made us eager to see what the weekend would bring to the table.
PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING
During Practice on Friday morning, everyone had time to feel the asphalt in the Alps and prepare. Dennis set the fourth-best time, with Franco still finding his ground getting P16. The cars were out on track again a few hours later for Qualifying, which was tight, to say the least. Between pole position and the back of the grid, there was not even a second to tell them apart. This made the battle for pole even more exciting, with Dennis coming out on top! After an amazing lap he managed to set the best time of the grid, Franco not following far behind getting P4.
SPRINT RACE
The reverse grid meant Franco was starting from sixth and Dennis in tenth. During the Sprint, they were both in a constant battle. The race pace was good and we were slowly moving up the grid until the last lap. Unfortunately, in the final lap Franco and Dennis made contact, Franco dropped to P11 causing the team to miss out on good points. Dennis maintained the 5th position until the end and added four points to his championship total.
FEATURE RACE
The race on Sunday didn’t start how Dennis would have wanted, as the car stalled just before the Formation Lap. He had to start from the pitlane along with 2 other drivers, this made him drop back to P21. Franco had a great start, gaining a position on the opening lap as well as ground to the driver in front of him. The team chose a late pitstop, which gave Franco so much more pace in the final laps on fresh supersoft tyres. Rejoining in 8th, he overtook competitor after competitor, getting back-to-back P2’s in the Feature Race! Dennis pulled out all the stops and flew past nine drivers to get P13.
A race weekend with ups and downs, but scoring important points for both the drivers and the constructor’s championship. Next up is Silverstone this week, which will conclude the triple-header of the season.
Standings after the seventh round of racing:
P5 Franco – 75 points
P7 Dennis – 62 points
Team standings
P3 – 137 points