Alessandro Giusti, the French driver from G4 Racing, gave himself a birthday present in the second race at the Red Bull Ring. Starting from pole position, he secured his second win of the season, celebrating from the top step of the podium on his 17th birthday.
Once again, Giusti displayed exceptional pace, with his lead only briefly challenged in the early stages of the race when he was attacked simultaneously by Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Sami Meguetounif. The Frenchman resisted these challenges and pulled away for the victory. Only in the closing laps did Meguetounif manage to reduce the gap, but not enough to attempt a move. The MP Motorsport driver, who also set the fastest lap of the race, relentlessly chased his first win in the series, but had to settle for second place, which he dedicated to his late teammate Dilano Van ‘T Hoff, also commemorated through Meguetounif’s new helmet during the weekend. Third under the checquered flag was Martinius Stenshorne, although the Norwegian driver from R-ace GP received a drive-through penalty, converted into a 25-second time penalty for failing to follow the correct procedure after stalling during the formation lap and slipped out of the points. The third spot in Race 2 final results was thus inherited by Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the Prema Racing Italian ace.
In fourth place was Esteban Masson of Saintéloc Racing, who chased Antonelli and significantly closed the gap in the final stages of the race. This result marks Masson’s most favorable outcome so far and highlights the important work he and the Team have done throughout the year. Nikhil Bohra finished fifth, followed by his teammate Owen Tangavelou, contributing valuable points to the Italian Team Trident. Kas Haverkort, the Dutchman from Van Amersfoort Racing, secured seventh place with another strong performance. Eighth place went to Lorenzo Fluxà of Prema Racing, who engaged in an exciting battle with Roman Bilinski of Trident. Bilinski pressured him repeatedly during Race 2, forcing Fluxà to defend to maintain his position, with the Pole having to set for the P9. Michael Belov, the talented driver from G4 Racing, rounded off the top 10.
The start of the race was tumultuous, with contact during the first lap between Maya Weug of KIC Motorsport and Joshua Duerksen of Arden. Marcus Amand of ART Grand Prix was also involved in the incident, leading to retirements for all three drivers.
Santiago Ramos, the Mexican driver from RPM, also found himself out of the battle for the final race of the weekend. He stalled on the second row of the starting grid, forfeiting the excellent work he had done in qualifying. Rafael Camara of PREMA Racing also had an early stop, forced into the pit lane following contact with Laurens Van Hoepen in turn 3 during the first lap. ART Grand Prix’s driver was subsequently penalized with a 10-second penalty after the race.
Alessandro Giusti: “It was a tough race. Sami was behind, quite close and quite fast. We had a drop with the front tyre, so it was very hard to keep him behind. I’m happy we managed to do that. We worked hard with our engineer during the summer, and now we are having great results.”
Sami Meguetounif: “It was a good day. Yesterday we knew in quali we were there, but I was just missing a bit of tow in sector 1 to be at the front. This morning we managed to have a lap with a bit of tow, I putted everything together and we could start from P4, it was easier than yesterday of course. Third podium, it is good so far. I think we are now in a good phase, me personally, but also with the Team working with the car. I think we are getting there, to the first win. We go to Monza to fight for the win, like we did here, and we’ll do everything to have it before the end of the season. From now we focus on doing the best job we can, to make proud Dilano. Every time we are on the podium, or in the front, we are happy and we really dedicate it to Dilano.”
Go to the results page
At the conclusion of the seventh round of the Championship, Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s lead has widened. With a total of 214 points, he now holds a 33-point advantage over the second, Martinius Stenshorne, who has 181 points. German driver Tim Tramnitz of R-ace GP remains in third place with 161 points.
Go to the standings page
The next step for the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine is at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, scheduled for the upcoming weekend from September 15th to 17th, marking the eighth round of the ten-round season.