Day 3-
Despite a slower getaway than fellow front row starter Bortoleto, Barnard was able to keep a hold of the lead while Hauger tucked into third.
However, a safety car was required after Victor Martins’ race ended early in the barriers at Turn 1.
The ART Grand Prix driver appeared to collide with DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford and Campos Racing’s Josep Maria Marti, taking off his front wing and sending him into the wall.
At the restart, Barnard kept a hold of the lead, but the Safety Car was deployed again on lap 6 when Marti crashed into the wall at the swimming pool section.
Racing then resumed on lap 8 and by the end of the next tour of the track, the top four from Barnard to Andrea Kimi Antonelli were separated by a second and a half.
The Virtual Safety Car was then deployed on lap 11 after Richard Verschoor sustained damage on his front wing after hitting the apex at Mirabeua.
The Trident driver appeared to receive a tap from Joshua Duerksen causing him to lose control.
Out in front, Barnard’s lead over Bortoleto was now over two seconds by the start of lap 19, the Brazilian driver now coming under pressure from Hauger.
Bearman’s day was made worse when he a slow moment out of Portier following an issue which dropped him down a few places.
This promoted Maloney to 11th, who was looking to dive down the inside of Zak O’Sullivan for P10.
The Championship leader’s day then came to an end at La Rascasse after he locked up into the corner before being sent into a spin by Juan Manuel Correa. This also left Maini without a place to go causing him to stop next to Maloney, with the track blocked it triggered a red flag.
Racing got back underway with a rolling start on lap 26 and Barnard was now nearly four seconds clear of Bortoleto as they rounded the track for the 28th time.
As they started the final lap, the gap out front was five seconds leaving Barnard to cross the line in first, giving him and AIX Racing their maiden Formula 2 victory. Boroleto finished in P2 while Hauger followed him across the line to take P3.
The full top 10 are- P1: Barnard, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Hauger, P4: Antonelli, P5: Colapinto, P6: Stanek, P7: Aron, P8: Hadjar, P9: Fittipaldi and P10: O’Sullivan.
Day 4-
Richard Verschoor made a fast start from pole in the Trident, but his fellow front row starter Victor Martins fell down the order. It allowed Hadjar and Aron to move up to second and third.
Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto was using his supersoft tyres well as he went round the outside of Dennis Hauger at the Turn 6 hairpin putting him up to eighth. He was right behind Oliver Bearman who made his way up from 12th to P7.
It was not good news however for DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford, who stopped on track at Turn 7 after colliding with the Invicta Racing car of Kush Maini.
On lap 4 of 42, Verschoor was being put under pressure by Hadjar, while Aron was falling back in third. Just behind the top three, Colapinto was feeling the presence of PREMA’s Antonelli for P4.
The drivers then held station but by lap 10, Bortoleto was given the hurry up from his Invicta Racing team and told to catch berman ahead.
Trouble came for Trident and Verschoor, with the Dutch driver coming on the radio to report an issue. The Dutchman was able to keep things going but his three second lead to Hadjar was now gone.
At the halfway stage, Hitech and PREMA rolled the dice by pitting Aron and Antonelli for the supersoft tyres. The latter came out ahead his teammmate Bearman, though the two went wheel to wheel and the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent claimed the position.
On lap 36, Hadjar came on the radio to say he had hit the wall but was able to continue, although he was still coming under attack from Aron.
Elsewhere, Maloney and Barnard made contact at the Turn 6 hairpin, with the AIX racer losing a piece of his front wing.
Lap 40, Joshua Duerksen was next to pit but collided with Maloney at Turn 1. The AIX driver stopped on track while the Rodin Motorsport driver continued on.
This gave Zak O’Sullivan, the last remaining runner on the alternative strategy yet to pit, the chance to come in from the lead.
Crucially, he was called in by ART moments before the VSC was deployed, making his stop under VSC legal.
The Brit re-joined ahead of Hadjar on the penultimate lap before holding him off on a tense final lap to take his maiden victory in Formula 2.
The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullivan, P2: Hadjar, P3: Aron, P4: Bearman, P5: Correa, P6: Hauger, P7: Antonelli, P8: Bortoleto, P9: Martins and P10: Maloney.
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