Abu Dhabi: Charles Leclerc showed just why he is the 2017 Formula 2 champion when he produced a brilliant come-from-behind performance to win the final race of the 11-round series at Yas Marina Circuit.
“What a drive,” yelled the 20-year-old Monaco driver from the cockpit. “The best of the season. I’m so happy, so happy.”
Starting the 22-lap sprint seventh on the grid, where the top eight from the feature race line up in reverse order, Leclerc picked his way through the field in his Prema Racing car, claiming third place after 14 laps and second after 18.
But it was a thrilling last-lap surge that carried him past race leader Alex Albon’s ART and on to his second sprint race victory of the season to add to the five he has taken in the longer feature races.
The two cars touched through Turns 6 and 7, then Leclerc produced a copy-book move into Turn 8 at the end of Yas Marina’s 1.2-km main straight to take the lead at just the right time.
When feature race podium finishers Ollie Rowland of Dams and Prema’s Antonio Fuoco were both disqualified from those results for technical infringements, Artem Markelov claimed Saturday’s victory for Russian Time.
That decision took some of the sting out of the chase for the teams’ title, which started the weekend with Prema two points clear of Dams with Russian Time just four points further adrift.
In the end Markelov’s Saturday win, then his sixth-place Sunday finish with teammate Luca Ghiotto fifth secured the crown for Russian Time on 395 points to Prema’s 380.
With the top eight from Saturday’s race reversed on the grid for Sunday’s it was it MP Motorsport’s Jordan King who started from pole, but the 23-year-old Englishman was swamped at the start by ART’s Alex Albon and Nobuharu Matsushita, with Nicholas Latifi forcing his Dams entry between those two on the opening lap.
King had a dismal afternoon, dropping down the order, picking up a puncture and eventually retiring as 17 of the 20 cars made it to the finish. But he had the small consolation of setting fastest race lap of 1 minute, 51.315 seconds, an average of 179.619kph, on Lap 6.
