- Swede sprints to P3 at Spa-Francorchamps
- DAMS Lucas Oil driver scores third rostrum of the season
Dino Beganovic returned to the FIA Formula 2 podium with a drive to third place at Spa-Francorchamps, scoring his third rostrum of the season.
Bouncing back from a couple of difficult weekends, Beganovic enjoyed an improved performance in the Belgian Ardennes to qualify inside the top six aboard his DAMS Lucas Oil Dallara.
That left him fifth on the grid for Saturday’s sprint race, where he then executed a strong drive to make up two positions and grace the podium in third place.
The result adds to previous success for Beganovic at Spa, adding an F2 podium to wins in Formula Regional and Formula 3 at the Belgian circuit.
“It’s nice to be back on the podium and to get a result like this after a few difficult races,” says Dino Beganovic. “We’ve shown improved pace here this weekend, qualifying in the top six and then having a good sprint race moving up from fifth to third. It’s definitely a step forward and I’ve been largely happy with how the car has felt throughout this weekend.”
Beganovic still left the event with mixed emotions, however, as a malfunctioning clutch forced him to stall on the grid and retire from Sunday’s feature race immediately at the start.
“We had an issue which unfortunately took me out of the race before it had even begun today,” says Dino Beganovic. “The clutch was fully engaged but the car still started to move when I applied the throttle, and then it just stalled and we couldn’t get it to fire up again.
“It’s obviously disappointing as I think we had the strongest part of the weekend still ahead of us, but there is no point dwelling on something I can’t affect. Overall, I’m happy with the steps we’ve made and the improved pace. That’s the main thing and we’ll get after it again in a few days in Hungary.”
The FIA Formula 2 season resumes next weekend (July 24-26) at the Hungaroring on the outskirts of Budapest.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 2 Championship
Rd. 8 – Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)
Race 1 (Sprint Race)
1: J. Dürksen (PRY), Invicta Racing
2: M. Stenshorne (NOR), Rodin Motorsport
3: D. Beganovic (SWE), DAMS Lucas Oil
Race 2 (Feature Race)
1: R. Câmara (BRA), Invicta Racing
2: T. Inthraphuvasak (THA), ART Grand Prix
3: N. Tsolov (BUL), Campos Racing
—
DNF: D. Beganovic (SWE), DAMS Lucas Oil
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 2 Championship
After 8/14 rounds
1: N. Tsolov (BUL), Campos Racing, 161 p.
2: G. Minì (ITA), MP Motorsport, 134 p.
3: R. Câmara (BRA), Invicta Racing, 125 p.
4: A. Dunne (IRE), Rodin Motorsport, 108 p.
5: N. Léon (MEX), Campos Racing, 75 p.
—
7: D. Beganovic (SWE), DAMS Lucas Oil, 63 p.
