Bortoleto crowned champion as Hadjar stalls in finale

Invicta driver Gabriel Bortoleto was crowned the 2024 Formula 2 champion after finishing second to AIX driver Joshua Durksen in the Abu Dhabi finale.

The outcome was all but sealed on the opening lap in the feature race at Yas Marina when the Brazilian flew into the lead as pole-sitter Victor Martins (ART) struggled and title rival Isack Hadjar (Campos) stalled from third.

Heading into the season-ending weekend, Bortoleto and Hadjar had been separated by half-a-point, a margin that had extended to four-and-a-half points following Saturday’s sprint race.

To seal the title, Bortoleto finished second on the road to Durksen, who made the most of an undercut to leap past the lead pack on the favoured strategy, starting on super soft tyres before switching to the mediums.

The biggest drama for Sauber-bound Bortoleto came on his out-lap from his lap-seven stop to ditch the super soft tyres and fit mediums. Struggling to generate heat, the Invicta driver was passed by both Durksen and Martins. Such were his struggles that he reported his brakes were not working, an issue that cleared relatively quickly.

To his credit, Hadjar refused to give up on his constantly fading championship chances, returning to the track a lap down after his stallled start, knowing that a safety car would give him the lap back and he could still seal the crown for himself should Bortoleto fail to finish.

Having described the stall on team radio as “the worst moment of my life,” Hadjar’s never-say-die attitude was highlighted by his request for Campos to inform him of the gap to Bortoleto every lap.

On the alternate strategy, Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) had established a 7.5s lead over Pepe Marti (Campos) before switching to the super soft tyres for the closing few laps, exiting the pits in fifth.

With the stops complete, Bortoleto entered DRS range of Martins on lap 29 and completed the pass for second at Turn 9, sweeping around the outside of the ART driver.

At Turn one on the closing tour, Verschoor took the reward for making the alternative strategy work, passing Martins for the final spot on the podium.

Durksen held on to take his first F2 feature race victory, leading home the new F2 champion for 2024, Gabriel Bortoleto.

1	J. Duerksen PHM AIX Racing	24		33				1
2	G. Bortoleto Invicta Racing	10		33		1.700		1
3	R. Verschoor MP Motorsport	11		33		3.600		1
4	V. Martins ART Grand Prix	1		33		2.000		1
5	O. Bearman Prema Powerteam	3		33		3.000		1
6	P. Martí Campos Racing	21		33		7.800		1
7	D. Beganovic DAMS Lucas Oil	8		33		1.600		1
8	A. Cordeel Hitech Pulse-Eight	16		33		0.100		1
9	O. Goethe MP Motorsport	12		33		1.200		1
10	R. Miyata Rodin Motorsport	6		33		2.300		1
11	P. Aron Hitech Pulse-Eight	17		33		0.100		1
12	K. Maini Invicta Racing	9		33		6.300		1
13	L. Fornaroli Rodin Motorsport	5		33		0.600		1
14	J. Bennett Van Amersfoort Racing	14		33		3.400		1
15	L. Browning ART Grand Prix	2		33		5.200		1
16	C. Mansell Trident	23		33		3.600		1
17	M. Esterson Trident	22		33		1.000		1
18	C. Shields PHM AIX Racing	25		33		18.700		1
19	I. Hadjar Campos Racing	20		32				1
dnf	J. Crawford DAMS Lucas Oil	7		4				1		Retirement
dnf	R. Villagomez Van Amersfoort Racing	15		4				1		Retirement