Josep María Martí made an astonishing start, propelling himself from fourth to the top of the podium and claiming his first Formula 2 win. The Campos Racing driver showcased remarkable skill in withstanding the charge from second-placed Gabriel Bortoleto and emerging victorious. Meanwhile, the Invicta Racing driver extended his Championship lead over Isack Hadjar by a significant margin.

Witness the Thrilling Journey to Victory at Yas Marina

Dream Start and Championship Battle

Martí's dream start was nothing short of spectacular. From fourth place, he surged to the lead before Turn 1, leaving AIX Racing's Joshua Duerksen and pole-sitter Amaury Cordeel struggling with slow starts. This opened the door for Kush Maini, who had an excellent start and moved up from P8 to second at Turn 6 on Lap 1. In the Championship fight, Bortoleto climbed to fifth ahead of Paul Aron, while Hadjar fell to 11th due to first corner contact with Maini.On Lap 3, Bortoleto began his charge, overtaking Duerksen for P4 at Turn 6 and then getting past Cordeel at the same corner on the next tour to secure a podium position. Martí's fast start from fourth kept him in the lead, with Aron and Duerksen moving ahead of Maini at Turn 6 to take fourth and fifth.

Struggles and Battles in the Race

Maini's struggles continued as he dropped down the field. PREMA Racing's Oliver Bearman and Dino Beganovic got ahead of him at Turn 6. Hadjar also faced challenges, struggling to overtake Beganovic for seventh. Cordeel, who had been ahead of Aron, made a mistake at Turn 12 on Lap 16, allowing his teammate back into contention. Duerksen then attempted a pass on the Belgian at Turn 6 but the two collided, sending Duerksen out of the race.Bearman moved up to fourth but was given a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits on Lap 19. Martí led every lap of the race and crossed the line to take his maiden Formula 2 victory, with Bortoleto finishing second and extending his Championship lead. Aron held off Bearman to end up in third, while the Briton's penalty dropped him to P5 and Beganovic moved to fourth. Hadjar finished sixth for Campos, and ART Grand Prix driver Luke Browning ended up in seventh, with Richard Verschoor rounding out the points for MP Motorsport.

Key Quotes and Championship Standings

Key Quote – Josep María Martí, Campos Racing: "Obviously super happy to get the win here at Yas Marina for the Sprint Race. Was a great start from P4, I managed to get to the lead and then from there it was trying to pace the same as Gabriel, he was super-fast, so I had to push a lot and obviously not make bit mistakes and keep a distance until the end and win the race, so super happy and looking for a good result tomorrow."The Championship Standings show Gabriel Bortoleto moving to 196.5 points and leading Isack Hadjar by 5.5 points into the Feature Race. Paul Aron is third with 169 points. Zane Maloney is fourth with 140 points, and Jak Crawford rounds out the top five with 140 points. In the Teams' Championship, Invicta Racing moved to 270.5 points, with Campos Racing narrowing the gap to 25.5 points. Hitech Pulse-Eight are now third with 204 points, overtaking MP Motorsport, while PREMA Racing stay fifth with 183 points.

Up Next – Yas Marina Feature Race

Next up is the highly anticipated Yas Marina Feature Race, set to get underway on Sunday afternoon at 13:25 local time. Fans are eagerly awaiting more thrilling action on the track.