Mini wins a chaotic Miami F2 Feature Race, Herta impresses with P8 finish

After the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix, the F2 calendar was thus reorganised to avoid a three-month hiatus, and so it is Mini that made history on Sunday for MP.

ART’s Kush Maini secured top spot in Friday's Qualifying, lining up ahead of Ferrari junior Rafael Camara and Martinius Stenshorne. Home favourite Colton Herta had a tough challenge ahead of him, starting from P14 for Cadillac-backed Hitech.

There were talking points even before the race was underway, as DAMS' Roman Bilinski was wheeled off prior to the race, and Stenshorne was given a stop-and-go penalty for a starting procedure infringement. Surprising given the harsh conditions at Miami on Sunday, the Feature Race got underway via a standing start.

Continuing on from Saturday's thrilling Sprint, the race start was dramatic. Pole-sitter Maini got away from Camara, who dropped to third. A collision with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak saw Red Bull junior Nikolas Tsolov retire early, and drivers were called into the pit lane behind the Safety Car due to debris. Neither Maini nor Camara, however, had seemed to get the message, for which they are to be investigated after the race.

Racing was back underway on Lap Four, and again, more drama. Oliver Goethe came to a stop on the exit of Turn Three after hitting the barrier on the main straight - the ensuing yellow flag was good news for Stenshorne who came in to serve his penalty. An exciting battle in the rain between Camara and Invicta teammate Joshua Durksen for P2 was interrupted by the Virtual Safety Car.

Lap Seven saw the battle continue, as ART's Maini started to get away from the pair. Elsewhere, Herta was into the points after the early drop outs, but with a five-second gap to Dutchman Laurens Van Hoepen.

On Lap 10, Alex Dunne brought out yet another Safety Car, after hitting the barrier. In the pit lane, Villagomez had come in to serve his stop, but his VAR failed to get going. Camara was the big winner here, as he came out ahead of Maini after the pits.

And yet again, the Safety Car was brought out for a multi-car incident involving Stenshorne, Varrone, and Van Hoepen. The former had to stop on track, while the others went on. With 15 minutes to go, Camara led Beganovic and Noel Leon, with Mini P4 and Maini P5.

Beganovic attacked Câmara into Turn 11, but the young Brazilian kept the lead at the Turn 14 chicane as the Safety Car came out once more as Cian Shields span out. An exceptional move from Mini on the inside of Leon at Turn 16 saw him take the final podium spot just prior.

With five minutes to go, racing was back on. Camara defended from Beganovic, while Herta was fighting close to Sebastian Montoya, making contact with the Colombian into the Turn 14 chicane, and getting past to ultimately take P8.

A thrilling three-way fight for the lead took over the final laps, with Mini and Beganovic getting past Camara after he went wide at Turn Three. Mini was in the lead going into the final lap, and he kept it in what was a thrilling race to the line.