Update | Hadjar loses victory in F2 sprint race, Stanek wins

Isack Hadjar won the Formula 2 sprint race in Australia. The Red Bull Junior Team Frenchman was involved in a starting lien crash, but that did not hurt his race. Roman Stanek and Dennis Hauger finished on the podium. Andrea Kimi Antonelli spun out of the race.

The sprint race had barely begun when the first crash happened. Gabriel Bortoleto did not have a good start and seemed to be overtaken immediately by Pepe Marti. However, Isack Hadjar came from P2 in the same direction, causing Marti to sandwich and crash with Bortoleto. Hadjar surprisingly came out of this moment unscathed, the other two were less fortunate and ended up in the wall at the exit of the pitlane.

After the safety car, it was up to the drivers to reheat their cold tyres and that didn't work for championship leader Zane Maloney who lost control at turn six, continued on his way, but did lose a lot of places.

What happened to Antonelli?

Up front, Isack Hadjar pulled away as Roman Stanek kept a whole train of drivers behind him on P2. Behind Stanek, things went wrong. Andrea Kimi Antonelli asked just a little too much of his Prema car as he tried to overtake. The Italian driver lost control and ended up in the gravel trap. Richard Verschoor tried to avoid contact with the Italian's side and spun himself with no contact between the two. Verschoor's race ended in the wall as a result and so another safety car followed.

After the second safety car, Hadjar drove away at the front of the field. The Red Bull junior created a gap with number two Roman Stanek, who still had to defend hard to keep P2.

Update: time penalty for Hadjar

A few hours after the race, Hadjar lost his victory. The stewards gave the French-Algerian a ten-second penalty for his part in the starting crash with Bortoleto and Marti. Stanek is therefore promoted to victory, ahead of Dennis Hauger (2nd) and Kush Maini (3rd). Hadjar is classified seventh.