| Round details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 11 of 12 in the2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Layout of the Sochi Autodrom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Sochi Autodrom,Sochi,Krasnodar Krai, Russia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 5.848 km (3.630 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Feature race | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sprint race | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2019 Sochi FIA Formula 2 round consisted of a pair ofFormula Two motor races that took place on 28 and 29 September 2019 at theSochi Autodrom inSochi, Russia. It was the eleventh and penultimate round of the2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Nyck de Vries ofART Grand Prix set the fastest time in qualifying for the feature race. He won the feature race, and won the driver's championship with three races remaining in the season. In the sprint race that followed, ItalianLuca Ghiotto took the victory forVirtuosi Racing ahead of de Vries.
The event was held at theSochi Autodrom inSochi across the weekend of 28–29 September 2019. The Grand Prix was the eleventh and penultimate round of the2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship.[1][2]
In theaborted race in the round atSpa-Francorchamps, a multiple-car pileup resulted in the death ofAnthoine Hubert ofArden and seriously injuredJuan Manuel Correa ofCharouz Racing. The incident also involvedGiuliano Alesi ofTrident Racing.[3] While all three teams involved in the accident ran only one car rather than the usual two in theprevious race atMonza,[4] the teams resorted back to the two-drive line-up for the race. WhileRalph Boschung returned for Trident, RussianArtem Markelov returned to Formula 2 to replace Hubert at Arden and another RussianMatevos Isaakyan made his debut for Charouz in place of the injured Correa.[5]
The race weekend consisted of two races–feature race and sprint. The grid order for the feature race was determined based on the times set during qualification. The pole-sitter of the feature race received four championship points. Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the feature race.[6] The feature race ran for 163.744 km (101.746 mi) and consisted of 28 laps around the circuit.[1]
The grid for the sprint race were based on the results of the feature race with the top eight drivers having their positions reversed.[6] The sprint race was a shorter version with 21 laps.[1] Points are awarded to the top 8 classified finishers in the Sprint race. Two points were given to the driver who sets the fastest lap inside the top ten in both the feature and sprint races.[6]
The qualifying session started under a dark cloud cover with a 60% chance of rain.Luca Ghiotto, who was amongst the first drivers to venture out, warned of rain falling on parts of the circuit.Nicolas Latifi set the initial fastest time of 1:48.060, ahead of the championship leaderNyck de Vries, with Ghiotto in third. With eight minutes to go in the session, more rainfall came in, and the drivers scrambled to set a faster lap time before the track got wet. de Vries snatched the pole position in a last gasp flying lap, ahead of Latifi in second, andCallum Ilott in third.[7]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 |  Nyck de Vries | ART Grand Prix | 1:47.440 | – | 1 |
| 2 | 6 |  Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 1:47.700 | +0.260 | 2 |
| 3 | 11 |  Callum Ilott | Sauber Junior Team by Charouz | 1:47.737 | +0.297 | 3 |
| 4 | 8 |  Luca Ghiotto | UNI-Virtuosi Racing | 1:47.767 | 0.327 | 4 |
| 5 | 7 |  Guanyu Zhou | UNI-Virtuosi Racing | 1:47.843 | +0.403 | 5 |
| 6 | 5 |  Sérgio Sette Câmara | DAMS | 1:48.031 | +0.591 | 6 |
| 7 | 1 |  Louis Delétraz | Carlin | 1:48.188 | +0.748 | 7 |
| 8 | 3 |  Nikita Mazepin | ART Grand Prix | 1:48.226 | +0.786 | 8 |
| 9 | 16 | Jordan King | MP Motorsport | 1:48.320 | +0.880 | 9 |
| 10 | 2 |  Nobuharu Matsushita | Carlin | 1:48.396 | +0.956 | 10 |
| 11 | 9 |  Mick Schumacher | Prema Racing | 1:48.444 | +1.004 | 11 |
| 12 | 15 | Jack Aitken | Campos Racing | 1:48.477 | +1.037 | 12 |
| 13 | 10 |  Sean Gelael | Prema Racing | 1:48.567 | +1.127 | 13 |
| 14 | 20 |  Giuliano Alesi | Trident | 1:48.850 | +1.410 | 14 |
| 15 | 21 | Ralph Boschung | Trident | 1:48.880 | +1.440 | 15 |
| 16 | 22 | Artem Markelov | BWT Arden | 1:49.244 | +1.804 | 16 |
| 17 | 12 | Matevos Isaakyan | Sauber Junior Team by Charouz | 1:49.497 | +2.057 | 17 |
| 18 | 18 |  Tatiana Calderón | BWT Arden | 1:50.255 | +2.815 | 18 |
| 19 | 14 | Marino Sato | Campos Racing | 1:50.311 | +2.871 | 19 |
| 20 | 17 |  Mahaveer Raghunathan | MP Motorsport | 1:51.949 | +4.509 | 20 |
| Source:[8] | ||||||
On a dry track, de Vries led the drivers from the line, with the top ten largely unaltered.Mick Schumacher rose to seventh after he gained multiple places during the start. While Ilott moved down the order, Ghiotto moved up the order to third, before he overtook Latifi and de Vries to take the lead. Apart from De Vries and Latifi, the other top six runners were on harder tyres, and an alternate tyre strategy. When both the drivers pitted early, they moved down the order. However, when Ghiotto ultimately pitted late in the race, he came behind both De Vries and Latifi, andLouis Delétraz. The top three maintained their positions, with de Vries winning the race, and the world championship. Latifi finished second, and Delétraz won his maiden podium.[9]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Nyck de Vries | ART Grand Prix | 28 | 54:12.087 | 1 | 25 (4) |
| 2 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 28 | +4.918 | 2 | 18 |
| 3 | 1 | Louis Delétraz | Carlin | 28 | +5.995 | 7 | 15 |
| 4 | 8 | Luca Ghiotto | UNI-Virtuosi Racing | 28 | +7.607 | 4 | 12 (2) |
| 5 | 5 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | DAMS | 28 | +11.378 | 6 | 10 |
| 6 | 2 | Nobuharu Matsushita | Carlin | 28 | +20.364 | 10 | 8 |
| 7 | 15 | Jack Aitken | Campos Racing | 28 | +27.403 | 12 | 6 |
| 8 | 3 | Nikita Mazepin | ART Grand Prix | 28 | +28.572 | 8 | 4 |
| 9 | 11 | Callum Ilott | Sauber Junior Team by Charouz | 28 | +32.394 | 3 | 2 |
| 10 | 7 | Guanyu Zhou | UNI-Virtuosi Racing | 28 | +33.756 | 5 | 1 |
| 11 | 10 | Sean Gelael | Prema Racing | 28 | +43.365 | 13 | |
| 12 | 16 | Jordan King | MP Motorsport | 28 | +47.493 | 9 | |
| 13 | 20 | Giuliano Alesi | Trident | 28 | +48.620 | 14 | |
| 14 | 21 | Ralph Boschung | Trident | 28 | +59.021 | 15 | |
| 15 | 18 | Tatiana Calderón | BWT Arden | 28 | +1:09.884 | 18 | |
| 16 | 14 | Marino Sato | Campos Racing | 28 | +1:46.218 | 19 | |
| 17 | 17 | Mahaveer Raghunathan | MP Motorsport | 27 | +1 lap | 20 | |
| 18 | 12 | Matevos Isaakyan | Sauber Junior Team by Charouz | 27 | +1 lap | 17 | |
| DNF | 9 | Mick Schumacher | Prema Racing | 19 | Oil Leak | 11 | |
| DNF | 22 | Artem Markelov | BWT Arden | 0 | Accident | 16 | |
| Fastest lap:Luca Ghiotto (UNI-Virtuosi Racing) 1:51.104 (on lap 26) | |||||||
| Source:[8] | |||||||
Nikita Mazepin started on the pole position for the sprint race based on reverse grid order. He led the drivers from the start, before a skirmish withJack Aitken resulted in both the drivers going off the track. When the drivers attempted to return to the racing line, Aitken pushed Mazepin into the path ofNobuharu Matsushita, and the resulting collision brought about a red flag. The race was subsequently shortened to 15 laps due to time constraints. When the race resumed, Ghiotto took the lead, ahead of Ilott and De Vries. While the Italian held on for a race win, de Vries overtook Ilott for second with Latifi andGuanyu Zhou completing the top five.[10]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Luca Ghiotto | UNI-Virtuosi Racing | 15 | 1:18:21.329 | 5 | 15 |
| 2 | 4 | Nyck de Vries | ART Grand Prix | 15 | +0.712 | 8 | 12 |
| 3 | 11 | Callum Ilott | Sauber Junior Team by Charouz | 15 | +1.672 | 9 | 10 |
| 4 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 15 | +3.383 | 7 | 8 (2) |
| 5 | 7 | Guanyu Zhou | UNI-Virtuosi Racing | 15 | +3.820 | 10 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | DAMS | 15 | +7.336 | 4 | 4 |
| 7 | 10 | Sean Gelael | Prema Racing | 15 | +10.343 | 11 | 2 |
| 8 | 20 | Giuliano Alesi | Trident | 15 | +13.108 | 13 | 1 |
| 9 | 16 | Jordan King | MP Motorsport | 15 | +14.851 | 12 | |
| 10 | 22 | Artem Markelov | BWT Arden | 15 | +16.769 | 20 | |
| 11 | 15 | Jack Aitken | Campos Racing | 15 | +23.898 | 2 | |
| 12 | 21 | Ralph Boschung | Trident | 15 | +26.558 | 14 | |
| 13 | 12 | Matevos Isaakyan | Sauber Junior Team by Charouz | 15 | +27.414 | 18 | |
| 14 | 1 | Louis Delétraz | Carlin | 15 | +31.933 | 6 | |
| 15 | 14 | Marino Sato | Campos Racing | 15 | +36.472 | 16 | |
| 16 | 18 | Tatiana Calderón | BWT Arden | 15 | +43.057 | 15 | |
| 17 | 17 | Mahaveer Raghunathan | MP Motorsport | 15 | +1:01.506 | 17 | |
| DNF | 9 | Mick Schumacher | Prema Racing | 7 | Collision damage | 19 | |
| DNF | 3 | Nikita Mazepin | ART Grand Prix | 0 | Collision | 1 | |
| DNF | 2 | Nobuharu Matsushita | Carlin | 0 | Collision | 3 | |
| Fastest lap:Nicholas Latifi (DAMS) 1:52.272 (on lap 12) | |||||||
| Source:[8] | |||||||
De Vries ends the weekend with 266 points and won the driver's Championship ahead of Latifi on 194 points. The fight for the Teams’ Championship would go on to the final round asDAMS only had a 53 point lead over Virtuosi Racing.[9][10]
|
|
| Previous round: 2019 Monza Formula 2 round | FIA Formula 2 Championship 2019 season | Next round: 2019 Yas Island Formula 2 round |
| Previous round: 2018 Sochi Formula 2 round | Sochi Formula 2 round | Next round: 2020 Sochi Formula 2 round |
