Formula 2 driver Richard Verschoor thought he had secured a victory in Saudi Arabia, but a time penalty cost him the lead in the sprint race in Jeddah on Saturday, causing the unfortunate Dutchman to miss out on a podium finish.
Verschoor crossed the finish line first in the MP Motorsport car, but the celebration of victory did not come. After exciting battles on the track, with multiple drivers vying for the top spots, the sprint race seemed to have found a deserving winner in polesitter Verschoor. Thanks to the ‘reverse grid’, the Dutchman was allowed to start from the first position.
However, it soon became clear that this position would not be his final classification: a five-second penalty for an incident during a safety car period meant that he tumbled from the first to the fourth place. Arvid Lindblad was handed the victory due to Verschoor’s debatable penalty. Sunday offers a chance for revenge: that’s when the main race is. Verschoor qualified for it on Friday in ninth place.
