Dunne second in Austria but loses F2 standings lead
Ireland's Alex Dunne finished second in the Formula 2 feature race in Austria but slipped to second in the standings behind race winner Richard Verschoor.McLaren development driver Dunne had started in seventh place but worked his way through the order after an early pit stop for soft tyres.The 19-year-old put pressure on Verschoor in the closing laps but the Dutch driver held a margin of 1.1 seconds at the chequered flag and took the championship lead by six points.A strong recovery drive brings to a close a weekend to remember for Dunne, who impressed on his Formula 1 debut by setting the fourth fastest time in opening practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. In driving for McLaren in that session, Dunne became the first Irish driver to compete on a Formula 1 weekend in 22 years.Dunne is back in action in Formula 2 at the British Grand Prix from 4-6 July.
Dunne's weekend started with his impressive Formula 1 debut, which he described as "definitely the best day of my life".Just an hour after his Formula 1 commitments, the Offaly driver jumped back into his Rodin F2 car and set the seventh fastest time in qualifying.A grid penalty for a rival promoted Dunne to third on the grid for Saturday's sprint race but a poor start saw him drop down to eighth and, to add insult to injury, he was handed a five-second penalty for a false start.He had dropped to tenth but a last-lap crash took out four cars ahead, which promoted Dunne to sixth and allowed him to keep his championship lead by one point. Dunne rebounded with better pace in the feature race on Sunday and carved his way through the order after an early pit stop.However he could not overhaul Verschoor, who is in his fifth season of F2, and the 24-year-old won to take a six-point advantage into Silverstone.Pole sitter Leonardo Fornaroli was third ahead of GB's Luke Browning, while Red Bull Junior driver Arvid Lindblad ended the race out of the points after a late penalty.
Formula 2 standings
After round 7/141. Richard Verschoor (NED) 1142. Alex Dunne (IRL) 1083. Jack Crawford (USA) 854. Leonardo Fornaroli (ITA) 835. Luke Browning (GBR) 81 6. Arvid Lindblad (GBR) 79
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