Williams Racing junior battles illness and bad weather to take second Formula 2 win at Spa
Gloucestershire’s Zak O’Sullivan battled illness and the elements to take a second Formula 2 win of the season at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
Zak, from Withington, near Cheltenham was hospitalised with glandular fever in the run-up to the weekend and lost 10kg, meaning he was only just fit enough to take on one of the most challenging tracks on the calendar.
Despite this, the 19-year-old delivered one of his best weekends of the season and moved into the top 10 in the championship standings in the process.
© Dutch Photo Agency 2024
Zak put himself right in the mix in qualifying, with the 10th best time – impressively secured on used tyres – giving him reverse-grid pole for Saturday’s sprint race.
On a typically wet Spa day, the sprint race was delayed until after Formula 1 qualifying and when it finally got started, Zak made a perfect start in his ART Grand Prix machine.
He quickly built a 2.5 second lead over Dennis Hauger across the opening laps, before a safety car was called to retrieve Pepe Marti’s stranded Campos Racing car.
© Dutch Photo Agency 2024
The race director then made the call to red flag the race after eight laps as they judged the conditions were too wet to continue, meaning Zak picked up half points for the win.
Conditions were much better for Sunday’s feature race and in bright sunshine, Zak made a blistering start to move up three places to seventh on the opening lap.
He then gained two further positions during the pitstops and rose to fourth when Paul Aron’s Hitech ground to a halt on the final lap.
© Dutch Photo Agency 2024
Zak said: “Considering I was in hospital on Thursday, taking a sprint pole, win and a fourth place is a great return for the weekend.”
“I felt horrible all weekend, but I gave it everything out there. It was a shame the sprint race was shortened, as I felt like I had the pace to grow my lead and win if it had run to full distance.”
“However, I will take the result, and I was really pleased with Sunday’s race, too. To make up six places on my starting slot on a track where overtaking has proved tricky all weekend shows we got the strategy right, and that my race pace was strong.”
The championship now heads into its summer break, returning to the legendary speed bowl of Monza at the start of September.
It’s a track with good memories for Zak, with a strong weekend in the Formula 3 finale last season securing him vice-champion status.
“It’s a welcome break, giving me a chance to recover and make sure I’m fully firing for a track where I’ve had success in the past,” added Zak.
© Dutch Photo Agency 2024
For more information on Zak, follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/zak.osullivan