John Bennett Scores Spectacular Maiden Formula 2 Win In Spielberg

John Bennett has scored the biggest race win of his career to date after producing a phenomenal drive to victory in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Austria this past weekend (27/28 June).

The Salisbury-based racer had taken huge encouragement from a sequence of strong showings in recent meetings, taking a personal-best result in the previous event at Barcelona with a superb drive through the field for the Trident team. After qualifying on the front row in Austria, he seized his opportunity - grabbing the win with a stunning late overtake to seal his fate and climb to the top step of the podium for the first time.

His dream weekend started with a strong performance in Friday's qualifying session. A time of 1:15.896s put him just three tenths of a second off pole in ninth overall, which meant he would be lining up second on the grid for Saturday's sprint race when they reverse the top 10 best qualifying times.

Under scorching European skies, Bennett eyed a podium from the front row. He made an electric start, jumping to the lead of the race heading into the first corner as he out-dragged Sebastian Montoya. The pair battled it out in the early laps after a safety car period, with Montoya eventually sneaking inside the Brit heading into the downhill turn four to retake the lead.

Bennett picks up his first-ever win in Formula 2 (Image: Dutch Photo Agency)

Bennett was not to be defeated, however. He settled into a strong pace behind the Colombian and, with his tyres working well in the final stages, he ramped up the pressure. He saw an opportunity to attack on the final lap and sent his car around the outside at turn four, before switching back to the inside to complete the move with half a lap to go, taking the chequered flag first to earn himself a fantastic maiden F2 victory and climb the championship table in the process.

Fresh from a memorable Saturday, Bennett started ninth on the grid for the feature race on Sunday morning. Another great reaction from the Trident driver meant he improved a place to eighth, and then made further ground as he squeezed inside Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak for seventh at turn three. A split in tyre strategies created a mix-up in the order, leaving Bennett embroiled in a big scrap for position in and around the top 10. He eventually finished in 11th position, with the memories of Saturday's success firmly in his mind.

John Bennett: "An absolutely mega weekend. I'm over the moon, and want to say a huge thanks to the team, my family and to everybody out there who has supported us all the way to this first win. Hopefully, this is the next step for us, as we have been showing a lot more of what we feel we can do in recent rounds, and to get that first win is a big moment for us.

"The car felt great, and we had a good, clean fight with Montoya throughout, which was exactly what you want in that situation. We had pace at the right moment and got the move done. A mega result. Let's keep that form going to our home race at Silverstone next!"

Bennett is returning home for the coming round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship, as two races at Silverstone will support the British Grand Prix this weekend (04/05 July).