Sargeant takes Austria F2 feature win after Verschoor, Daruvala penalties

Trident driver Verschoor dominated Sunday’s race, his gamble on slick tyres on the drying track paying off as the Dutchman quickly snatched the lead before crossing the line 13 seconds ahead of Jehan Daruvala.

Campos driver Roberto Merhi had finished second on the road, but the Spaniard was given a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, relegating him to fifth in the provisional classification behind Daruvala, Sargeant and Enzo Fittipaldi. 

But on the slow down lap after the chequered flag, Verschoor’s car stopped before he was able to get back to the pits. The FIA’s technical delegate said the car was unable to provide a fuel sample of a minimum of 0.8kg, with just 31.3g left in the tank. 

He was therefore disqualified from the results, which would have promoted Prema Racing's Daruvala to victory.

But the Indian was then handed a 20-second penalty after his team "attempted to dry the track surface at their grid position prior to the race start by applying the fans normally used to cool the engine to the ground directly in front of the rear wheels" according to an FIA statement.

"This has been witnessed and reported by the Technical Delegate," the statement continued.

"As a performance advantage can never be ruled out in such case, the mere attempt to alter the track surface is prohibited irrespective of any success."

The FIA said he was assessed a drive through penalty which, since it could not be served during the race, was converted to a 20 second time penalty that leaves him 12th in the final classification.

The penalties mean Carlin driver Sargeant, who crossed the line fourth, will be promoted to first ahead of Fittipaldi and Merhi.

Jehan Daruvala, Prema Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Further down the grid, ART's Frederik Vesti was given a five-second penalty after he went off track at Turn 3 and gained a lasting advantage whilst battling Olli Caldwell (Campos Racing). The Dane was also given one penalty point, bringing his total so far this year to three.

Prema Racing was also fined €1000 for a pit infringement during Dennis Hauger's stop.

The stewards determined that during the Norwegian's mandatory pit stop, his rear left tyre was not placed flat as required, stood up and rolled away from the mechanic for a short distance before being retrieved.

They said the incident "creates a potential safety issue but that it was not a deliberate move by the mechanic."