Kush Maini dominates Barcelona F2 Sprint, wins by a seven-second margin

Indian racecar driver Kush Maini and ART Grand Prix dominated the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix Sprint Race, as he finished first by a significant margin of seven seconds. He had a strong start to the race, in which he overtook polesitter Noel Leon after launching off from the front row. Maini, who started second on the grid just behind Noel Leon, maintained the lead throughout the race, managing his tyres well.

2026 marks Maini’s fourth campaign in Formula 2, the feeder series directly below Formula 1, and his first season with ART Grand Prix. In addition to his F2 commitments, he remains part of the Alpine F1 setup as a reserve and test driver, while also serving as Mahindra Racing’s reserve driver in Formula E.

FIA F2 Barcelona-Catalunya Sprint: An Interesting Race

Maini finished ahead of Gabriele Mini, the Italian driver who is leading the standings. Additionally, Minì delivered a recovery drive to finish second after starting seventh on the grid. The MP Motorsport driver and Alpine junior worked his way through the field in the opening laps before battling title rival Nikola Tsolov in the closing stages. Minì finished second with a move into Turn 1, despite slight contact between the two drivers.

Meanwhile, Tsolov crossed the line in third after an aggressive opening-lap move helped him climb from fifth on the grid. The Campos Racing driver and Red Bull Junior Team member briefly ran fourth on the final lap after Colton Herta surged through the field following an early setback. However, Herta’s podium hopes ended when he locked up into Turn 5 on the final lap and ran through the gravel, dropping him to fifth at the finish.

Fellow Campos Racing driver and Nikola Tsolav’s teammate, Noel León, capitalised on the mistake to claim fourth place, a result that also moved him up to third in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

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