Miyata Masters the Madring: Lights-to-Flag Sprint Win Caps a Chaotic Saturday

Hitech’s Ritomo Miyata jumped Emerson Fittipaldi Jr. at the start and never looked back, taking a maiden Formula 2 victory in Madrid’s first Sprint as two Safety Cars and a title blow for Nikola Tsolov shaped the afternoon.

The Japanese flag returned to the top step of a Formula 2 podium for the first time in three years — and it did so at a circuit nobody had raced before Saturday.

Ritomo Miyata converted reverse-grid front-row pace into a lights-to-flag Sprint win at the Madring, beating Emerson Fittipaldi Jr. and Laurens van Hoepen after controlling two Safety Car restarts. It was Miyata’s maiden F2 victory, sealed on the debut weekend of Formula 2’s Madrid round.

Front-row launch decides the race early

Fittipaldi Jr. started on reverse-grid pole after Friday’s Qualifying tenth place, with Miyata alongside from ninth on the Feature grid. At lights out, the Hitech driver jumped the AIX car and led into Turn 1 as the field funnelled into the walls of Madrid’s new street layout.

Further back, the first Safety Car was already inevitable. Sebastián Montoya sent John Bennett into a spin, while Kush Maini’s contact with Nicolás Varrone completed a messy opening sequence. Bennett, Maini and Varrone all retired. Colton Herta, meanwhile, had already withdrawn from the Sprint before the start.

Miyata aces the restarts — Tsolov hits the wall

Miyata nailed the first restart and settled back into control. Behind him, Alex Dunne looked to pressure Rafael Câmara, who appeared to struggle for pace in the midfield train. Noel León headed a group of cars with championship leader Nikola Tsolov close behind.

On Lap 15, the title fight took a hit. Tsolov clipped the wall and spun out of Turn 20, bringing out the second Safety Car. With five laps remaining after the restart, Miyata again timed the getaway perfectly and led the field home.

“Hoping for the best result possible. I don’t want to add any extra pressure, just enjoy starting from the front row and do the best I can.” — Emerson Fittipaldi Jr., AIX Racing (pre-race)

Fittipaldi delivered on that brief with second place — a strong result from reverse-grid pole even after losing the lead at the start. Van Hoepen completed the podium for Trident, with León fourth and Stenshorne fifth. Câmara salvaged sixth ahead of Dunne, while Feature polesitter Dino Beganovic came home tenth after starting the Sprint from the reverse-grid back of the top ten.

What it means before the Feature

For Miyata and Hitech, Saturday is validation on a weekend where Qualifying form did not scream race favourite. For Fittipaldi and AIX, the podium confirms that Friday’s breakthrough Qualifying was not a one-lap illusion.

The championship lens points elsewhere. Tsolov’s DNF hands momentum — at least emotionally — toward Câmara, who scored in sixth while the leader watched from the barriers. Beganovic still starts Sunday’s Feature from pole. Madrid’s walls have already edited the script once. The Feature will ask who can finish what they start.