Dino shines in Feature Race as both drivers fight back in Lusail

Starting from P11 after a difficult qualifying, he held position until a perfectly executed move on Durksen on lap 5 unexpectedly moved him into the lead when the pit stops of those on the prime strategy came. From there, he set fastest lap after fastest lap, managing his tyres with precision while extending the gap over the lead soft tyre runner to almost 30 seconds.

A safety car for Goethe bunched the field together again, yet Dino remained dominant. He eventually pitted on lap 27, handing the lead to his team-mate, who had made up 16 places on his starting position by also running the alternative strategy. Dino rejoined in P12 but steadily moved up to P9 and was closing on Stanek for P8 when the chequered flag dropped.

Luke also delivered a strong performance in the Feature Race, climbing from P18 and ultimately finishing P10, showing strong pace and resilience after a disappointing weekend up to that point. Both drivers’ performances delivered crucial points for the team as Hitech fought for positions in both the drivers’ and teams’ championships.

Luke will be disappointed to lose out after a strong debut campaign in title contention throughout the season, but he will now fight for the remaining top-three positions yet to be decided in Abu Dhabi.

Heading into Saturday’s Sprint Race under the lights, Dino started P10 after the application of a penalty for a driver ahead, with Luke in P18. The first lap was frenetic, and both drivers lost two places. The Williams Academy driver recovered to P18 by lap 2, while Dino moved into P11 after Crawford passed Martins on lap 12, slotting himself between them.

After hunting down Miyata, Luke eventually moved ahead on the inside of turn 2. A safety car was deployed on lap 14 following a collision between the two Trident cars. At the restart, Dino was P10, while Luke pitted from P18 along with most of the out-of-contention runners, dropping him to P19. The Ferrari Driver Academy talent moved up to P9, while Browning advanced to P17 by the closing laps, passing Van Hoepen and Lindblad.

Sunday’s Feature Race was an altogether more positive performance for both drivers. Dino’s first stint before and after the safety car was superb; and without the earlier-than-optimum intervention, the outcome could have been very different. He proved unstoppable on worn hard tyres and maintained excellent control while managing wear, delivering a race-winning performance in terms of pace and strategy.

Luke also enjoyed a strong race, but the recovery was too steep for him to challenge in the title battle, and he lost a place in the standings. Congratulations to Leonardo Fornaroli on winning the Drivers’ Championship after an exceptional campaign. Dino remains P8, while Hitech now sits on 261 points, trailing the leaders on 296.

The team can take confidence from Lusail, having demonstrated strong pace and strategic execution on Sunday. We now head into Abu Dhabi with momentum, clear focus, and the platform to fight for remaining championship positions.