Victor Martins took his third F2 victory and first triumph representing the Williams Racing Driver Academy on Sunday with a stellar drive from the front row.
It was a point-scoring weekend for Luke Browning, too, who recovered from a low qualifying position to the reach the top 10.
Here's how our Academy drivers spent their time in Lusail as Formula 2 returned for the first time since Azerbaijan.
Formula 2
Victor Martins
A third 2025 trophy is in Victor's cabinet, and it's the biggest one available for a Formula 2 driver, with a Feature Race victory secured.
Our 24-year-old Frenchman took a P3 qualification that morphed to a P2 start on Sunday thanks to a penalty for a rival, and he converted that to a memorable victory in the late-afternoon Qatari sun.
Taking P1 from eventual 2025 champion, Leonardo Fornaroli, had Victor with clear air ahead of him from Turn 1, and he made a three-second gap within three laps.
A slow pit stop didn't halt his pace, and the ART driver remained at the head of the pack until the pit stops shuffled the two strategies at play.
With Victor maintaining the net lead, a Safety Car came out too early for those on the alternative strategy to benefit from, effectively stopping any threat to P1 from the lower positions.
Although Fornaroli chased him hard in the final laps to try and secure his title with a win, there was no mistakes from our experienced Academy ace, who stormed to the top of the rostrum.
Battling moments and a trip through the gravel to avoid contact meant a P11 finish in the Sprint Race, and Victor will head to the Abu Dhabi finale sitting P9 in the standings.
Luke Browning
A disappointing qualifying Friday had Luke on the back foot all weekend and losing ground in the championship standings, but he still left Qatar with a point after maximising his pace on Sunday.
Two P18 starts would always mean two tricky races, yet Luke demonstrated composure and speed in each.
Wheel-to-wheel battles against Laurens Van Hoepen and Ritomo Miyata kept him busy in Saturday Sprint Race, where he took a P17 finish, but Sunday's Feature Race demonstrated his pace.
Opting for the Hards, Luke went long into the race, making a pass on Van Hoepen to be in P4 after the leaders and Soft compound runners pitted.
An overtaking on compatriot John Bennett up the inside of Turn 1 meant he sat in P3 but needing to pit before a Safety Car slowed down the race.
Unfortunately it was too soon to switch tyres and reap the rewards of a 'cheap' stop, but the Hitech's race pace had him exploiting the clear air ahead after teammate Dino Beganovic pitted to leave Luke briefly in P1.
Dropping down to P10 with three laps to go meant our British F2 hopeful had cleared six cars through his long-run strategy, and he took a valuable point that sees him P4 in the championship
Next Up:
Both Victor and Luke have their season finale coming up in Abu Dhabi, with Formula 2's long break ending with a doubleheader.
Victor took pole at Yas Marina last year and has a P2 finish from 2023, while Luke scored points at the track in just his third F2 weekend last year.
With an FP1 outing for Luke and the Young Driver Test following the Grand Prix, it's going to be a busy end to our Academy's year.
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