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Overtakes, restarts, accidents and decisive
penalties were on the menu at last weekend’s Grand Prix of Peso da Régua in
Portugal, the penultimate round of the 2026 UIM Circuit F2 World Championship.
Fifteen drivers travelled to southern
Europe for the first leg of a back-to-back series of two rounds concluding the
2026 F2 World Championship, with the final round in Vila Velha de Ródão taking
place next weekend.
Lithuanian championship leader Edgaras
Riabko arrived in town with a two-point lead over Frenchman Peter Morin, a
five-point lead over defending World Champion Mathilda Wiberg from Sweden, and
an 11-point lead over Mathilda’s brother, Hilmer.
With qualifying getting underway on
Saturday afternoon, all championship contenders had their eyes set on pole
position, awarded to the fastest driver at the end of the third qualifying
session. But the first surprise of the weekend came from Peter Morin’s brother
Nelson, who had shown promising performances in earlier races and secured pole
position. Monaco-licensed Giacomo Sacchi was the second-fastest driver, while
Edgaras Riabko set the third-fastest time.
Sunday’s Grand Prix promised to be an
exhilarating one, with the championship contenders spread across the starting
grid, notably Mathilda Wiberg, who started from 12th following technical
issues.
Riabko made the best start and took the lead
after the first turn, closely followed by Norwegian Tobias Munthe-Kaas, who had
started from fourth position. As the Wiberg siblings and Peter Morin started to
work their way up the field, an unfortunate Nelson Morin, who was holding third
position, had to retire from the race due to a power steering issue. Shortly
afterwards, Hilmer Wiberg also had to retire.
The race went under yellow-flag conditions
following a driver’s collision with a turn buoy, and Mathilda Wiberg and Peter
Morin collided at the restart, bringing an end to both drivers’ races. Riabko
and Munthe-Kaas, who had held on to first and second positions, respectively,
restarted once again at the front and crossed the finish line in that order,
followed by Giacomo Sacchi in third.
But the final twist was yet to come. Riabko
and Sacchi both received a one-lap penalty, respectively for missing a turn
buoy and for damaging a turn buoy, dropping them to sixth and seventh
positions. Norwegian Tobias Munthe-Kaas was therefore reclassified in first
place, becoming the first-ever driver to win a F2 World Championship race with
a Mercury Racing 250 APX four-stroke engine. Another driver powered by the
four-stroke engine, Ian Blacker, finished second, while Owen Jelf was
classified third.
Munthe-Kaas, Blacker and Jelf were awarded
trophies during Sunday’s podium ceremony, marking the end of a race watched by
large crowds along the Douro River.
Photos: Município do Peso da Régua
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