Felipe Drugovich takes inaugural FIA Formula 2 victory in stop-start sprint race
Felipe Drugovich has won the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at the Austrian Grand Prix, ahead of Louis Delétraz and Dan Ticktum.
Drugovich started from pole position and had a clean getaway from the starting grid, emerging from a tight battle in the reverse-grid pack behind him.
Delétraz had to fend off a fast-starting Ticktum, who himself fell victim to kiwi Marcus Armstrong, up four positions on the first lap to the final podium position.
Giuliano Alesi brought out the first Safety Car of the day, with smoke billowing from the rear of his car, temporarily neutralising the field.
Any hopes of a dramatic restart were dashed, as Sean Gelael also pulled over at the end of the Safety Car period, bringing it out for a second time.
At the eventual restart it was Armstrong who mounted the biggest challenge, looking to back up his strong second-place finish from Saturday’s feature race, but Delétraz clung valiantly onto the position.
The race came to a standstill soon after, as Luca Ghiotto spun out, beaching himself on the exit of Turn 4. Guanyu Zhou, forced to take evasive action, also took a detour through the gravel, dropping him to the rear of the field.
Drugovich was dominant at the restart, instantly pulling away from the field and cementing his lead once again before Marcus Armstrong’s dream weekend came to an end. The Ferrari Academy driver, suffering from a mechanical issue, retired from the race in third place.
Drugovich held off Delétraz once more on the restart, first across the line by 2.469 seconds. Ticktum completed the podium. The Brazilian said “I came out with a win and I am really, really, really happy with it.”
“We made some big improvements from yesterday with the car and I improved a lot from yesterday with my driving.
“I am really happy with it. We had some issues yesterday and we were expecting a lot more after
the Quali that we had, but today, I think that we got the job done.
“The car was awesome, and I could push how I wanted, so I am really happy and thankful to the
team.”
After the first round, Callumm Illott leads the Drivers’ Championship with 27 points, ahead of Robert Shwartzman, Drugovich, Ticktum, Delétraz, and Marcus Armstrong.
The FIA Formula 2 field will return this weekend in support of the Steiermark Grand Prix.
