Marcus Armstrong claimed victory in the Formula 2 Sprint at Zandvoort after a processional affair.
A strong start left the New Zealander out front at the opening corner before taking the chequered flag 29 laps later having never been challenged.
That was despite a late Safety Car which saw a one-lap sprint to the flag, Armstrong finishing comfortably clear of Clement Novalak in second and Dennis Hauger in third.
Armstrong gained the inside line at the first corner to move ahead of pole-sitter Novalak who slotted in second as the race got underway.
Hauger claimed third from Juri Vips before Liam Lawson aggressively took fourth midway around the opening lap.
Buried in the pack, Theo Pourchaire ran off the road after he went too deep attempting to pass David Beckmann at Tarzan at the start of Lap 2.
The Frenchman skated through the gravel and rejoined last but one; Tatiana Calderon’s entry into the race was delayed after stalling on the grid.
By the time DRS was enabled, Armstrong enjoyed a 1.5s advantage out front.
A lock up from Olli Caldwell saw the Brit off the road at Tarzan on Lap 4, nosing gently into the barrier.
Though heavily delayed by the off, he was able to rejoin the race though nearly 50s off the back of the field.
He was forced into the pits for a new nose, feeding him out a lap behind the field and would ultimately retire due to complications of his mistake.
The race was processional with the twisty Zandvoort circuit not conducive to following closely, let alone overtaking. Even DRS had little impact, not helped by a tail wind down the front straight.
With no errors of note for those at the front of the race, the order remained stagnant; Armstrong clear of DRS range from Novalak, who in turn had pulled clear of Hauger.
Even among those who within DRS range made no real impact, even as the tyre degradation became a factor.
Some interest was injected into the race on Lap 26 when Calderon spun at Turn 2. She became beached in the gravel to draw the Safety Car.
The stricken car was cleared quickly allowing for a final lap shootout as the Safety Car was withdrawn at the end of Lap 28.
An early jump left Armstrong clear in the lead. In the pack, Ayumu Iwasa went around the outside of Richard Verschoor to claim sixth at Tarzan.
It was the only change of position in the run to the flag, Armstrong winning from Novalak and Hauger in third.
Then came Lawson, Vips, Iwasa, Verschoor, and Logan Sargeant rounding out the points-paying positions.
The Formula 2 weekend in Zandvoort concludes with the Feature race, scheduled for 18:20 AEST this evening.
Discussion about this post