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David Schumacher led from start to finish as he maintained a healthy gap throughout the race to victory around the Red Bull Ring. Frederik Vesti and Dennis Hauger completed the podium as the latter capitalised on a late retirement from Victor Martins.
The biggest gainer inside the points was Arthur Leclerc. The Monegasque driver started from 27th on the grid as he earned the fastest lap of the race and finished in sixth place.
Starting Grid
After finishing 12th in race one due to 11 drivers being penalised, David Schumacher lined up on reverse grid pole. Roman Stanek joined the Trident driver on the front row with the Hitech starting from second.
Juan Manuel Correa started from third on the grid with Carlin Buzz Racing’s Kaylen Frederick alongside the American on the second row in fourth.
The third row was made up of Jak Crawford and Frederik Vesti with Jonny Edgar and Victor Martins starting from the fourth row.
Enzo Fittipaldi and Jack Doohan rounded out the top 10 with Prema Racing’s Olli Caldwell and Dennis Hauger starting from 11th and 12th on the grid.
As It Happened
Schumacher got a good start over Stanek as the Trident driver led the pack into turn one. Crawford got himself up into third place as the American made a move on his compatriot Correa.
On lap two, Logan Sargeant made the move on Tijmen van der Helm into turn one. However, the two collided with each other moments later and were sent spinning into the barrier.
After three laps worth of racing under the Safety Car, the green flag was waved once more as Schumacher led the pack over the line.
Fittipaldi was overtaken by Martins which saw the MP Motorsport promoted into eighth with the Frenchman’s Championship rival, Dennis Hauger, dropping down to 14th.
Schumacher continued to extend his gap out in front as Stanek came under pressure from Crawford. The two Hitech’s had an intense battle but the Red Bull backed driver moved up to second.
Only a lap later, the American alongside Aleksandr Smolyar tumbled down the order. Crawford parked his car off the circuit as he retired from the race.
Correa and Frederick collided with each other at turn three on lap 11. The Carlin Buzz Racing driver was forced to retire after the damage he sustained was too much for him to continue.
At the halfway point, Schumacher continued to lead out in front with Stanek moving back up into second ahead of Martins in third. Edgar followed in fourth ahead of Vesti, Fittipaldi, Doohan, Caio Collet, Hauger and Caldwell in 10th.
Vesti and Doohan both made moves on Edgar and Fittipaldi respectively. The Dane promoted himself up to fourth with the Australian moving himself into sixth.
The battle for second continued as Martins got himself ahead of Stanek. The Frenchman made the move on the outside as he dipped his tyres on the grass but he was able to control his car and make the move stick.
With five laps to go, Schumacher was over two seconds ahead of Martins in second and Vesti in third. Stanek dropped down to fourth and came under pressure from Edgar in fifth, Hauger in sixth, Doohan in seventh, Fittipaldi in eighth, Collet in ninth and Caldwell in 10th.
Collet and Fittipaldi came together at turn three on lap 20 as the duo were overtaken by a swarm of cars behind. The MP Motorsport driver was then forced onto the gravel which dropped him down to 14th.
Martins saw his engine cut out on the start/finish straight on lap 23. The Frenchman pulled up on the side of the road with the Virtual Safety Car released. Vesti and Hauger both moved up a position into second and third with Collet picking up a five-second time penalty due to the collision with Fittipaldi.
Leclerc picked up another position as the Monegasque driver moved up into sixth place after starting the race from 26th.
It was Schumacher who crossed the line to win the race with Vesti and Championship leader Hauger joining him on the podium with the duo finishing second and third.
Stanek finished fourth ahead of Edgar in fifth, Leclerc in sixth, Doohan in seventh, Fittipaldi in eighth, Caldwell in ninth and Hogaard in the final points position in 10th.
What’s Next?
Dennis Hauger lines up on pole position for F3’s third race of the weekend on Sunday morning. The Championship leader will look to get a third podium after winning race one and finishing third in this afternoon’s race two.
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