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Jehan Daruvala kept cool, calm and collected as he went on to win the first Sprint Race of the weekend.
The Indian defended well to win for the second time this season. Felipe Drugovich finished second to claim his third podium of the season with Oscar Piastri in third and rounding out a fantastic championship-winning season.
Starting Grid
After qualifying 10th for the Feature Race, Jehan Daruvala inherits reverse grid pole position as he is joined on the front row by his Carlin teammate Dan Ticktum who lines up second on the grid.
Felipe Drugovich starts from third with Liam Lawson alongside him on the second row. Theo Pourchaire follows in fifth, Ralph Boschung in sixth, Robert Shwartzman in seventh, Guanyu Zhou in eighth, F2 rookie Jack Doohan in ninth and championship leader Oscar Piastri in 10th.
Narrowly missing out on a place in the top 10 was Marcus Armstrong who starts the race from 11th with Christian Lundgaard in 12th, Roy Nissany in 13th, Marino Sato in 14th, Juri Vips in 15th, Richard Verschoor in 16th, Bent Viscaal in 17th, Jake Hughes in 18th, Olli Caldwell in 19th, Clement Novalak in 20th, Guilherme Samaia in 21st and Alessio Deledda in 22nd.
As It Happened
It was a good getaway for pole-sitter Daruvala as he held his lead into turn one. Ticktum was not able to hold onto his starting position for long as he was quickly overtaken by Drugovich and Lawson which dropped him down to fourth and was quickly coming under pressure from Shwartzman and Piastri, who made up a few positions from the start.
The Carlin driver was relegated down to sixth two laps later as the Prema duo made up more places and were hunting down places on the podium.
After five laps of racing, Daruvala lead the race with Drugovich in second and Lawson in third. Shwartzman followed in fourth, Piastri in fifth, Ticktum in sixth, Pourchaire in seventh, Boschung in eighth, Zhou in ninth and Armstrong in 10th.
Shwartzman claimed a place on the podium as he overtook Hitech’s Lawson into turn six with Piastri replicating that exact move a lap later to move up to fourth.
UNI-Virtuosi’s Zhou went around the outside of Boschung down the first DRS straight to claim eighth and move into the points.
At the halfway point, Daruvala still held the lead with Drugovich catching in second and Shwartzman in third. Piastri was fourth, Lawson in fifth, Ticktum in sixth, Pourchaire in seventh, Zhou in eighth, Boschung in ninth and Armstrong in 10th.
Into sector three, the leading duo of Daruvala and Drugovich battled for the race lead. The latter looked to get the job done into turn nine but the former shut the door and held onto the position.
Verschoor, on his Formula 2 return, had to retire from the race with his Charouz car experiencing a mechanical issue.
Caldwell and Hughes collided in the latter stages of the race as the duo had to make a pit stop to repair the damage and change their tyres.
On lap 20, Piastri sealed the championship with a move for the podium as he overtook his teammate Shwarztman for third.
Daruvala earned his second victory of the season with Drugovich claiming a third podium by finishing second and Piastri in third.
Quote from the race winner
Jehan Daruvala explained the importance of returning to the top step of the podium after a disappointing weekend in Jeddah last time out.
“Back on the top step after a disappointing weekend in Jeddah where I didn’t take many points, so it is good to start off the weekend with a victory. We weren’t too strong in Quali, but our race pace looked pretty strong.
“I had a great battle with Felipe (Drugovich) at one point and we were side-by-side for a couple of corners, but I managed to stick it out in front. The car felt good, and I just took it to the chequered flag.
“Congratulations to Oscar (Piastri), I didn’t think that I would see him on the podium from 10th, but a big well done to him, he has dominated the whole year.”
What’s Next?
Marcus Armstrong will start from reverse grid pole position for the second Sprint Race of the weekend as the New Zealander looks to secure a second win of the season.
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