Having missed almost all of the opening practice session of the weekend due to a crash, de Vries pulled a full recovery over the remaining sessions, culminating in him pouncing on an attack mode error from Vandoorne to capture victory in the season-opener.
The rapidly starting Mercedes duo swept into the front two positions off the line, with de Vries overhauling a slightly sluggish Jake Dennis.
Vandoorne kept de Vries behind him however, and looked every bit worth his lead in the early stages before an early safety car that was brought out to extricate Oliver Rowland’s crashed Mahindra, dumped into the wall amid a close-quarters battle with Robin Frijns.
Rowland had originally given Frijns more than a fleeting tap into the wall in Turn 14, and the Envision driver repaid the favour two corners later with a nudge from behind. Frijns’ robust attack earned him a drive-through penalty, ending his hopes of leaving the season opener with points on the board.
Vandoorne wasted no time…
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