Marcus Armstrong converted pole to victory in the Formula 2 sprint race at the Red Bull Ring.
Armstrong had taken partially-reversed-grid pole, with Théo Pourchaire starting alongside him. Liam Lawson failed to get away from the grid on the formation lap, prompting him to start from the pit lane.
When the lights went out, Armstrong held the lead at the start, making a good getaway. By the end of lap two, he was able to push out a gap of eight tenths of a second to Pourchaire, seeking to break from DRS range of the ART driver.
By lap five, Armstrong had extended his lead to more than a second and seemed to be comfortably set to hold it. Pourchaire was not under pressure from third placed Jack Doohan, who was seemingly unable or unwilling to lean on his tyres to close the gap to the leaders.
Cem Bolukbasi found a gravel trap while fighting with Amaury Cordeel for thirteenth, which damaged his car enough to require a pit stop for a new front wing. Frederik Vesti was issued a five-second time penalty for track limit violations, while running ninth.
On lap 13, Lawson came to a halt in the run off on the outside of turn three prompting a brief Virtual Safety Car period. However, Lawson was able to get going again and limp back to the pits. Marino Sato also retired with a mechanical issue.
The later laps of the race featured a myriad of warnings for track limits infringements throughout the field. Pourchaire was given a final warning for track limits on lap 15, running a second and a half down from Armstrong and with Doohan closing in on him. Cordeel and Dennis Hauger also received a final warning, while Logan Sargeant was given a first warning.
Just two laps later Armstrong was also given a first limit for track limits at turn one. On lap 21 Pourchaire was noted for track limits violations again, with Armstrong warned again for turn ten the following lap.
Olli Caldwell was issued a five-second time penalty for forcing Jake Hughes wide and was reminded by his team that he was now just one licence penalty point off a race ban, which a track limits violation would push him over.
Roberto Merhi was also handed a five-second time penalty for track limits, while Pourchaire’s violation was confirmed to be investigated following the race, allowing him to keep second place for the podium.
Armstrong took the chequered flag without a further warning, Pourchaire and Doohan following him. Felipe Drugovich finished fourth to retain his championship lead, with Pourchaire cutting…
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