Sprint Race: Drugovich takes lights-to-flag victory ahead of Deletraz

Felipe Drugovich was the first across the line to take this maiden F2 win this morning in Austria ahead of Louis Deletraz. Dan Ticktum rounded the podium in third.

Drugovich led away from pole position, as Giuliano Alesi dropped down to fourth. However, Alesi would encounter a problem by the second lap and would be forced to slow.

The safety car was deployed as Alesi was eventually forced to stop with an engine fire at turn three. The race was set to resume on lap five until the Dams of Sean Galael was also forced into retirement

Drugovich was again untroubled for the lead as the race resumed on lap six, managing to pull a slight gap from Deletraz in second. Mick Schumacher was on a fightback, finding a way around the outside of Calum Ilott coming out of turn three for eighth

Armstrong and Deletraz battled hard for second place, as Drugovich pulled away slightly. Luca Ghiotto was forced into a spin and retirement at turn four after a hit from behind by Jehan Daruvala, sending Guanyu Zhou into the gravel also, marking the appearance of a second safety car.

Robert Shwartzman and Christian Lundgaard finished the race in fourth and fifth, while Nobuharu Matsushita and Schumacher took the chequered flag in sixth and seventh.

The second HWA of Artem Markelov hit problems on the second restart, as he made contact with the rear of Daruvala, breaking his front wing in the process, forcing the Russian driver into an unscheduled pit stop.

Third-placed Armstrong was the next driver to face an issue in the race, suffering a loss of power on lap fourteen, bringing out the safety car for the third time. Daruvala was awarded a five-second time penalty for the incident with Ghiotto.

As the race got going once again, Armstrong was put under investigation for not leaving the track after engine issue, as Drugvoich continued to hold the lead. 

Marino Sato was handed a five-second time for a safety car infringement while Markelov's day went from bad to worse when he was handed a ten-second penalty.

Schumacher challenged Matsushita for sixth for a number of laps but was unable to find a way past the Japanese driver. Ticktum put on a late charge for Deletraz's second place but was unable to take the place.

Jack Aitken took the final point in eighth, while Ilott and Nakita Mazepin crossed the line in ninth and tenth.