ARMSTRONG STAYS THE DISTANCE IN FORMULA 2 AT SOCHI

Kiwi racer Marcus Armstrong has once more shown his true speed in the opening race of the FIA Formula 2 round at Sochi in Russia.

Racing at the former winter Olympic venue, Armstrong fought through from a mid-field grid position to finish in the top ten, taking his second points finish in a row.

He fought his way up from a start of 14th to finish ninth; his team-mate Christian Lundgaard was among four drivers taken out by crashes, mechanical issues or penalties.

Sochi is the penultimate venue - though not the penultimate round - of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship. After this weekend the championship lines up for two rounds at the sahir circuit in Bahrain.

There is one more race at Sochi this weekend, a 21 lap/122.8 km sprint race with a grid based on finish positions in Saturday’s race. The first eight cars start in the reverse order of their finish on Saturday – so Armstrong narrowly misses out on pole but starts inside the top ten of the 22-strong field.