Armstrong nails his second victory of the year

Armstrong wins but Lawson is DNF - mixed fortunes for ‘our boys’ in FIA F2

Marcus Armstrong was in a league of his own from start to finish at his favourite race circuit in mid-July, dominating the field to race from pole start to the flag.

A delighted Armstrong took his second victory of the 2022 season in the 28-lap sprint race at the Spielberg, holding off a fierce challenge from Thèo Pourchaire.

He started with an ideal getaway off the line but it was as much about keeping within the track limits as it was about speed and the Hitech Grand Prix driver expertly managed both. Liam Lawson had dropped outside the track limits in qualifying and struggled from a mid-field start position.

Thèo Pourchaire chased Armstrong but could not erode the Kiwi’s lead below 1.6 seconds. He in turn was under pressure from Jack Doohan.

At the start, Armstrong judged grip and acceleration perfectly to carve a strong lead. Behind him, Doohan managed to make his way past Verschoor and sent the Trident driver back into Drugovich’s clutches

Armstrong then set about pulling free of Pourchaire, clocking fastest lap to go more than a second clear of the Frenchman.

Not content with sitting in a DRS train, Juri Vips launched himself up into fifth with a move on Verschoor. PREMA Racing also had their own inter-team battle on their hands.

At the back of the field, Liam Lawson’s day went from bad to worse. He had stalled on the Formation Lap and then on lap 13 his Carlin came to a halt on the outside of turn three, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. While the field sorted itself out to restart, Red Bull junior Lawson limped back to the pits and into retirement.

Meanwhile, it was all about Armstrong out front and there was nobody who could come close to denying him a third F2 victory in a triumphant style. Doohan couldn’t find his way past Pourchaire for second

An elated Armstrong said it was great to be back in the press conference room.

“It was a good race, stressful towards the end because I’m not really certain on the track limit rules, so I was just praying that I didn’t run off or do anything silly and could just bring it home. It’s good to get it in the pocket.”

The sprint race victory promoted Marcus Armstrong to fifth on 69 points.