Another win as Armstrong maintains momentum in FIA F2

Marcus Armstrong was in a league of his own from start to finish at his favourite race circuit this weekend, dominating the field to win from pole.

A delighted Armstrong took his second victory of the 2022 season in the 28-lap sprint race at the 4.138 Spielberg Red Bull Ring F1 circuit in Austria. He held off a fierce challenge from Thèo Pourchaire to win by almost two seconds, but tangled with rival Jehan Daruvala in the Sunday feature race.

The race was as much about staying within the track-edge limits as it was about speed and the Hitech Grand Prix driver expertly managed both.

Throughout the race 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 during the final few laps.

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 the sights of Felipe Drugovich.
Armstrong then set about pulling away from Doohan and Pourchaire, clocking an early fastest lap to go more than a second clear of the Frenchman as the race developed.
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.

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. He has now scored points at every round.

Armstrong had no further luck in Sunday’s feature race after tangling with Jehan Daruvala on the second lap, but hangs on to sixth place in the championship. Daruvala received a 20-second penalty for trying to dry the track in his grid box for a better start, which is forbidden by the F2 rules.