Austria – Race 2: Artem Markelov wins, Charles Leclerc retires

Artem Markelov started in the lead thanks to his eighth place yesterday during the main race. The Russian had no trouble keeping his position at the first corner since Ralph Boschung, who was in second place on the grid, stalled, which severely tested the reflexes of the drivers behind him. Those of Charles Leclerc were thus well highlighted.

Unfortunately, Raffaele Marciello, who started second to last, was not able to do the same and hit the stopped Campos. The intervention of the safety car was then required to clear the damaged Trident.

The safety car pulled away on the 4th lap, and Charles Leclerc was eager to make another comeback. He had no trouble passing Jordan King to move up to 5th position. However, he then became an indirect victim of the battle between Antonio Fuoco and his title rival, Oliver Rowland. The Italian claimed that the Briton had changed direction several times to defend, but the stewards saw nothing wrong. However, by forcing him to the outside of the 4th corner, Oliver Rowland forced the Prema driver to slow down significantly. This time, Charles Leclerc was unable to avoid it and was forced to retire after a spin.

A virtual safety car procedure was then implemented. When the race speed resumed, the leading trio was Artem Markelov, ahead of Alex Albon and Oliver Rowland. The leading trio was not threatened for the rest of the race and thus found themselves on the podium at the end of the race.

On the other hand, Luca Ghiotto made a very impressive comeback from 14th place on the grid to eventually cross the line in 4th place. He also emerged unscathed from a stewards’ investigation for contact with Gustav Malja just at the end of the virtual safety car. He was then able to overtake his compatriot Antonio Fuoco, who was struggling with his tires, towards the end of the race.

The other great comeback of the race is credited to Norman Nato. Last on the grid due to his retirement yesterday, the Frenchman managed to climb up to 7th position, helped by the five-second penalty given to Nicholas Latifi for speeding in the pit lane and the collision between Robert Visoiu and Nyck de Vries three laps from the end.

In the championship, Charles Leclerc still comes out of this weekend with an increased lead over his closest rival since his 29 points earned with his pole and victory are greater than the 24 collected over two races by Oliver Rowland. There are therefore 49 points separating the two men while Artem Markelov is only three points behind the Dams driver.

On the other hand, the battle promises to be intense until the end in the team championship, as Prema and Dams are now perfectly tied, while Russian Time is only 9 points behind the leading duo.