Dutch GP: Armstrong commands win in inaugural Holland sprint
3rd September 2022Hitech’s Marcus Armstrong secured Formula 2’s first-ever win amongst the sand dunes of the Netherlands Zandvoort circuit with an early move over MP Motorsports Clement Novalak.
How the race unfolded…
It was a good getaway from Hitech’s Marcus Armstrong, who started in second-place, and the New Zealander managed to slip down the inside of turn one to snatch the lead away from the clutches of MP Motorsport’s Clement Novalak.
On lap two, ART’s Theo Pourchaire’s car snapped at the corner entry and forced the Frenchman across the gravel trap to avoid a collision with Van Amersfoort Racing’s David Beckmann. Fortunately, the championship contender was able to keep his car out of the barrier and continue on, in P21.
By lap four, Armstrong had established a comfortable 1.4 second gap over Novalak. However, a yellow flag was brought out as Campos’ Olli Caldwell locked up into turn one and skipped across the gravel trap. The Campos driver was able to keep the car going, and out of the barrier, to avoid a safety car intervention.
Although Caldwell was able to continue on with the race, after a venture through the gravel trap in the opening stages, the Campos driver was forced to retire from the race 10 laps later.
When the race embarked into its final 10 laps, Armstrong commanded the race out infront with Novalak and Prema’s Dennis Hauger in second and third, respectively.
Whereas the championship leader, MP Motorsport’s Felipe Drugovich found himself in the points-paying position of 10th, albeit one point. However, this additional point would allow the MP driver to remain out in front ahead of his championship rival: Pourchaire.
Despite motivation from his pit wall, to try and close the gap to Armstrong, Novalak wasn’t unable to close the gap to the Hitech driver.
After a well behaved race, Charouz Racing’s Tatiana Calderon added a bit of spice into the latter stages of the race. The Colombian driver spun out of the race as she raced through the fast right-hander of turn two and beached herself in the gravel trap, on the exit of the corner.
Due to the late spin from Calderon, the safety car was deployed as the track marshals worked to quickly remove the stranded Charouz. On the Penultimate lap, Armstrong was left to control the field’s pace for one – final – lap as the safety car peeled back into the pit lane at the end of lap 28.
Fortunately, Armstrong got the perfect restart as he caught Novalak napping into the penultimate corner. This allowed the New Zealander to race down into turn one, unchallenged. As a result, Armstrong was able to cruise his way towards the chequered flag to win F2’s first race in Holland.
Podium:
- Marcus Armstrong, Hitech
- Clement Novalak, MP Motorsport
- Dennis Hauger, Prema
That’s it for the article: Dutch GP: Armstrong commands win in inaugural Holland sprint! What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula Two here:
- Belgium GP: Doohan tyre strategy secures first feature race win
- Belgian GP: Lawson secures F2 win after early move
- F2 Hungarian GP: Pourchaire wins after Armstrong’s pit lane woes
- F2 Hungarian GP: Doohan dominates sprint after early blunder
- F2 French GP: Iwasa commands France feature race
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