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Category: Indians Abroad
News about Indians racing in different motorsports events abroad
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Kush Maini finishes a creditable 3rd in Race 2, consolidates third position in the championship
Kush Maini in action at Brands Hatch where took a third place on Sunday. Images: Maini team Brands Hatch, 6 Aug 2018: Up and coming Indian racer Kush Maini of Lanan Racing, the junior of the Maini brothers, finished third in Race 2 to consolidate his third place in the championship standings after a strong display at the Round 6 of the BRDC F3 Championship at the renowned Brands Hatch here on Sunday.
The 17-year old Bangalore-born racer came back strongly after a bad outing at Spa in the last round, He managed two exciting results, finishing sixth in the Race 1 and Race 3, to bag enough points and packed it with an impressive third-place drive to the podium in Race 2.
By claiming 56 points in this round, the Junior Maini has 321 points in the driver’s championship, 19 points ahead of fourth-placed Gamble.
Despite not having much track time in the car, Maini started the weekend with a good qualifying session taking P6 for Race 1 after only a 20-minute practice session. He P6 time was just 0.379s off pole. Then, Maini drove a steady race and managed to finish sixth, the position he started on the grid in Race 1.
Kush Maini with his trophy at Brands Hatch after his third place in Race 2 on Sunday. Race 2 saw a reverse-grid start, and Maini was forced to start from P10. Despite a bad start, Maini recovered in the first lap itself, as he managed to avoid the clash in front and sneaked in to move up. “There was chaos at the front and I just kept my nose clean and looked for the opportunities,” he said about the initial laps in Race 2. He had a busy race thereafter and with some gritty driving, he avoided the `frantic’ action on the second lap to surge past the cars ahead of him into the fifth position. Then a safety-car was deployed that did not help as he dropped a position after the restart. But the youngster, who grew up watching his father Gautam Maini and elder brother Arjun Maini racing cars, from childhood managed to go up into fourth place by Lap 9. A podium place was in the waiting as the third-placed finisher Ravishankar had to take a penalty for an infringement.
Kush started the final race of the weekend from P8 on the grid. He carried on some of the great form, from his previous race and ensured another P6 comfortably overtaking a couple of cars and then widened the gap to Maldonado, who was trailing him in seventh. He had a lead of over 10-seconds to the Maldonado.
Talking about his race, Kush Maini said, “It’s my eighth podium of the year and so I’m happy, But we’ve had a few tough races, so it’s good to be back here. We will be pushing harder to get back on the top step. There were plenty of battles raging and I thought there was going to be a bit of contact so I took different lines and got people on the exits, and I’m really happy with how I raced my race.”
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Indians Rajiv Sethu, Anish Shetty aim to finish in top-10: ARRC
Anish Shetty in action in the AP250cc Practice I at the MMRT on Friday. Photos by Anand Philar Chennai, 3 Aug 2018: Home riders, Chennai’s Rajiv Sethu and Bengaluru-based Anish Damodara Shetty, enjoyed a fairly satisfactory outings during the three practice sessions but with plenty of scope for improvement as the fourth round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship got underway at the MMRT, here on Friday.
Competing in the Asia Production 250cc class, the Idemitsu Honda Racing India team-mates Sethu, 20, and Shetty,23, though off the pace by about three seconds, did generate hopes of strong results over the next two days when they go through the qualifying session followed by two races.
Shetty, in his debut season in the championship, was quicker than Sethu in two of the three sessions with a best of 01:51.2, while the Chennai youngster finished the day clocking 01:51.5.
Sethu, who is still seeking his first points this season, said: “The three practice sessions went quite ok, though I still need to pull out better timings tomorrow for the qualifying. I had a good second session and my immediate goal for this weekend is to try and finish in top 10.”
Rajiv Sethu in action in the AP250cc practice session in the Asian Road Racing Cham;ionship that began at MMRT on Friday. For Shetty, it has been a case of hitting the ground running and still managed to earn two points in the second round in Australia. “It has been a steep learning curve for me. There has been so much to learn in such a short time! I have never ridden such a powerful bike which is much more powerful than the Honda CBR 250 which I ride in the National championship. The AP 250s are twin cylinder machines and much quicker than the CBR250,” said the techie from Bengaluru.
On his practice sessions today, Shetty said: “I had some issues with the suspension early on, but after some changes, I had a good second session when I posted my best timing for today of 1:51 (one minute, 51.2 seconds). We made some changes ahead of the third session and I had to get used to them. For tomorrow, I hope I can go quicker.
The quickest rider in the AP 250cc class was championship leader Rheza Danica Ahrens (Indonesia), winner of four the six races over three rounds so far and whose best over three sessions was a 01:48.03.
Meanwhile, the premier SuperSport 600cc class dished out exciting action with promise of more to come over the next two days. Twice champion (2014 and 2016) Md Zaqhwan Zaidi, the 23-year old Malaysian, posted the quickest timing of the day with a blistering 01:41.306 on his Honda, ahead of championship leader Anthony West (Australia), riding the Yamaha at the MMRT for the first time, who posted his best lap of 01:41.388.
In the other practice sessions, Aravind Balasubramaniam topped the time sheets in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup organised by MMSC (CBR250), clocking 02:02.205, while Yashas RL was the quickest in the TVS RR310 One-Make Championship with 02:02.4.
Malaysian Md Akid Aziz on a Yamaha took the top spot in the Underbone 150 qualifying with a 01:51.970.
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Sanjay Takale finishes gruelling Rally Finland: WRC3
India’s Sanjay Takale (right) and co-driver Darren Garrod on the finish ramp of WRC Neste Rally Finland on Sunday. Photos: Team Takale Bengaluru, 30 July 2018: Seasoned rally driver Sanjay Takale on Sunday achieved another milestone as he became the first registered driver from India to finish a round of the FIA World Rally Championship at the iconic Neste Rally Finland, according to the information received here on Monday.
Takale was classified 14th in the WRC 3 category and 47thoverall in the gruelling Rally Finland after the final of action that saw two Special Stages—Laukaa and Ruuhimaki run twice over before the final flourish.
The Pune-based Takale and his British co-driver Darren Garrod survived the 23 Special Stages over a total of 317.26-km, rated among the fastest in the WRC calendar, to bring home their Baltic Motorsports Promotion-prepared 2-Wheel drive Ford Fiesta R2 in 14th position.
Sanjay Takale in action on Sunday. “Like any rally driver, I also dreamt of participating in and finishing a FIA World Rally Championship event. So, it was a dream come true for me to compete in and finish the fastest WRC event on our planet!,” is how Takale reflected on his debut WRC Rally Finland.
On Sunday as Takale started 13th, he went through the first Stage in Laukaa over 11.74-km in 8 minutes 2.4 seconds, while in the second loop he timed it in 7:59.2. The Ruuhimaki Stage measuring 11.12-km was power stage in the second loop and in both he improved his timing, but the competition was nevertheless tough. Takale clocked 8:02.6 in the first loop and 7:55.9 in the final power stage to finish the rally in one piece.
“It was an amazing experience overall and a steep learning curve for me overall. Probably, I could have fared better had I not lost time due to a puncture and twice having to repair the damaged lower arms of my car. However, that is part and parcel of rallying and I am not complaining,” said Takale.
“Going forward, I might do more WRC events. At the same time, I have to work on my fitness to do better in WRC rallies which are long and punishing. In the Neste Finland Rally, for instance, we covered a total distance of 1,400 Kms over four days, not counting the two days of reconnaissance runs. Right now, I want to savour these moments after completing a WRC event, though I have plenty to think about!”
Takale, who started Sunday’s Leg-3 in 13th position, dropped one spot after the day’s four Special Stages of 45.72 Kms.
Results:
Overall: 1. Ott Tanak (Est) 2 hrs 35 mins 18.1 secs; 2. Mads Ostberg (Nor) 2::35:50.8; 3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin) 2::35:53.6; 4. HaydenPaddon (Nzl) 2::36:53.7; 5. Sebastien Ogier (Fra) 2::37:33.1….30. Gaurav Gill (Ind) 3::18:17.7…47. Sanjay Takale (Ind) 3::54:40.3.
WRC 3: 1. Ken Torn (Est) 3::03:07.2; 2. Emil Bergkvist (Swe) 3::03:17.1; 3. Jean-Baptiste Franceschi (Fra) 3::04:53.4; 4. Julius Tannert (Ger) 3::07:15.3; 5. Callum Devine (Irl) 3::09:14.1…14. Sanjay Takale (Ind) 3::54:40.3.
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Sanjay Takale moves to 13th in WRC 3 after Leg-2
Sanjay Takale action in WRC Neste Rally Finland. Photo: Honza Fronek Jyväskylä (Finland), 29 July 2018: A determined Sanjay Takale, making his debut in the FIA World Rally Championship, battled his way to 13th position in the WRC 3 category at the end of Leg-2 in the Neste Rally Finland on Saturday.
Pune-based Takale, along with British co-driver Darren Garrod, maintained a steady pace in the 2-Wheel Drive Ford Fiesta, prepared by Baltic Motorsports Promotion, through the day that was punctuated by eight Special Stages over 142.86 Kms to gain one spot from overnight 14th to 13th despite being docked time penalty.
Reflecting on the longest day of the Rally, Takale said: “We started the day well, but I received heavy time penalty in one of the Stages following a major crash. I was about to start the Stage when I was stopped by the Marshall even as ambulances were rushing in. I and a few other cars behind me had to wait for nearly an hour and we then proceeded to the next Stage. I was handed a time penalty for late reporting, though it was no fault of mine!”
Shrugging off the incident, Takale maintained his pace on the second loop of the Stages highlighted by high speed, blind crests followed immediately by corners. “No wonder that Rally Finland is known to be the fastest Rally in the World! It is very technical and the pace notes have to be spot-on because the terrain is very unforgiving as even the smallest mistake can prove costly,” explained Takale.
Sunday will see the competitors covering just 45.72 Kms over two Special Stages – Laukaa (11.74 Kms) and Ruuhimaki (11.12 Kms) – that will be run twice before the finish of the Rally.
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Jehan Daruvala excels at the legendary Spa circuit, with a Pole, Fastest Lap and a victory
Jehan Daruvala flashing past the finish line while winning Race 1 at Spa on Friday. Spa (Belgium), 27 July 2018: Jehan Daruvala, the first Indian to win in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, once again set a new benchmark with pole position, fastest lap and race victory in Race 1 at the legendary Formula 1 circuit of Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.
Jehan Daruvala celebrates victory at Spa. The teenage racing sensation from Mumbai had a tense qualifying earlier yesterday, and began setting lap times with only five minutes left for the session to end. Jehan was fifth on the timesheets after his first lap and improved to provisional second on the next lap. On his third and last effort, Jehan gave it everything for a brilliant lap to bag pole position by 0.10 seconds ahead of the then championship leader Marcus Armstrong from New Zealand. Jehan managed to lap the 7 kms circuit in a time of 2:12.983, while Spaniard, Alex Palou was third, two-tenths behind Jehan.
Jehan unfortunately lost ground when the lights went off to start the race. His car bogged down and by the first corner Jehan had fallen to third. As the leaders accelerated out of the iconic Eau Rouge corner, Jehan took advantage of the slip stream and muscled his way into second. Soon, an incident behind the leaders brought out the safety car for two laps.
The race resumed with Alex Palou retaining his lead ahead of Jehan, who in turn faced no threat. Once again, out of Eau Rouge and onto the long Kemmel Straight, Jehan went around the outside of Palou to grab the race lead. Jehan thereafter had to ensure that he immediately put in a bit of a gap to avoid being overtaken once again due to the slip stream effect. He managed to do that successfully, opening up six-tenth advantage over Palou.
Jehan Daruvala on way to victory at Spa The former CIK FIA Asia Pacific Karting Champion continued his dominance over the rest of the field, pulling out over two-tenths of a lap over everyone else. The Spaniard too, did not face any challenges as the two leaders were in a class of their own, pulling away throughout.
Jehan then pulled off a series of fastest race laps to move out of Palou’s reach completely, before easing off a bit, at the end. The Sahara Force India Academy racer eventually won the race with a comfortable margin of 3.2 seconds ahead of Palou and a massive 11.9 seconds ahead of Estonian racer, Ralf Aron in third.
The victory was also Jehan’s fourth podium of 2018 in the FIA F3 series which is arguably one of the toughest stepping stones to reach Formula 1. “The start was not ideal, but I kept my cool as I knew we were quick. Once I was ahead, I just had to make sure I made no mistakes. A lot of credit goes to the team for all the effort that they have put in,” said Jehan after the win.
Jehan has a number of firsts to his credit such as the first Indian to win a Grand Prix (New Zealand Grand Prix in the Toyota Racing Series in 2017) as well as the only Indian to stand on the podium of any FIA World Championship (third in the FIA CIK World Karting Championship). Jehan also remains the only Indian to win titles in the FIA CIK Asia Pacific Karting Championship and British Karting Championship.
Jehan will start 12th and 4th for Race 2 and 3 respectively, later this weekend.
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Sanjay Takale set for WRC debut in Finland
Jyväskylä (Finland), 25 July 2018: India’s Sanjay Takale is all set for the drive of his life as he makes debut in the FIA World Rally Championship this weekend in the Neste Rally Finland. The Pune-based Takale along with co-driver Darren Garrod from Britain will be piloting a WRC 3-spec Ford Fiesta R2 (two-wheel drive) prepared by Baltic Motorsports Promotion team.
“After many years of participating in and winning international rallies, notably the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, I am now pursing my long-cherished dream of competing in the World Rally Championship as a registered driver in the WRC 3 category,” said Pune-based Takale.
Takale’s immediate target in Rally Finland is to complete the course that comprises of 23 Special Stages spread over 317.26 Kms. Over the four days of action, the competitors will cover a total distance of 1,427.49 Kms.
The Neste Rally Finland, which commences on Thursday night is considered the fastest event in the WRC calendar with average speeds upwards of 126Kmph, besides iconic jumps of Ruuhimäki Special Stage on Sunday.
“The weather forecast for the weekend is dry as it is summer here in Finland. So, I expect a fast and dry rally,” said Takale soon after finishing a test run in the Fiesta.
Takale’s quest for fresh challenges and ultimately realising his WRC dreams saw him shift focus on Europe. He participated in rallies in Iceland and Sweden before tying up with Latvia-based Baltic Motorsports Promotion on whose suggestion he took part in rallies in Latvia and Estonia to prepare for the WRC Finland round.
With BMP offering him a WRC registered car, Takale decided to participate in the Rally Finland to become first Indian registered driver in the WRC 3 category.
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Aishwarya begins well; Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team on a high: Baja Aragon
- Michael & Adrien finish the prologue stage at P1 & P5 respectively
Teruel, 21 July 2018: The 35th edition of the Baja Aragon Rally kicked off here on Friday, in Teruel, Spain, with a free practice session and a prologue stage of 12.8 kilometers in the Spanish Terrain. At the end of the prologue stage, Sherco TVS Factory Rally team’s Michael Metge stood at P1 followed by Adrien Metge at P5. Debutant Aishwarya Pissay finished the prologue stage successfully.
Aishwarya Pissay Baja Aragon on Friday. A TVS Sherco Racing team image David Casteu, Team Manager, Sherco TVS Factory Rally team said, “The prologue stage began on a good note with Michael Metge finishing at the top of the table. This is his first Rally with us and he is in excellent form finishing the stage 12 seconds in advance. This is the first time we have a woman representing Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team and Aishwarya has shown commendable spirit; her goal is to finish all stages and she is still getting used to the bike. Adrien slowed down a bit because of his ankle injury but he will bounce back in the forthcoming stages. I wish them the best for the upcoming stages.”
Commenting on his performance Michael Metge, Racer, Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team says, “Baja is a great learning ground as a part of the pre-Dakar series. I am happy with this solid start and will do my best to keep the momentum going. The Sherco TVS team has extended immense support to me. It is a delight to race with Adrien and Aishwarya, both of them has showcased tremendous spirit.”
Rankings for Prologue stage: Michael Metge – P1; Adrien Metge – P5
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Another podium for Bengaluru schoolboy Ruhaan Alva in Italy
File photo of Ruhaan Alva in action. Photo: by Team Alva Adria (Italy), 16 July 2018: India’s Ruhaan Alva came up with a fighting drive to finish on the podium with a fifth place in the sixth round of the Easykart Italia Championship at the Adria International Raceway here on Sunday. It was Ruhaan’s second consecutive podium finish following his first runner-up place in the previous round.
Ruhaan, the 12-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru and supported by Play Factory, Sona Miller and Birel Art India, started the 100cc category final in 17th spot but cut through the field to finish fifth.
The top five finishers were presented with trophies on the podium.
Earlier, in the pre-final, Ruhaan had shown impressive pace to move from 12th to fourth before getting involved in an incident that pushed him down to 15th which put him 17th on the grid for the final race that followed.
“I was quite happy with my pace through the weekend and was hopeful of strong result. Unfortunately, I could not qualify higher than 17th for the final, but had a good run to finish fifth which put me on the podium,” said Ruhaan who is among the six drivers selected by the prestigious International Easykart Driver Talent program organized by Birel ART in Italy.
Ruhaan Alva’s next round is in September after the summer break in the championship.
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Albon wins Silverstone Feature Race: F2
Silverstone, 8 July 2018: Alexander Albon took his second FIA Formula 2 Championship victory in the Feature Race at Silverstone, Great Britain, the DAMS driver capitalising on a slow pitstop for polesitter George Russell to clinch the win by 9.783s. ART Grand Prix’s Russell collected a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane en route to second, as Antonio Fuoco of Charouz Racing System collected third place.Maintaining his lead at the start, Russell immediately began to build a gap over Albon in the opening stages of the race as he sought to exert control over the pace early on. Behind them, Artem Markelov made an early play for seventh place by passing Arjun Maini into the Maggotts-Becketts complex before closing in on Lando Norris, with Maini remaining in contention.Russell grasped the early fastest laps to keep Albon outside of DRS range, building a 1.5 second lead by the third lap, while Louis Deletraz battled teammate Fuoco for third place. Maini – having retaken seventh from Markelov – began to challenge Norris, capitalising on a mistake from the British driver at turn 2 to dive down the inside for sixth. The Indian driver then proceeded to go after Sergio Sette Camara in his pursuit of early progress.At the end of lap 6, the leading pack all pitted to trade their worn soft tyres for the harder compound. Cue pitlane dramatics, as a problem with the right-rear wheel gun prompted a slow stop for Russell, gifting the lead to Albon. Russell’s misery was compounded after receiving a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane, while his ART teammate Jack Aitken was simultaneously handed the same sanctions.Stopping the lap after, Deletraz ended his brief time in the lead and was followed in by Maini and Norris, who both endured miserable pitstops – Norris stalling in the box – to drop down the order. Tadasuke Makino assumed the lead while running the alternate strategy, finding great pace on his hard-compound tyres to build a gap over Ralph Boschung, who occupied second.Albon, buoyed by Russell’s penalty, was able to eat into the gap of the drivers yet to stop, clearing Roy Nissany ahead of a mid-race virtual safety car; Nirei Fukuzumi came to a halt on the Hangar Straight, but his stranded car was quickly cleared by the marshals to offer a prompt restart to the race. Losing four seconds from his lead, Makino’s gap to Boschung was slashed – although the Swiss driver was quickly dispatched from second by Albon. Meanwhile, Deletraz was slow to react to the restart, and was under heavy fire from Sergio Sette Camara – whose run on the Charouz driver into Brooklands was impressively batted away.Sette Camara found his way through two laps later, clearing Deletraz and immediately setting after Fuoco in his pursuit of a second consecutive podium. Makino gave up the lead to Albon at the end of the 20th lap, who set a fastest lap which preceded a second VSC – Sean Gelael coming together with Norris at Brooklands to end the Indonesian’s day. The VSC period was quickly over, and Albon was able to open the lead to 2.5s.Having caught Fuoco, Sette Camara’s day was over after suffering from engine problems, pulling over at the side of the road with his car on fire. Quickly extinguished, the battle behind him on track stayed alight with Ghiotto clearing Deletraz for fourth on the entrance to Luffield – but Deletraz remained in the frame to take the fight to Ghiotto in the closing stages.Continuing to open the gap, Albon found almost five seconds in hand over Russell by the end of the race, and the Thai driver crossed the line to grab his second win of 2018. Despite his time penalty, Russell kept a sufficient gap to Fuoco to retain second place.Frustrated by Ghiotto’s tough defending, Deletraz passed the Italian driver on the final lap to recoup fourth place, as Markelov ended the day just 0.1s behind the Campos Vexatec Racing driver at the line. De Vries ended the day in seventh, ahead of Maximilian Gunther – who will take reverse-grid pole for tomorrow’s race – as Boschung and Norris completed the scorers.2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 7 – Silverstone, Great Britain – Feature Race Provisional ClassificationDriverTeam1Alexander AlbonDAMS2George RussellART Grand Prix3Antonio FuocoCharouz Racing System4Louis DelétrazCharouz Racing System5Luca GhiottoCampos Vexatec Racing6Artem MarkelovRUSSIAN TIME7Nyck De VriesPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing8Maximilian GüntherBWT Arden9Ralph BoschungMP Motorsport10Lando NorrisCarlin11Roberto MerhiMP Motorsport12Tadasuke MakinoRUSSIAN TIME13Jack AitkenART Grand Prix14Arjun MainiTrident15Roy NissanyCampos Vexatec Racing16Santino FerrucciTrident17Nicholas LatifiDAMSNot ClassifiedSergio Sette CamaraCarlinSean GelaelPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore RacingNirei FukuzumiBWT ArdenFastest laptime: George Russell (ART Grand Prix) – 1:44.448 on Lap 28 -
Markelov dominates in Spielberg Sprint Race; secures third win of 2018; Arjun Maini 10th: F2
Artem Markelov wins sprint race at Spielberg on Sunday. An FIA F2 image Spielberg, 1 July 2018: Artem Markelov produced a display of dominance in the FIA Formula 2 Championship Sprint Race at Spielberg, Austria, leading every lap en route to a third victory of the year; the Russian Time driver crossed the finish line 5.6s clear of ART Grand Prix’s George Russell. Finishing second, Russell assumed the championship lead, as Sergio Sette Camara took third place.
Indian Racer Arjun Maini of Trident finished 10th.In cool, sunny conditions, Markelov led the field away at the start from teammate Tadasuke Makino, quickly leaving the Japanese driver in his wake and under attack from Sette Camara. Meanwhile, Russell – seeking to double up on victories over the Red Bull Ring weekend – quickly dispatched championship rival Lando Norris on the first lap, and then chased after Antonio Fuoco on the following lap to ease past the Charouz Racing System racer.Makino, weathering the storm from Sette Camara, started to nibble into Markelov’s lead as Russell continued his progress through the pack – clearing Alexander Albon as Fuoco followed him through. Setting a quick lap to catch Sette Camara, Russell thrust his way past the Brazilian to make the step up into the top three by lap 4. Norris was next to try and pass Albon, but the Carlin driver wasn’t able to make the same progress as Russell and remained glued to the DAMS driver’s gearbox.As Markelov stepped up the pace at the front of the field, Makino dropped back into the clutches of Russell, who made light work of the Honda development driver. Russell looked to wind Markelov in, but the Russian had already started to open up a strong lead, building a 2.8s buffer by the end of the ninth lap to give himself some breathing space. Meanwhile, the battle for third started to heat up, with Fuoco now on Sette Camara’s tail – but was unable to capitalise on a chance to overtake him into turn 4.Further down the field, Albon found himself conducting a large train of cars, which continued to grow throughout the race as the drivers sought to keep each other within touching distance. Conversely, Markelov continued to extend his advantage over Russell, sitting three-and-a-half seconds ahead by the race’s midpoint, with Makino holding onto third from Sette Camara – now free of the chasing Fuoco.Sette Camara then squeezed past Makino to take control of third, leaving him to fight against Fuoco. The Italian attempted a move around the outside of turn 4, but Makino held his nerve and held on, before having to concede defeat a lap later. As tyre degradation started to bite, the closely-collected pack behind Albon began to fight for the lower reaches of the points, Norris making a long-awaited pass on the Thai driver – who promptly reclaimed fifth two laps later as the McLaren reserve driver began to struggle.Checking out, Markelov continued to build his advantage over Russell, entering the final five laps with a five-second lead. Although Russell attempted to eat into his lead, Markelov flexed his muscles and kept the British driver in the shade, taking a superbly-managed victory for his third visit to the top step in 2018. Russell finished second, adding to an impressive haul of points across the weekend to take control of the championship lead from Norris, as Sette Camara completed the top three.Fuoco, losing time at the end of the race, narrowly finished ahead of Albon – who also cleared Makino as the Japanese driver took sixth. Santino Ferrucci took seventh after a late fight with Nicholas Latifi and Nirei Fukuzumi, as the BWT Arden driver narrowly missed out on the final point.As F2 has reached the halfway point of the season, Russell will go into next weekend’s round at Silverstone with 132 points – a 10-point lead over Norris – as Markelov leaps up to third in the championship with 94 points. Carlin continue to lead the teams’ title with 208 points, with ART Grand Prix second on 181. Charouz Racing System move up to third with 126 points – three more than fourth-placed DAMS.2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 6 – Spielberg, Austria – Sprint Race Provisional ResultsDriverTeam1Artem MarkelovRUSSIAN TIME2George RussellART Grand Prix3Sergio Sette CamaraCarlin4Antonio FuocoCharouz Racing System5Alexander AlbonDAMS6Tadasuke MakinoRUSSIAN TIME7Santino FerrucciTrident8Nicholas LatifiDAMS9Nirei FukuzumiBWT Arden10Arjun MainiTrident11Lando NorrisCarlin12Maximilian GuntherBWT Arden13Luca GhiottoCampos Vexatec Racing14Nyck de VriesPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing15Ralph BoschungMP Motorsport16Roberto MerhiMP Motorsport17Roy NissanyCampos Vexatec Racing18Jack AitkenART Grand Prix–Louis DeletrazCharouz Racing System–Sean GelaelPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
