Photo: Hitech
Leo Robinson held off Fionn McLaughlin to win the first Formula Winter Series race at Barcelona as both kept their slim title hopes alive following trouble for Gabriel Gomez.
US Racing driver Gomez had a strong chance to seal the crown but failed to get away from eighth on the grid when the race began and had to retire. The start of the race had previously been aborted after Simon Schranz found the gravel trap on the formation lap.
Polesitter Robinson retained the lead at the start ahead of his Hitech team-mate Fionn McLaughlin, but his advantage of 0.8 seconds at the end of lap one would soon be reduced. Bart Harrison held third early on while Kabir Anurag passed Artem Severiukhin for third on lap three.
When Harrison slowed and retired with a technical issue in the middle of the race, Robinson’s mirrors were full of McLaughlin, but Anurag soon closed up too, setting the fastest lap in the process. It was now McLaughlin under the most pressure from behind, but he was able to respond.
Robinson ultimately eked out a gap of 0.783 at the end, with Anurag finishing a similar distance behind McLaughlin in third. While Anurag took the bonus point for fastest lap, Robinson and McLaughlin are now equal on points, 49 behind Gomez with 52 available from the last two races.
Race results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Robinson | Hitech | 17 laps |
| 2 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech | +0.783s |
| 3 | Kabir Anurag | US Racing | +1.401s |
| 4 | Artem Severiukhin | Jenzer Motorsport | +1.786s |
| 5 | Davide Larini | AKM Motorsport | +3.973s |
| 6 | Maxim Rehm | US Racing | +4.588s |
| 7 | Enea Frey | Jenzer Motorsport | +8.004s |
| 8 | Luka Sammalisto | US Racing | +16.232s |
| 9 | Jan Koller | US Racing | +18.218s |
| 10 | Andrea Dupe | AS Motorsport | +20.727s |
| 11 | Aleksander Ruta | Van Amersfoort Racing | +21.346s |
| 12 | Andrija Kostic | US Racing | +21.728s |
| 13 | Dante Vinci | Van Amersfoort Racing | +22.086s |
| 14 | Ludovico Busso | Viola Formula Racing | +22.704s |
| 15 | Emily Cotty | Hitech | +31.637s |
| 16 | Kirill Kutskov | Maffi Racing | +33.238s |
| 17 | Teo Borenstein | Maffi Racing | +36.678s |
| 18 | Mathilda Paatz | AS Motorsport | +37.060s |
| 19 | Payton Westcott | Van Amersfoort Racing | +38.049s |
| 20 | Elia Luis Weiss | Cram | +48.953s |
| 21 | Maximilian Popov | Van Amersfoort Racing | +1m27.821s |
| 22 | Ginevra Panzeri | AKM Motorsport | +1m48.651s |
| 23 | Thomas Bearman | Hitech | +1 lap |
| 24 | Kornelia Olkucka | Maffi Racing | +1 lap |
| Ret | Javier Herrera | Jenzer Motorsport | |
| Ret | Bart Harrison | Jenzer Motorsport | |
| Ret | Gabriel Gomez | US Racing | |
| Ret | Simon Schranz | Renauer Motorsport | |
| Fastest lap: Anurag, 1m43.946s
Championship standings |
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