Photo: ACI Sport
Frederik Vesti made it two unlikely Formula Regional European Championship wins out of two at the Red Bull Ring.
The Dane started from pole and held the lead until being punted off by Igor Fraga at Turn 4 on the opening lap. He managed to keep control of his car and bring it back onto track in seventh, and regained three places in the next three laps despite diffuser damage.
He took third place when Prema team-mate Olli Caldwell stopped at Turn 3 and caused a safety car period, which became second when Fraga took a drive-through penalty as punishment for his collision with Vesti.
It took two further laps for Vesti to claim the lead from US Racing’s David Schumacher, and he then pulled away to take his eighth win from 10 races.
Schumacher had passed KIC Motorsport’s Konsta Lappalainen to take a provisional lead, with Lappalainen finishing the first lap just ahead of Vesti. He mirrored his progression up the order, having started in 11th, to take his first podium of the season and move into 10th in the standings.
Marcos Siebert finished fourth, holding off pressure from Enzo Fittipaldi for much of the race. Fittipaldi had followed his Prema team-mate Vesti into the gravel on lap one in avoiding action, and fell to 11th. He made a few passes before rapidly closing in on Siebert. Despite the appearance of the safety car, he could not find a way through.
Sophia Floersch took some important points for Van Amersfoort Racing in sixth place, ahead of Technorace’s Tom Beckahuser. Despite spinning at Turn 1 on the opening lap, Scuderia DF Corse by Corbetta’s Matteo Nannini finished just behind in eighth.
DR Formula by RP Motorsport had a miserable race, with Raul Guzman losing a likely top four finish to a broken front wing, and Fraga’s penalty leaving him a distant ninth.
The list of retirees included Lappalainen’s team-mate Isac Blomqvist, who was in sixth when he beached himself in the Turn 3 gravel late on.
Race results (20 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frederik Vesti | Prema Powerteam | 32m31.230s |
| 2 | David Schumacher | US Racing | +1.401s |
| 3 | Konsta Lappalainen | KIC Motorsport | +1.981s |
| 4 | Marcos Siebert | US Racing | +2.679s |
| 5 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Prema | +3.044s |
| 6 | Sophia Floersch | Van Amersfoort Racing | +3.649s |
| 7 | Tom Beckhauser | Technorace | +4.089s |
| 8 | Matteo Nannini | Scuderia DF Corse by Corbetta | +6.770s |
| 9 | Igor Fraga | DR Formula by RP Motorsport | +16.723s |
| 10 | Sharon Scolari | ScoRace Team | +48.389s |
| Ret | Isac Blomqvist | KIC Motorsport | |
| Ret | Alexandre Bardinon | Van?Amersfoort Racing | |
| Ret | Olli Caldwell | Prema | |
| Ret | Raul Guzman | DR Formula by RP Motorsport | |
| Fastest lap: Vesti, 1m26.716s
Championship standings |
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