Written by Sean McKean
Following a faultless start, Luke Browning controlled the Austrian feature race to take his second victory of the season. This result propels Browning 11 points clear of second-placed Gabriele Minì in the championship.
As it unfolded
Browning got the jump at the start – decisively leading as the field exited Turn 1. The Prema trio of Lindblad, Minì, and Beganovic slotted in behind, but Beganovic soon took third from his Italian teammate in Turn 4.
The Swedish driver continued his climb through the pack, soon taking second away from Lindblad on Lap 2.
Although Beganovic had the gap down to only half a second by Lap 6, he struggled to make the move on the dominant Browning. While this happened, Minì moved back into third by making a move on Lindblad.
By Lap 8, Lindblad was falling through the back with overheated tyres. This was further compounded after a collision with Alex Dunne that relegated him to seventh. For this, Dunne received a ten-second time penalty.
The first safety car of the race came out on Lap 11. Going into Turn 3, Mari Boya attempted a dive on AIX’s Nikita Bedrin, sending the latter into a spin and eventually a stall.
When the safety car came in on Lap 14, Oliver Goethe sized up a move on Noel León for fourth. However, a collision between the two resulted in a puncture for the Mexican – a touch that ended his charge through the pack.
By Lap 21, Christian Mansell made his move into fourth.
Despite attempts from the Prema pair behind, it was Luke Browning who took a dominant victory in the Styrian hills. Gabriele Minì kept the championship fight alive in second. Dino Beganovic followed behind in third. Christian Mansell takes good points in fourth. Oliver Goethe rounded out the top five.
Nikola Tsolov backed up his sprint result with sixth in the feature. Arvid Lindblad limped home in seventh. Laurens van Hoepen quietly finishes in eighth. Leonardo Fornaroli climbed from 24th to ninth. Alex Dunne remained in tenth despite the penalty.
Results:
Luke Browning (Hitech GP)
Gabriele Minì (Prema Racing)
Dino Beganovic (Prema Racing)
Christian Mansell (ART Grand Prix)
Oliver Goethe (Campos Racing)
Nikola Tsolov (ART Grand Prix)
Arvid Lindblad (Prema Racing)
Laurens van Hoepen (ART Grand Prix)
Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident)
Alex Dunne (MP Motorsport)
Sophia Floersch (Van Amersfoort Racing)
Martinius Stenshorne (Hitech GP)
Santiago Ramos (Trident)
Matías Zagazeta (Jenzer Motorsport)
Tim Tramnitz (MP Motorsport)
Kacper Sztuka (MP Motorsport)
Max Esterson (Jenzer Motorsport)
Mari Boya (Campos Racing)
Piotr Wiśnicki (Rodin Motorsport) [FL]
Sami Meguetounif (Trident)
Cian Shields (Hitech GP)
Tommy Smith (Van Amersfoort Racing)
Noel León (Van Amersfoort Racing)
Joseph Loake (Rodin Motorsport)
Callum Voisin (Rodin Motorsport)
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (AIX Racing)
Charlie Wurz (Jenzer Motorsport)
Nikita Bedrin (AIX Racing) [DNF]
Joshua Dufek (AIX Racing) [DNF]
Sebastian Montoya (Campos Racing) [DNF]