Pierre Gasly re-took the lead of the GP2 Series after taking an assertive victory in the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday.
The Frenchman started second but easily had the pace to power to his third win of the season, beating the British pair of Jordan King and Alex Lynn.
Gasly’s main championship rival Sergey Sirotkin’s miserable weekend continued in the race and only managed two points for 9th, secured on the final lap.
After securing a career-best third in qualifying, Gustav Malja catapulted himself into the lead at the first corner, as polesitter Antonio Giovinazzi bogged down heavily as the lights went out.
Malja’s excellent start and subsequent defensive efforts against Gasly proved too much for his soft tyres and the Swede made the most of the pit window opening on the seventh lap to make the switch to the harder compound after losing the lead to Gasly into Les Combes.
Gasly was nearly undone by a clever undercut from Racing Engineering’s Jordan King, who pitted the lap before the PREMA driver. King got a better run out of La Source and had the speed to blast past down the Kemmel Straight with ease.
He lost the lead as quickly as he took it; Gasly executing an almost identical overtake restored normal running order. From then on, it was plain sailing for Gasly who’s victory never looked in doubt once those on the harder tyres pitted.
All but a few runners began on the softer “option” tyres which allowed the Russian pair of Artem Markelov and Sirotkin to head the field at mid-race distance. Sirotkin struggled to maintain the pace and made a hasty pit-stop for softs 10 laps from the end in a bid to rescue some points.
The ART driver couldn’t find the pace required for a stab at the sprint race pole but benefited from a typically ambitious move from Sergio Canamasas on Oliver Rowland on the final lap to salvage two points.
It was another story for Markelov. The 21-year-old attempted to repeat his shock Monaco win in May with a similarly long stint on the hard tyres. But while the victory was out of reach, the Russian Time driver battled brilliantly to finish fifth.
Gasly didn’t need to fight his way through the field to secure victory, but the Red Bull junior did it regardless. The Frenchman pulled off moves on Joel Eriksson and a daredevil overtake on Daniel De Jong at Blanchiment – scene of the pair’s massive shunt in 2015.
Markelov and Sirotkin’s stops paved the way for Gasly to make it to the top of the field once more, taking a lead that would never be challenge.
Behind the top three of Gasly, King and Alex Lynn, Giovnazzi was fighting back from his poor start, where he dropped to fifth and began an attack on the fading Malja.
The Swedish driver was just about holding onto to his Rapax car but a lack of rear grip – exemplified by a massive slide in Eau Rouge – made it impossible to fend of Giovinazzi for fifth, and then Luca Ghiotto and Markelov for sixth and seventh respectively.
Malja’s consolation was eight place and reverse grid pole for Sunday’s sprint race.
But the driver of the day was always going to be Gasly. The PREMA driver eased to victory from King and Lynn and made a crucial leap towards the series title.
