Piastri on pole

Oscar Piastri dominated the waning minutes of qualifying that followed the full course yellow for the removal of the car of Patrik Pasma (Arden Motorsport) to claim his second pole position of the weekend, his fourth of the year, with a lap of 1:55.041s.

The leader of the general classification was followed by a trio of rookies composed of Alex Quinn, Caio Collet and Petr Ptáček (Bhaitech Racing). Victor Martins (MP Motorsport) was fifth, with the two other title contenders, Lorenzo Colombo (MP Motorsport) and Alexander Smolyar (R-ace GP), further back.

Qualifying 2 - Starting grid

The leader pulls away

Following a minute of silence in tribute to Anthoine Hubert during the start procedure, the formation lap offered the first twist of the day when Victor Martins returned to the pits with a suspension issue.

When the lights went out, Alex Quinn was quickest off the line, but Oscar Piastri retook the lead at the exit of turn one. Behind them, Petr Ptáček surprised Caio Collet to take third place as Alexander Smolyar looked on.

Oscar Piastri quickly pulled away from the field led by Alex Quinn. On lap six, Petr Ptáček went on the attack, but to no success. The Czech driver even saw Caio Collet closer and closer in his mirrors and the Brazilian forced him to cede the position two laps from the finish, while his team mate Alexander Smolyar took advantage when Petr Ptáček went wide at turn four.

After 17 laps, Oscar Piastri scored his fifth win of the year with a nearly 15-second margin of victory from Alex Quinn, who won the Hankook Trophy in his first weekend in the Formula Renault Eurocup. Caio Collet completed the podium ahead of Alexander Smolyar and Petr Ptáček, who put in his best result since his third place at Silverstone.

After picking up three positions at the start, Xavier Lloveras (Global Racing Service) fended off the attacks of Lorenzo Colombo. Behind them it was Kush Maini (M2 Competition) finishing eighth ahead of Ugo de Wilde (JD Motorsport), while Frank Bird (Arden Motorsport) claimed the final point on offer after overtaking Federico Malvestiti (Bhaitech Racing) on the first lap of the race.

Race 2 - Drivers standings - Teams standings

Quotes

Oscar Piastri (R-ace GP): “Like yesterday, I made things a bit more difficult at the start. Fortunately, I was able to pass Alex Quinn at turn one and everything went plain, smooth sailing just until the finish. I would really like to thank R-ace GP for giving me such a fast car right from the start of the weekend. I was quite competitive in Hungary last year, so I hope I can keep the momentum going next week and have a look at the points next Sunday.”

Alex Quinn (Arden Motorsport): “It’s a bit unexpected to be honest as I was driving this car for the first time on a track I didn’t know. With Patrik’s podium yesterday and mine today, I think that the team has improved massively even though our race pace is still a bit slower than the R-ace GP guys. My strong runs in qualifying helped me a lot, so it wasn’t too much of an issue though. Next week, I will drive at Budapest for the first time. I will do my best and hopefully this podium also proves I can get good results and help my career.”

Caio Collet (R-ace GP): “Today was really tough for us Renault drivers. I don’t even know what to say when we lose someone like this… As for the race, I made a big mistake at the start, just like yesterday. It made this podium harder to get, but the car was really good, especially late in the race and I was able to push Petr into a mistake. The team did an excellent job with the car to keep me in the top five all weekend and I think that we can finish in the top three in the general classification if we carry on like this.”

*Results subject to confirmation following technical and sporting checks.