Lundgaard dominates to claim F2 sprint race spoils

Christian Lundgaard has swept to his maiden FIA Formula 2 victory as he wrapped up success in the reverse grid sprint race, while Feature Race winner Robert Shwartzman was an early retirement.

Starting third on the grid, Lundgaard hauled his way up to second at the expense of ART team-mate Marcus Armstrong, leaving him behind pole sitter Dan Ticktum, who successfully protected his lead initially.

Following his superb run to victory on Saturday, Shwartzman’s Sunday endeavour ended at turn one with a spin and an early retirement, which in turn brought out the safety car.

Though Ticktum held firm on the restart, Lundgaard stayed close on the drag to turn three to pounce for a lead he’d hold all the way to the chequered flag. His success completes a superb weekend for the F3 graduates, while Lundgaard’s success also marks the first win of the year for ART Grand Prix.

Ticktum held on for second place to notch up his second podium from these opening races with DAMS, while Armstrong made it two ARTs on the rostrum in third place.

Guanyu Zhou ended a strong weekend with a run to fourth place, seeing off his UNI-Virtuosi team-mate Callum Ilott, Jack Aitken and Sean Gelael, while Nikita Mazepin completed the points’ paying positions in eighth.

There was disappointment though for Mick Schumacher, who looked to be on course for his first podium of the year when his fire extinguisher went off inside the cockpit, forcing him to come to a frustrated stop.

Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda made it three of Saturday's top four finishers on the sidelines after he also retired.