Marcus Armstong has returned to the top step of the Formula 2 podium, claiming his third race win of the season in the Netherlands.
The Kiwi driver impressed from start to finish to take out the sprint race at Zandvoort on Sunday morning (NZ time), getting a good launch fromsecond on the grid to take the early lead and never relinquishing it.
"It wasn't the easiest of races, despite leading from the front," Armstrong said after the race. "It's one of those places where you need to really look after your tyres, and it could go wrong at any moment in Formula 2.
"I know it's the topic of my life so far, tyre management, but it genuinely is important and especially around here. I could have cliffed at any moment, so it was just a case of trying to stay under that limit and manage my gap to (Clément Novolak). The start was very important, and equally so, the restart at the end. We nailed those two things and here we are."
Armstrong made a nice move down the inside of pole-sitter Novolak into the first turn to take the lead from the outset.
It wasn't a completely free drive for Armstrong, however the Kiwi drove well and was able to stay just far enough ahead of Novolak and Dennis Hauger to avoid being passed once DRS (Drag Reduction System) was enabled – which proved to be a case for the majority of the pack. Despite Hauger's team telling him he had the pace advantage on Armstrong, that didn't translate onto the track for the Norwegian.
With the drivers trying to make the most of their tyres and manage their race, no one could get close enough to the driver ahead to attempt a move.
However, with three laps to go, Tatiana Calderón spun off the road which saw the safety car enter the frame, adding to the intrigue in the dying stages of the race.
It didn't impact Armstrong, though. While it left the track in the penultimate lap and set up a one-lap shootout for the win, Armstrong shot away early at the front of the pack to maintain his position and ultimately drive to the win.
The sprint format has been something of a specialty for Armstrong this season, as all three of his race wins have come in the shorter format. That has reflected in his points haul for the year as, although he has three trophies locked away, there are significantly fewer points in sprint races – with the winner taking 10 while feature races winners take 25.
The win lifted Armstrong back inside the top 10 for the season with 91 points, with just 10 points separating him from sixth place.
Fellow Kiwi Liam Lawson finished fourth in the sprint race after winning last weekend's in Belgium.
