FR3.5: Sainz storms to race one victory

Carlos Sainz Jr. took another dominant Formula Renault 3.5 victory in the opening race of the weekend at Aragon.

The Red Bull-backed DAMS driver fended off an attack from a fast-starting Nikolay Martsenko into the first corner, and from then on set about building a massive lead. Martsenko had a lonely race to second, comfortably leaving behind the scrap for third place.

Zoel Amberg held onto the final podium slot in the early stages, having taken advantage of Oliver Rowland and Roberto Merhi running wide at the first corner at the start.

Rowland appeared to have no answer for Amberg's speed down the backstraight, and he eventually got ahead after a drag race that was decided in the braking zone for the tight hairpin toward the end of lap 13.

Rowland ran Amberg wide, which allowed Marlon Stockinger through to fourth. The Lotus junior initially fell back from Rowland, but by the end of the race he was on the Briton's tail and forcing him to defend his third place.

Amberg came home fifth ahead of a fierce fight between Merhi and Matthieu Vaxiviere, who stormed through the field from 13th on the grid.

The Frenchman got alongside the ex-DTM racer in the closing stages, but he was edged off the track, and never quite mounted another challenge again after that.

As for Sainz's former co-championship leaders, fellow Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly came home ninth after going off at Turn 1 and picking up some nose damage during the race, while Will Stevens was unable to build on a good first lap, finishing 12th from 15th on the grid.

Originally on Autosport.com