GP2: Sirotkin claims first victory of 2016

ART's Sergey Sirotkin beat Jordan King to victory in the GP2 sprint race at the Hungaroring to claim his first win of the 2016 season.

King's Racing Engineering teammate Norman Nato completed the podium, while Prema Racing's Pierre Gasly extended his championship lead after finishing safely in the pack.

Polesitter King, eyeing a third reversed-grid win in as many races, held the lead off the line at the start of the race as Sirotkin rocketed from sixth on the grid and dived down the inside of Nato and ART team-mate Nobuharu Matsushita at Turn 1.

As the pack went through Turn 2, Arthur Pic spun and forced the field to take evasive action, but DAMS' Alex Lynn collected the Rapax driver, while Matsushita and Trident's Luca Ghiotto ended up in the barriers on the exit of the corner.

The safety car was required to allow the marshals to clear away the four stranded cars, and when it came in after four laps, King immediately ran wide at Turn 13 before the restart, allowing Sirotkin to press him for the lead.

When the pair raced onto the pit straight, King defended the inside line on the approach to Turn 1, and the Briton looked to have held position. But a snap of oversteer on the run to Turn 3 gave Sirotkin the chance to move alongside and the Russian sealed the move under braking for Turn 4.

From there, Sirotkin pulled clear and although the pair exchanged fastest laps approaching the halfway mark, the 20-year-old extended his lead over King to 4.9 seconds by the chequered flag to seal victory, his second in GP2.

Nato came home just ahead of Russian Time's charging Artem Markelov, who had passed Campos Racing's Mitch Evans for fourth with a late move down the inside at Turn 1 in the early stages.

MP Motorsport's Oliver Rowland closed in on Evans in the closing stages, but the Briton had to settle for sixth. Red Bull Formula 1 junior and race one winner Gasly finished seventh, one spot ahead of Raffaele Marciello.

Frenchman Gasly extended his points lead by sealing the fastest lap, while Prema teammate Antonio Giovinazzi picked up front wing damage and a 10-second penalty for colliding with Matsushita on the first lap, which forced the Italian driver to pit for repairs. He finished 17th.

Carlin's Sergio Canamasas and Campos' Sean Gelael completed the top ten, with the latter surviving pressure from MP Motorsport's Daniel de Jong and a warning for exceeding track limits at the top chicane late in the race.

Gasly's championship lead is now seven points over Giovinazzi, with Marciello 11 further back in third.

RESULTS - 28 LAPS:

Originally on Autosport.com