GP2: Gasly breezes to comfortable Spa victory

Red Bull Formula 1 test driver Pierre Gasly stormed into a 23-point GP2 championship lead with his third victory of the 2016 season for Prema at Spa.

Gasly's main title rival Sergey Sirotkin could only make it through to ninth, as British duo Jordan King and Alex Lynn completed the podium.

Poleman Antonio Giovinazzi immediately lost his advantage with a wheel-spinning getaway that dropped him to fifth, allowing Gusta Malja to slip past from his breakthrough third on the grid into an early lead.

Rapax driver Malja held the usual frontrunners at bay for the first four laps before Gasly drafted ahead approaching Les Combes. Norman Nato claimed second from Malja next time round, and his Racing Engineering teammate King jumped the Swede when both were part of the first group of pit visitors at the end of lap six of the 25.

That early stop helped King briefly get ahead of Gasly after the former leader came in on the following lap, though Gasly was able to repass him on the Kemmel Straight soon afterward. From there Gasly just had to make effective progress through those on the alternative strategy of starting on hard tires and running long before changing to softs.

Sirotkin was initially foremost among them, having battled from his disappointing 13th on the grid to eighth with an assertive first lap. But the ART driver was overtaken by fellow Russian Artem Markelov, who came out in one piece from an early three-abreast entry to Eau Rouge with Nicholas Latifi and Luca Ghiotto and then showed his customary strong pace on used tyres as he stormed away from Sirotkin and the others on their strategy.

Gasly was always going faster still as he came through the field, and was duly elevated back into first once the alternative tactic runners pitted.

King felt Gasly gained an unfair advantage through a virtual safety car period triggered by Nato's car slowing to a halt on the exit of the Bus Stop chicane, and was 11 seconds adrift at the flag.

DAMS driver Lynn charged through to his first Saturday podium of the year from eighth on the grid, at one point darting between the yet-to-stop Daniel de Jong and Malja to gain two places in one move into Les Combes.

Markelov flew through from eighth to fifth on his fresh soft tires at the end, but couldn't deprive Russian Time team-mate Raffaele Marciello of fourth – a result that keeps the Italian in the championship hunt.

Giovinazzi ended up sixth. Both he and Ghiotto got ahead of Malja late on as the early leader fell back to eighth and the consolation of reverse grid pole.

After his pit stop, Sirotkin became embroiled in a spectacular fight with Oliver Rowland that began with a wheel-banging pass from the MP driver through Les Combes. They then swapped places another four times while trying to overcome Sergio Canamasas in the closing laps.

That battle came to a head as they arrived at the Bus Stop for the last time, multiple contact between Canamasas and a furious Rowland sending the Briton into a half-spin in which he clipped the passing Sirotkin.

Sirotkin took the flag in ninth, with Rowland squeezing over the line ahead of Nobuharu Matsushita and the recovering Canamasas in 10th despite a mangled front wing.

Originally on Autosport.com