Aitken scores maiden F2 win in chaotic Barcelona sprint race 

ART Grand Prix’s Jack Aitken took a commanding maiden FIA Formula 2 victory during a chaotic sprint race in mixed conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya. 

The Renault Formula 1 reserve driver claimed the race lead thanks to a brilliant start and pulled out a remarkable early advantage over the rest of the field, before managing a Safety Car period and multiple Virtual Safety Cars to win.

Alexander Albon turned in a strong drive to take P2 ahead of championship leader Lando Norris, who extended his points advantage with his second-straight third-place finish of the weekend for Carlin. 

Aitken charged into the lead following a lightning-quick start from the second row, as reverse grid pole sitter Artem Markelov bogged down off the line for Russian Time.

The Briton opened up a comfortable buffer in the early stages despite facing disruption from an early Virtual Safety Car period after Prema’s Nyck de Vries was caught out in the damp conditions and spun out at Turn 11. 

Aitken saw his huge 18-second lead eradicated when Japanese drivers Nirei Fukuzimi and Tadasuke Makino came together at Turn 4, prompting a Safety Car period to clear the pair’s respective stricken cars.

But a brilliant restart enabled Aitken to move clear of danger and open up a 1.5s buffer on Lap 10, from where he continued to pull away - managing a further two Safety Car periods - to cross the line 1.5s up the road from Albon. 

Feature race winner George Russell scythed his way through the field from eighth on the grid to take fourth and another strong points haul for ART, ahead of Luca Ghiotto’s Campos and Seal Gelael, who recorded his best result of the season so far for Prema in sixth. 

Antonio Fuoco finished seventh, while Nicholas Latifi and Markelov squabbled over the final point-scoring position on the final lap, with the DAMS driver surviving a late hit from Markelov’s Russian Time car in the final sequence of corners to seal eighth by just 0.3s.