On a wet track, he made a great start from second on the grid and took the lead, but an error after the restart behind the safety car could have cost him victory. “I’d done the most difficult part by taking the lead at the start of the race, but I almost lost everything by messing up during the restart procedure,” said Rosenqvist. “I fell back to third - there was no way I could settle for that! So I went for it, took risks and luckily I won the race. Otherwise, I would have kicked myself! This victory is obviously important for the championship and also from a psychological point of view.”  

 

Thanks to his win Rosenqvist has moved up to third place in the ratings, but Rafaelle Marciello pulled off a coup by finishing second. “I was ninth at the end of the first lap and I then profited from others’ mistakes. Without taking risks I upped the pace lap after lap and I passed several cars. You have to know how to be patient. My state of mind hasn’t changed since the start; I know that consistency will make the difference.” 

 

Lucas Auer (Prema Powerteam) finished third after playing a waiting game, a good result for him. The Austrian saw the flag in front of Harry Tincknell (Carlin) and Tom Blomqvist (Eurointernational). Alex Lynn (Prema Powerteam), twentieth at the end of lap 1 after going through a gravel trap, fought his way back up to sixth helped by his overtaking move on Josh Hill (7th, Fortec Motorsport) on the last lap.

 

The final battle of the weekend will take place on tomorrow morning (Sunday) with Lynn on pole from Marciello, Rosenqvist and Jordan King (Carlin).