Behind the Brit, Alexander Albon (Signature) and Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam) crossed the finish line in second and third place respectively. Thus, Rosenqvist reduced the gap to points’ leader (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) to 7.5 points as the Italian only finished ninth. Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing), who finished sixth behind Lance Stroll (Prema Powerteam) and Markus Pommer (Motopark), also got closer to points’ leader Giovinazzi.

Jake Dennis made the best use of his pole position and won the dash towards the first corner. Thus, the Brit was in first pace. Nick Cassidy (Prema Powerteam), who was second on the grid, stalled the engine and lost many positions. Just before the end of the race, the New Zealander, who is racing for the first time in the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Portimão, retired following a collision with Callum Ilott (Carlin) for 16th place.

From fifth place on the grid, Alexander Albon benefited from Cassidy’s problems at the start and already moved up into second place ahead of Lance Stroll on the opening lap. For the Canadian, joy about his third position didn’t last long, because Felix Rosenqvist already overtook him one lap later. Thus, positions at the front of the field were taken. Towards the end of the race, Charles Leclerc was able to close up to Markus Pommer, but the German held on to his fifth place until he crossed the finish line.

Action in the second half of the top ten was more entertaining, with Mikkel Jensen (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) and Santino Ferrucci (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) battling for seventh halfway through the race. The American eventually came out ahead of his Danish team-mate and finished seventh from Jensen. Behind Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russel rounded out the top ten in tenth position.

Jake Dennis (Prema Powerteam): “I think, today I made the best start of the year. I was in front right away and I was immediately able to pull a gap. My car was great and I didn’t have any problems with tyre degradation either. As soon as I had a gap, I tried to save my tyres. That worked out very well and I am happy with my sixth victory of the season.”

Alexander Albon (Signature): “My start was good and I was able to move up into second place straight away. I am really happy with this second place, because we were able to show our speed, which we couldn’t do in testing here on Tuesday and Wednesday. Too bad that I lost my pole position for the second race, because there wasn’t enough fuel left in the tank after qualifying. I think that otherwise, I would have had a chance of scoring another podium finish.”

Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam): “At the start, I was able to make up a few positions and on lap two, I overtook Lance after he had made a mistake. Then, I tried to put Alex under pressure, but I wasn’t able to get close enough to him to mount a challenge. Nevertheless, I am happy with this third place and with the fact that I was able to reduce the gap to leader Antonio in the drivers’ standings.”

Race 1 Results