Norris' championship lead cut to just two points
Monday 10 December 2018 12:51, UK
George Russell took his fourth F2 win of the season in the Feature Race at the Austrian GP to cut Lando Norris' championship lead to just two points.
Starting from pole, the Mercedes junior produced a superb performance, coming through the field to retake the lead after making his mandatory stop perhaps earlier than planned due to a Safety Car on lap six.
Norris overtook Roberto Merhi in the closing laps to secure second place and maintain the championship lead he has held since the opening weekend in Bahrain.
Merhi would drop off the podium on the final lap as Antonio Fuoco claimed third on the final lap, meaning Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari were all represented on the podium by their junior drivers.
Behind the top three, Artem Markelov passed four cars on the final lap, including three in one corner, to take eighth and reverse grid pole for Sunday's Sprint Race.
That Markelov move summed up what a crazy race it was in Austria, with overtaking galore and drivers often re-passed at the next corner having just made a move.
The Russian also somehow made his soft tyres last for 37 of the 40 laps of the race.
The one man who did seem able to fend off those with DRS was Jack Aitken, who produced a superb defensive display in the ART before having to retire covered in fire extinguisher after it went off in his car.
The race start passed off without incident as the Safety Car led the drivers around the formation, before a single file rolling start. While this meant limited action into Turn One, it did ensure all 20 drivers took the start of the race after stalling blighted the early rounds of the championship.
