Red Bull driver defies damage to seize stunning F2 Austrian Feature race win

The race, which began with John Bennett starting from pole position, quickly descended into chaos. Rafael Villagomez and Sebastian Montoya made contact on the opening lap after both drivers, attempting overtakes, appeared to be caught out by a slight move to the right from Joshua Dürksen in the Invicta.

The incident immediately triggered a Safety Car period and brought the various race strategies into play. Amid the early pit stops and tyre changes, German driver Goethe, running the alternate strategy, seized the lead and soon built a gap of more than six seconds over the chasing pack.

Further down the order, Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov, one of the early stoppers, found himself locked in a three-way battle with Rodin driver Alex Dunne and MP Motorsport's Gabriele Minì. The trio came close to making contact on several occasions before Dunne clipped the front wing of Tsolov's car while attempting an overtake.

Championship leader Minì also took advantage of the situation to move ahead of Tsolov, and it briefly appeared that the Bulgarian's race was beginning to unravel.

However, with the race entering its final stages, Aston Martin junior Mari Boya was forced to pull over with what appeared to be a technical issue on his Prema car. The stoppage for the 22-year-old prompted another yellow flag period, dramatically shaking up the running order. Goethe was forced to pit, while several other drivers also headed into the pits.

When racing resumed, it was Tsolov and Campos Racing who had executed their strategy to perfection. Despite carrying damage to the front wing of his car, the Red Bull junior emerged in the lead and managed the closing stages superbly to secure a commanding victory ahead of Minì and Goethe.

Ferrari junior Rafael Câmara finished just outside the podium in fourth, ahead of ART driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in fifth. Martinius Stenshorne was sixth, followed by Rodin teammate Alex Dunne. Pole-sitter Noel León crossed the line in eighth, ahead of Dutch driver Laurens van Hoepen, while Joshua Dürksen rounded out the points-paying positions.

Former IndyCar driver Colton Herta endured another difficult outing and could manage only a 19th-place finish in the Feature Race after a challenging weekend.

For Tsolov, it marked his third victory of the season and moved him to within just two points of Minì in the drivers' championship standings. The triumph also represented another success for the Red Bull Junior programme at the Red Bull Ring, following in the footsteps of Pepe Martí.