Palmer extends lead with Portimao win

Palmer led confidently from pole, erecting a two-second cushion between himself and second-placed Benjamin Bailly either side of a mid-race safety car period.

Each time, Palmer was able to cruise away and see off the race distance without drama. Bailly was equally mellow throughout in second, while Jack Clarke survived brief pressure from Kazim Vasiliauskas to clinch his maiden F2 podium.

Vasiliauskas's main assault on Clarke came at the safety car restart when he got a good slingshot at the Briton down to Turn 1. But Clarke kept him at bay, as their squabble in turn delayed Philipp Eng and Stoneman behind.

Stoneman was making his way up the order after qualifying just ninth. He tried to take the opportunity to get ahead of Eng, but as they fought each other on the straight, they opened the door for Nicola de Marco to come by them both. Then Eng tagged Stoneman and pushed the Briton off the road.

Stoneman struggled on with damage to his car thereafter and was eventually passed by Natalia Kowalska for 11th place.

De Marco remained ahead of Eng in fifth, recovering after losing three places at the start and another to Stoneman soon after.

Ricardo Teixeira, Armaan Ebrahim, Benjamin Lariche and Sergei Afanasiev completed the top 10.

The race's only retirements were Kelvin Snoeks and Plamen Kralev, both spinning off. While Will Bratt was 16th having started the race six laps late after pitting at the end of the formation lap with a problem.

Pos Driver                       Time/Gap
 1. Jolyon Palmer              37m35.402s
 2. Benjamin Bailly                +2.626
 3. Jack Clarke                    +4.327
 4. Kazim Vasiliauskas             +5.761
 5. Nicola de Marco                +6.763
 6. Philipp Eng                    +9.538
 7. Ricardo Teixeira              +10.784
 8. Armaan Ebrahim                +11.297
 9. Benjamin Lariche              +14.298
10. Sergei Afanasiev              +15.589
11. Natalia Kowalska              +22.622
12. Dean Stoneman                 +25.088
13. Mihai Marinescu               +26.386
14. Ivan Samarin                  +27.429
15. Parthiva Sureshwaren          +27.860
16. Will Bratt                    +6 laps

Retirements

    Kelvin Snoeks                 15 laps
    Plamen Kralev                  9 laps


Fastest lap, Palmer 1m37.707s