Will Bratt takes maiden Formula 2 win in rain at Spa

Starting from fifth, Bratt moved into first on the opening lap thanks largely to an opportunistic move around the outside of La Source, which propelled him into second. He picked off leader Ramon Pineiro at Les Combes after a mistake by the Spaniard.

From there, it was a case of managing the gap - and the conditions - as Mirko Bortolotti and Christopher Zanella closed, the trio separated by less than two seconds at the halfway stage of the race.

Bratt never came under serious pressure however, and in the final stages he was able to make the most of slightly drying conditions to extend his lead over Bortolotti to 2.4s at the flag and record his first victory in F2.

As Bortolotti struggled to mount a serious challenge on Bratt, he in turn came under pressure from Zanella behind him.

With six laps to go Zanella was able to pass the Italian on the inside of La Source, but Bortolotti cut straight back down the inside to reclaim second on the run down to Eau Rouge. He held on to the flag, closing Zanella's advantage to two points at the top of the standings.

Behind the lead trio, front-row starter Alex Brundle finished fifth after finally succumbing to race-long pressure from Tobias Hegewald on lap 14, the German moving into fourth at La Source.

Thiemo Storz hung on to sixth amid heavy late pressure from a charging Pineiro, who had to settle for seventh.

Pineiro, who had started from pole, dropped to 16th on the opening lap but fought his way back through the field, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process.

Mihai Marinescu, Miki Monras and Kelvin Snoeks rounded out the top 10.

Several drivers fell foul of the wet conditions, with debutant Jordan King and Benjamin Lariche spinning on the opening lap as the field went through Eau Rouge. Plamen Kralev later ran into the gravel at Stavelot, while Jack Clarke also suffered a spin on the final lap.

Results - 16 laps:

Pos  Driver                   Time/Gap
 1.  Will Bratt             41m38.353s
 2.  Mirko Bortolotti         + 2.469s
 3.  Christopher Zanella      + 5.786s
 4.  Tobias Hegewald         + 13.391s
 5.  Alex Brundle            + 19.215s
 6.  Thiemo Storz            + 33.027s
 7.  Ramon Pineiro           + 33.362s
 8.  Mihai Marinescu         + 39.010s
 9.  Miki Monras             + 47.141s
10.  Kelvin Snoeks           + 49.947s
11.  Mikkel Mac              + 56.665s
12.  Johannes Theobald     + 1m11.954s
13.  Armaan Ebrahim        + 1m12.412s
14.  Maxim Snegirev        + 1m14.594s
15.  Julian Theobald       + 1m16.893s
16.  James Cole            + 1m22.928s
17.  Jordan King           + 1m23.655s
18.  Jose Luis Abadín      + 1m30.499s
19.  Jack Clarke           + 1m37.111s
20.  Benjamin Lariche      + 2m28.462s
21.  Parthiva Sureshwaren      + 1 lap

Retirements:

     Plamen Kralev              3 laps
     Sunghak Mun                2 laps