Hungary GP3: Luca Ghiotto claims commanding victory in race one

Championship leader Ghiotto got a great start from pole but so did Esteban Ocon from third on the grid.

The Frenchman edged past Emil Bernstorff before Turn 1 and the three fought hard for the first half of the lap before Ghiotto was able to secure first, with Ocon close behind.

The scrap between Ghiotto and Ocon was put on hold though as an early safety car was deployed following a collision between Zaid Ashkanani and Jann Mardenborough.

Campos Racing driver Ashkanani went over the back of Mardenborough at the final corner and was briefly airborne after running into the rear of the Nissan protege's car. The contact removed the Brit's rear wing and left him out of the race.

On the restart Ghiotto was able to hold on to the lead and set about building a gap, which he did with ease.

Further back ART Grand Prix driver Marvin Kirchhofer made a bold move on the exit of Turn 2 to relieve Bernstorff of third place.

From that point on the top six remained unchanged and were only separated by a matter of several seconds. No one could find a way past one another though, despite numerous efforts, meaning Mercedes junior Ocon had to settle for second with Kirchhofer completing the podium in third.

Arden International driver Bernstorff held on to fourth despite constant pressure from Koiranen GP team-mates Matt Parry and Jimmy Eriksson.

Silverstone race winner Kevin Ceccon did his best to unsettle the top six with several fastest laps but couldn't do enough and had to settle for seventh.

Ferrari protege Antonio Fuoco completed the top eight four tenths clear of Jenzer Motorsport driver Pal Varhaug in ninth.

Matheo Tuscher completed the top 10 after going wheel-to-wheel with his team-mate Ralph Boschung on numerous occasions. The pair touched several times before Boschung was forced to yield leaving the Swiss driver down in 13th place.

Status Grand Prix team-mates Seb Morris and Alex Fontana also fought hard with each other throughout the race. Morris eventually succeeded in the battle finishing in 12th, two places ahead of his team-mate.

RESULT