Frijns survives attack from Sorensen and two late restarts to win first Formula Renault 3.5 race at Moscow Raceway
Robin Frijns survived an attack from Marco Sorensen and two late-race restarts to win the first Formula Renault 3.5 race of the weekend at Moscow Raceway
The Fortec Motorsports driver, who started on pole position, led the early stages of the race comfortably. But after a massive slide at half distance his pace started to drop off, allowing Sorensen to reel him in and fight for the lead.
Sorensen then attacked on the outside into the final, 90-degree left hander, but he spun as he tried to turn into the corner, creating a cloud of smoke and dropping to fifth behind Jules Bianchi, Sam Bird and Arthur Pic.
Bianchi used the incident to take two seconds out of his deficit to Frijns, but the Dutchman appeared to have enough pace to hold onto his lead of four seconds with Sorensen out of the equation.
However, he then had to deal with two restarts as the safety car appeared twice in close succession, both times to allow stranded cars to be recovered.
Frijns handled both restarts well, and held on for the single racing lap after the second safety car to take the win and the championship lead.
Despite a poor final restart Bianchi held on for second, while Bird surrendered the points lead with third.
Kevin Korjus used the one-lap shootout to steal fifth from Sorensen, while behind them all hell broke loose at the final corner when Lucas Foresti clattered into Kevin Magnussen and Alexander Rossi as they battled for eighth, eliminating all three in sight of the flag. Foresti received a five-place grid demotion for Sunday's race as a punishment.
Results - 30 Laps: Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Robin Frijns Fortec 48m11.904s 2. Jules Bianchi Tech 1 + 1.202s 3. Sam Bird ISR + 1.914s 4. Arthur Pic DAMS + 2.986s 5. Kevin Korjus Tech 1 + 5.382s 6. Marco Sorensen Lotus + 5.610s 7. Antonio Felix da Costa Arden + 5.967s 8. Nico Muller Draco + 8.272s 9. Daniil Move P1 + 9.431s 10. Will Stevens Carlin + 9.789s 11. Vittorio Ghirelli Comtec + 10.451s 12. Nick Yelloly Comtec + 11.065s 13. Andre Negrao Draco + 11.675s 14. Mikhail Aleshin RFR + 12.795s 15. Zoel Amberg Pons + 14.409s 16. Kevin Magnussen Carlin + 1 lap 17. Alexander Rossi Arden + 1 lap 18. Lucas Foresti DAMS + 1 lap 19. Yann Cunha Pons + 1 lap 20. Sergey Sirotkin BVM Target + 1 lap Retirements: Anton Nebylitskiy RFR 24 laps Carlos Huertas Fortec 20 laps Walter Grubmuller P1 20 laps Nikolay Martsenko BVM Target 17 laps Jake Rosenzweig ISR 6 laps Cesar Ramos Lotus 0 laps
Previous article
Robin Frijns secures Moscow Formula Renault 3.5 pole
Next article
Jules Bianchi claims Moscow Formula Renault 3.5 race two pole
About this article
| Series | Formula V8 3.5 |
| Author | Glenn Freeman |
How the post-Renault 3.5 series is shaping up
When Renault ended its support of its 3.5 Formula, there were fears about the category's future. But as PETER MILLS explains, the rebadged FV8 3.5 series has retained an appeal to drivers
The all-time FR3.5 top 10
An era ended in 2015 as Renault withdrew its backing of Formula Renault 3.5. GLENN FREEMAN and PETER MILLS pick the 10 best drivers from the World Series by Renault years
The top 10 FR3.5 drivers of 2015
The 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 season will be notable for being the last with the French company's backing but also produced a worthy champion in Oliver Rowland. PETER MILLS evaluates this year's crop of drivers
Renault's ladder to Formula 1
Since 2005 the World Series by Renault package has launched a host of young stars on the path to Formula 1. But there's much more to the events, both on and off the track
The top 10 FR3.5 drivers of 2014
The field was perhaps not as strong as in the previous season, but Carlos Sainz Jr emerged as a worthy Formula Renault 3.5 champion. GLENN FREEMAN rates the top 2014 drivers
The top 10 FR3.5 drivers of 2013
There were some standout performances in the Formula Renault 3.5 title race this year, but one racer stood above all the others. GLENN FREEMAN looks back and picks out his top 10 drivers
The 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 grid guide
Last year's field was extraordinary and hard to match, but the Formula Renault 3.5 grid will still have plenty of talent this season. Glenn Freeman runs through the field ahead of this weekend's season opener
Vandoorne: future McLaren F1 star?
Landing the Fortec seat that took rising star Robin Frijns to the 2012 FR3.5 title was already a good sign for Stoffel Vandoorne. Then McLaren took him under its wing. Peter Mills tells Vandoorne's story so far
