A1-Ring: Arden one-two

Enge's composed drive earned him the joint lead of the championship. He now has 17 points, equalling the number of Giorgio Pantano. The Coloni driver made a solid start but was forced to concede second place to Wirdheim after his team-mate Enrico Toccacelo attempted an over-ambitious pass in Turn Two. The cars touched, allowing Wirdheim through on the inside, while Mario Haberfeld used his better traction to outdrag both drivers into T3.

"Obviously it feels great," said Enge, who missed out on certain victory in Brazil with a mechanical failure. "You can imagine how we felt after Brazil, so now this makes up for that.

"The car was perfect after 10 laps. It was a bit difficult on full tanks, but after that it really came in."

There was a scrappy start to the race with a couple of drivers losing wings as the cars battled for position in the midfield. Both Ricardo Mauricio and Ryan Briscoe, dropped a lap after being forced to pit for repairs. It was a particular shame for Mauricio who went on to show top six pace.

Briscoe dropped back after colliding with Sebastien Bourdais. The Frenchman intially continued but retired on his return to the pits.

It was a race of very little overtaking, especially in the top six. Local hero Patrick Friesacher and Enrico Toccacelo staged a race-long battle for six, which became fifth when David Saelens retired with mechanical troubles. The Austrian held on though, much to the delight of the crowd.

After losing his two best qualifying times after being adjudged to have set his best lap during a yellow flag period, Antonio Pizzonia drove a storming race to take seventh from 11th on the grid.

It was a disappointing race for erstwhile championship leader Rodrigo Sperafico. He never came close to challenging for the points and came home 12th. He drops to third in the standings as a result.

For full race results, click here.