Bortolotti retakes Formula 2 points lead with Spa win

Starting from third, Bortolotti was part of a three-way fight as the field ran down to La Source for the first time. The Italian held the inside line, and emerged in the lead heading for Eau Rouge.

From there Bortolotti assumed full control of the race, gradually extending his lead as the race wore on to eventually finish 4.8 seconds ahead of Christopher Zanella in second. His haul of 25 points promotes him five above Zanella and into the overall points lead.

"An unbelievable race, just amazing," Bortolotti enthused. "We showed good pace in the wet and the dry, so it's a great win and I'm very happy."

Bortolotti's task was made slightly easier as the race's front-row starters Will Bratt and Ramon Pineiro lost out at the start, Bratt falling to fifth and Pineiro to the back of the field after a self-inflicted spin.

Tobias Hegewald then took up the mantle of hunting down Bortolotti, only to spin out on the entry to Les Combes on lap seven.

That promoted Bratt back into third, and he hung on to clinch the final podium spot despite race-long pressure from Miki Monras in fourth.

Bratt defended well from the Spaniard, but his cause was aided by yellow flags for separate accidents at Les Combes, which twice prevented Monras from attempting a pass down the Kemmel straight when he had the momentum to do so.

Behind them, Mihai Marinescu sealed fifth with a late pass on Jack Clarke as the pair approached Les Combes for the 12th time.

Alex Brundle likewise sealed seventh after finding a way past 17-year-old Jordan King at Rivage with just two laps of the race remaining.

Kelvin Snoeks and Thiemo Storz rounded out the top 10, while behind them Pineiro provided entertainment as he fought his way back to 12th at the flag.

Results - 17 laps:

Pos  Driver                   Time/Gap
 1.  Mirko Bortolotti       37m32.494s
 2.  Christopher Zanella      + 4.806s
 3.  Will Bratt               + 6.760s
 4.  Miki Monras              + 7.907s
 5.  Mihai Marinescu         + 16.650s
 6.  Jack Clarke             + 20.151s
 7.  Alex Brundle            + 31.257s
 8.  Jordan King             + 34.959s
 9.  Kelvin Snoeks           + 44.198s
10.  Thiemo Storz            + 47.516s
11.  Jose Luis Abadin        + 49.632s
12.  Ramon Pineiro           + 56.670s
13.  Maxim Snegirev        + 1m02.199s
14.  Mikkel Mac            + 1m10.475s
15.  Julian Theobald       + 1m11.429s
16.  James Cole            + 1m21.459s
17.  Sunghak Mun           + 1m24.192s
18.  Plamen Kralev         + 1m32.777s
19.  Parthiva Sureshwaren  + 1m38.517s
20.  Armaan Ebrahim           + 2 laps

Retirements:

     Johannes Theobald         11 laps
     Tobias Hegewald            6 laps
     Benjamin Lariche           3 laps