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Imola F3: Stroll secures title in crash-filled Race 2

Lance Stroll has sealed the 2016 European F3 title after converting his 11th pole into his 10th victory of the season in Race 2 at Imola.

Lance Stroll, Prema Powerteam Dallara F312 – Mercedes-Benz

Lance Stroll, Prema Powerteam Dallara F312 – Mercedes-Benz

James Gasperotti

Stroll, who has been strongly linked to join Williams in Formula 1 next year, nailed the start of the race and three subsequent safety car restarts to win in a confident manner.

The first neutralisation came on Lap 2 when Callum Ilott retired in the gravel.

Maximilian Gunther, Stroll's only remaining title rival, crashed on the main straight six laps later.

The final safety car stint was caused by David Beckmann with five minutes to go when the German lost control of his car on a damp kerb and crashed into the barrier.

Stroll eventually crossed the finish line with a lead of 1.3s over Joel Eriksson.

Starting second, the Swede made a mistake on the opening lap to fall behind George Russell.

However, he fought back after the second restart with a brave move on the outside of Turn 1.

Russell completed the podium from Ralf Aron and Guan Yu Zhou.

It was Harrison Newey spending most of the race in fifth position except for a couple of laps when Sergio Sette Camara had passed him.

However, the Red Bull junior ran wide, giving it back to Newey but the Briton lost it again to Zhou on the final restart.

Van Amersfoort duo Anthoine Hubert and Newey eventually took sixth and eighth respectively, sandwiching Nick Cassidy.

The final pointscoring places when to yesterday's winner Niko Kari and Mikkel Jensen, the Dane recovering from an excursion in the gravel while fighting with Ben Barnicoat.

Race 2 results

Pos.DriverTeamGap
1  Lance Stroll Prema Powerteam 35'36.662
2  Joel Eriksson Motopark 1.399
3  George Russell Hitech 2.883
4  Ralf Aron Prema Powerteam 3.917
5  Guan Yu Zhou Motopark 4.897
6  Anthoine Hubert Van Amersfoort Racing 5.990
7  Nick Cassidy Prema Powerteam 6.552
8  Harrison Newey Van Amersfoort Racing 7.202
9  Niko Kari Motopark 7.747
10  Mikkel Jensen Mucke 9.838
11  Nikita Mazepin Hitech 10.858
12  Pedro Piquet Van Amersfoort Racing 11.139
13  Ukyo Sasahara T-Sport 12.279
14  Andy Chang T-Sport 15.068
 Ret.  Sergio Sette Camara Motopark  
Ret.   David Beckmann Mucke  
Ret.   Ben Barnicoat Hitech  
Ret.   Maximilian Gunther Prema Powerteam  
Ret.   Callum Ilott Van Amersfoort Racing  

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Edition

Australia