2016 Red Bull Ring Feature Race

The 2016 Spielberg Race 1, otherwise known as the 2016 Red Bull Ring Feature Race, was the seventh race of the 2016 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Red Bull Ring on the 2 July 2016. The race, staged in support of the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix, would see Mitch Evans sweep to victory amid some very damp Styrian Mountains.

Sergey Sirotkin claimed pole for the race, edging out Antonio Giovinazzi at the death of an exciting qualifying session. Indeed, just 0.006s separated the pair after their final runs, with Pierre Gasly and Luca Ghiotto sharing the second row.

It would be dry when Sirotkin led the field onto the grid, although a sloppy start from the Russian allowed Giovinazzi and Gasly to sprint ahead. Evans was another big loser off the line, despite using the supersoft Pirelli tyres, dropping three places before beginning a recovery drive.

The second Prema Racing civil war for victory in two races duly broke out, with Gasly throwing everything at teammate Giovinazzi as they pulled clear of Sirotkin. The Frenchman eventually sneaked into the lead on lap five before establishing a small lead, while Evans decided to abandon his supersoft tyres on lap nine.

Three laps later, however, and the dark clouds handing over Spielberg finally burst, dumping enough water to send several drivers into the pits. Gasly, however, was the biggest victim, spinning out of the race while leading having been the first to come across a wet patch of tarmac.

A safety car was thrown moments after Alex Lynn slithered within millimetres of the stranded Prema, prompting most of the field to pit for wets. Indeed, only those in the top six stayed out, gambling that the conditions would improve, leaving Norman Nato in seventh as the first of those on wets.

Giovinazzi duly aced the restart, but he and all of those on softs were caught out at a very wet turn two, slithering wide. Marciello used this to climb into second from fifth, before snatching the lead a lap later as Giovinazzi did the same again a lap later. A second safety car was soon required, however, for Marvin Kirchhöfer was pitched into a stalling spin in the middle of the pack moments later.

Those still on dry tyres duly elected to pit, dumping them to the back of the field. Artem Markelov then had one of the most embarrassing accidents in recent memory, crashing into the barriers at the pit-exit to bring out a red flag with eight laps to go.

It was decided to restart the race behind the safety car, with Evans now at the head of the field ahead of Sean Gelael. They duly survived the eight lap dash to claim first and second for Campos Racing, with Marciello battling into the top three at the restart.

Background
The fourth round of the 2016 FIA GP2 campaign saw the field arrive at the Red Bull Ring in Austria for the usual two races. The Series would once again support Formula One and the Austrian Grand Prix, with GP3 Series also returning to the schedule. There would, however, be a change to the entry list, with René Binder replacing Nobuharu Matsushita as the Japanese ace picked up a ban in Baku.

Into the Championship and Artem Markelov had moved to the top after the Baku Sprint, five points ahead of Norman Nato as the Frenchman made way for the Russian. Behind, the big winner from the Baku weekend would be Antonio Giovinazzi, whose stunning 46 point sweep sent him streaking up the table into third. His teammate Pierre Gasly ended the weekend in fourth, a point behind, with Raffaele Marciello completing the top five.

In the Teams' Championship it was still Russian Time who led the way, albeit now six ahead of Prema Racing who had shot into second. Racing Engineering dropped to third, 24 points off the leaders, with ART Grand Prix and DAMS completing the top five. At the back, meanwhile, Arden International had finally got on the board, and ended the weekend ahead of Trident.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Results
The final qualifying result for the are outlined below:
 * * Jeffri was handed a three place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags.
 * † Canamasas and Latifi were both handed three place grid penalties for impeding other drivers.
 * ‡ Eriksson was handed a three place grid penalty for causing a collision in Baku, with Arden retroactively deciding to start from the pitlane.

Grid

 * * Arden decided to start Eriksson from the pitlane after he received a three place grid penalty.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Sirotkin handed a 30 second time penalty for overtaking under the SC and failing to re-enter the pitlane.
 * † Malja handed a thirty second time penalty for overtaking under the SC.

Milestones

 * Fifth and final GP2 Series victory for Mitch Evans.
 * Twelfth win for Campos Racing as an entrant in GP2.
 * Maiden podium finish for Sean Gelael.
 * First and only points finish for Jimmy Eriksson.

Standings
Raffaele Marciello was launched to the top of the Championship after grabbing the final podium spot, three ahead of Norman Nato and race winner Mitch Evans. Indeed, the race had caused the gaps at the top of the Championship to be even more condensed then before, with Artem Markelov slipping to fourth, but was still just four off the lead. Antonio Giovinazzi was next, six off the Russian, while Jimmy Eriksson was up to seventeenth with his maiden points finish.

In the Teams' Championship it was Russian Time who continued to lead the way, actually managing to extend their lead as Prema Racing failed to score. Indeed, the Italian effort had slipped back towards Racing Engineering in third, while Campos Racing moved into the top four after their one-two. ART Grand Prix, meanwhile, had moved ahead of DAMS, while Trident and Rapax swapped places at the foot of the table.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.