Leclerc wins Saturday, spins Sunday, extends F2 points lead - MotorSportsTalk

Ferrari junior driver Charles Leclerc extended his Formula 2 championship lead despite enjoying mixed fortunes over the Red Bull Ring race weekend in support of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Leclerc continued his 100 per cent record of F2 poles on Friday in Spielberg, and carried his form through to the feature race on Saturday, taking a controlled victory.

After retaining his lead at the start, Leclerc managed to perfect his strategy and stay ahead of his rivals throughout, swapping from prime to options tires in the closing stages.

The Monegasque driver ultimately crossed the line 1.3 seconds clear of DAMS’ Nicholas Latifi after the Canadian went on a late charge with fresh tires, gaining a number of positions.

Leclerc’s Prema Racing teammate, Antonio Fuoco, took third place ahead of Oliver Rowland, who slipped 59 points behind in the title race.

Rowland was able to claw back some of the points difference on Sunday when Leclerc spun out after making light contact with Fuoco five laps into the sprint race, forcing him to retire for the third time this season.

A third-place finish saw Rowland reduce Leclerc’s advantage to 49 points as Artem Markelov scored his second win of the season for Russian Time. Alexander Albon capped off his racing return from injury with his maiden F2 podium in second place.

Formula 2 returns next weekend in support of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17^th after qualifying 14^th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)