Lance Stroll took the lead at the first turn on the first lap and never looked back to secure another race win in 2016 at Zandvoort on Saturday.
For the sixth time this season, the Canadian took the chequered flag first, taking the lead around the outside of the opening turn on the opening lap as front row starters Nick Cassidy and Maximilian Günther delayed one another on the inside.
Throughout the race, Stroll had pace on the rest of the field, pulling out time almost every lap, winning from Prema Powerteam team-mate Cassidy by 8.026 seconds.
Cassidy’s defence of his position at the first lap not only cost him the lead, but also cost Günther momentum, with the German driver dropping to fourth behind Alessio Lorandi of Carlin, who secured his first trip to the podium since his race win in the Pau Grand Prix back in May.
Prema driver Günther held off the challenge of Callum Ilott for fourth, with the van Amersfoort Racing driver having a sometimes messy race with a few mistakes costing him time and putting him under the threat of Motopark’s Niko Kari.
George Russell was seventh for Hitech GP ahead of Carlin’s Ryan Tveter, with Anthoine Hubert down in ninth for Van Amersfoort Racing, while David Beckmann secured the final point for Mücke Motorsport, just ahead of Sergio Sette Câmara, Joel Eriksson, Pedro Piquet and Ralf Aron.
But no one had an answer for the pace of Stroll, but with the Canadian starting at the back of the grid for the remaining two races this weekend, other drivers will be looking to gain points on the runaway championship leader.
Zandvoort Race 1 Result
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