Kiwi Marcus Armstrong has held off compatriot Liam Lawson to claim his first Formula Two victory at the Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (NZ time).
Starting alongside Lawson in pole in the reverse grid race, Armstrong hostled ahead of his countryman, after the pair squeezed through the first two turns, with Lawson running wide and having to cede the lead.
The DAMS driver never relinquished that advantage, claiming the chequered flag 0.5s in front of Lawson in a one-two podium finish for the Kiwis.
Speaking post-race, Armstrong described his win as "fantastic" and just reward for a complete team effort amid a challenging season.
"It's been a tough 18 months in general, so to finally get a trophy - let alone a first place one - it feels good," he said.
"To see the smile on all of my engineers' faces, and my mechanics as well, it's a great reward for a lot of work that hasn't really been rewarded so far this season."
A crash soon after the start of the race saw the safety car deployed, with Armstrong able to maintain his lead when racing resumed.
After the race, Hitech driver Lawson revealed he had struggled to disengage the speed limiter on the restart, limiting his chances of battling for the lead in the final section of the race.
The win lifts Armstrong into 12th in the overall F2 driver standings, fours spots behind the eight-placed Lawson.
