Kiwi Liam Lawson has secured his first victory of the new Formula Two season, standing on top of the podium in the sprint race at Saudi Arabia.
With third and second place finishes in the first two races of the season at Bahrain last week, Lawson added a win on Sunday morning (NZ time), taking a valuable 10 points to sit atop the Formula Two championship standings.
The win is Red Bull junior Lawson's second in Formula Two, after taking his maiden victory at Bahrain in the opening round of the 2021 championship.
It is also Lawson's first victory with his new Carlin team, after making the switch from Hitech Grand Prix before the 2022 campaign.
In a race that featured three separate safety cars, Lawson overtook leader Jake Hughes in the closing laps and held off any late challenge to take the chequered flag.
Hughes was forced to settle for third place, pipped for second on the line by Juri Vips.
The 20-year-old has already caught the eye of higher ups in Red Bull's senior team, and test drove for Formula One outfit Alpha Tauri at last year's end of season testing at Abu Dhabi.
Lawson holds a seven-point lead at the top of the drivers championship, ahead of fellow Red Bull Junior and former teammate Vips.
The Kiwi has the chance to add to his championship lead on Monday morning (NZ time), with the Formula Two race weekend to conclude with a feature race before Formula One's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
