The French driver, who became the youngest ever F2 race winner in Monaco last season, took the lead for ART Grand Prix after both Juri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix) and polesitter Jack Doohan were struck by issues.
Vips suffered a catastrophic pitstop when swapping to the softs, dropping him back to 12th, leaving Doohan in the net lead for Virtuosi Racing. But the Australian's hopes of victory were dashed following his pitstop, where he made contact with Pourchaire upon exiting the pits, damaging his front wing and forcing him to pit again.
