The Prema Racing driver crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of second-placed title rival Theo Pourchaire in a dominant performance.
The Dane endured an early safety car and was unchallenged thereafter to take his third win in four rounds.
Pourchaire lined up third for ART and although he briefly fell back to fourth, made it back to second to finish ahead of Jack Doohan (Virtuosi).
It was far from easy for the Australian, who endured a fierce battle with Ollie Bearman (Prema) which culminated in the Briton running off at Vale, with Doohan appearing to wave at his rival as he passed.
The race started behind the safety car amid wet conditions, with heavy rainfall having preceded the session.
Although the safety car did pull into the pits, it was deployed again soon after as PHM driver Brad Benavides was nudged into a spin by Clement Novalak, making contact with Ayumu Iwasa who had dropped down the order.
The Trident driver was handed a five-second penalty for the incident, while DAMS driver Iwasa pitted with an issue, he later rejoined.
Racing resumed on lap four, with Bearman on the charge as he passed Pourchaire for third up the inside of Turn 3 before claiming second from Hadjar at Stowe.
It wasn’t to last though, as Hadjar retook second on lap seven after a spin from Bearman, with Pourchaire then taking back third at the exit of Club the following tour.
Out front, Vesti had built a seven-second lead, with Hadjar a second clear of Pourchaire, before the Sauber Academy member made it into second on lap 11.
A fiery battle between Bearman and Doohan then ensued as they tussled for fourth – Doohan was first to run wide, going off at the exit of Stowe and calling for Bearman to be penalised for pushing him off.
But the Ferrari junior pushed on, passing Hadjar up the inside of Copse before Doohan followed suit the following lap to reignite their battle.
By lap 17, the pair were ever closer, with Bearman eventually running wide at Vale as Doohan went through for third, appearing to wave as he did so.
Bearman was then noted by the stewards for rejoining into the pack, which saw him fall to sixth as Enzo Fittipaldi (Hitech) and Hadjar claimed places.
Victor Martins finished seventh for ART, with Arthur Leclerc (DAMS), PHM’s Roy Nissany and the other Hitech of Zane Maloney rounding off the top 10.
Cla | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Frederik Vesti | Prema Powerteam | 19 | - | ||
2 | Theo Pourchaire | ART Grand Prix | 19 | 13.4 | 13.400 | |
3 | Jack Doohan | Invicta Virtuosi Racing | 19 | 19.4 | 19.400 | |
4 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Rodin Carlin | 19 | 25.6 | 25.600 | |
5 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 19 | 30.5 | 30.500 | |
6 | Oliver Bearman | Prema Powerteam | 19 | 30.8 | 30.800 | |
7 | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | 19 | 31.3 | 31.300 | |
8 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | 19 | 31.6 | 31.600 | |
9 | Roy Nissany | PHM Racing by Charouz | 19 | 32.4 | 32.400 | |
10 | Zane Maloney | Rodin Carlin | 19 | 38.5 | 38.500 | |
11 | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | 19 | 39.8 | 39.800 | |
12 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorsport | 19 | 40.2 | 40.200 | |
13 | Kush Maini | Campos Racing | 19 | 44.1 | 44.100 | |
14 | Jak Crawford | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 19 | 44.7 | 44.700 | |
15 | Amaury Cordeel | Invicta Virtuosi Racing | 19 | 45.2 | 45.200 | |
16 | Roman Staněk | Trident | 19 | 48.2 | 48.200 | |
17 | Clement Novalak | Trident | 19 | 51.0 | 51.000 | |
18 | Richard Verschoor | Van Amersfoort Racing | 19 | 52.8 | 52.800 | |
19 | Juan Manuel Correa | Van Amersfoort Racing | 19 | 1'07.9 | 1'07.900 | |
20 | Ralph Boschung | Campos Racing | 19 | 1'14.1 | 1'14.100 | |
21 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 18 | 1 lap | ||
Brad Benavides | PHM Racing by Charouz | 17 | ||||
View full results |