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It was a race full of drama and safety cars. A brief rain shower before the start forced nearly all drivers to switch to wet tires, except for one. Luca Viisoreanu took a bold risk by staying on slicks, and it paid off with a brilliant victory for the Romanian driver.
Luca Viisoreanu from Real Racing started from pole position, alongside Chase Fernandez from AS Motorsport. Behind them were Gino Trappa and winner of the previous two races Bart Harrison, both driving for Jenzer Motorsport.
Even before the race began, strategy played a huge role in the final outcome. A light rain hit the Red Bull Ring, leaving the track damp but not fully wet. The big question was which tires to choose.
While the entire field opted for wet tires, pole-sitter Viisoreanu stuck with slicks. The race began behind the safety car, but Fernandez was unable to get moving from second on the grid and had to be pushed into the pit lane. He eventually rejoined the race, but already one lap down.
Still under safety car conditions, Javier Herrera also dove into the pits to switch to slicks. As drivers prepared for the restart, a collision occurred at the exit of Turn 8 and František Němec of JMT Racing ended up in the wall.
Green flag conditions resumed briefly, and Trappa took the lead, followed by Harrison and Karhan, all on wet tires, while Viisoreanu, on slicks, dropped to fourth. During the second safety car period, David Walther from Maffi Racing came into the pits to replace his front wing and switched to slicks as well.
The race restarted on lap five, Trappa and Harrison fought for the lead. Karhan tried to defend against Viisoreanu, but on the drying track, he had no chance. Viisoreanu, much faster on slicks, quickly surged through the field and took the lead, ahead of Trappa, Harrison, Karhan and Bautista Acosta in fifth.
Just a few minutes later, Teodor Borenstein went off into the gravel, bringing out the safety car once again.
During this safety car period, no other drivers switched to slicks, there were only a few minutes left, and while slicks were clearly the better choice on the now mostly dry track, dropping to the back with just three minutes to finish wasn’t worth the risk.
At the final restart, Viisoreanu pulled away cleanly to maintain the lead. Trappa held on to second, followed by Harrison, Karhan, and Acosta. Behind them, Hady Mimassi from Renauer Motorsport joined the chase.
Viisoreanu cruised to a comfortable victory. Trappa finished second, but the real drama was in the battle for third to sixth place. Harrison crossed the line just 0.033 seconds ahead of Karhan, who was only 0.010 seconds in front of Herrera. Mimassi was another 0.023 seconds behind, rounding off a breathtaking photo finish. However Mimassi received 10 seconds penalty for overtaking under safety car and dropped to 12th.
