Qualifying Drama:
Bono Huis lined up on pole with Tom Manley alongside him on the front row. Sebastian Gunthenstiner started third, with Jos Van Hallen in fourth. Championship leader Matthew Fisher had qualified P8 but was left fuming after being forced to back off due to Shane Murphey’s late-session spin bringing out a yellow flag, costing him a potential front-row spot.

Gamble at the Start:
Most of the field started on medium or hard tyres, but with rain in the air, Fisher, Llewellyn Rees, and Jeremy Hawkings took a bold gamble by fitting soft tyres  a move that could either win them the race or backfire massively.

The Charge Begins:
Lights out and Fisher was on a mission. Launching off the line, he immediately began slicing through the pack. By the end of Sector 1, he had climbed from P8 to P3, using the extra grip from the softs. He swept past his teammate Gunthenstiner and set his sights on Huis.

At the end of Lap 2, Fisher’s radio message was short and ecstatic: “Thank f***!” as the rain began to fall. Mercedes confirmed it was “Plan A minus four laps”  essentially pushing the strategy forward thanks to the early weather.

Fisher Takes the Lead:
By Lap 5, on a damp but not fully wet track, Fisher pulled a slick overtake on Huis and took the lead. The top four  Fisher, Huis, Manley, and Thomas  all pitted one lap later than the rest. That decision proved costly. As Huis's tyres warmed faster, he snatched back the lead while Fisher struggled on the colder wets, made worse by no tyre blankets for intermediates.

Middle Stint Battles:
As the field settled, Gunthenstiner and Huis fought closely, while Rees and Dupont engaged in their own scrap. But all eyes were at the front, where Fisher was again hunting down Van Hallen now back in the mix after the pit cycle.

Fisher executed a slingshot pass on Lap 10, taking the lead momentarily before Van Hallen responded with full battery deployment to reclaim it. Lap 11 saw the move of the race or so we thought. Fisher dived into Turn 1 and reclaimed the lead cleanly.

High-Speed Collision Brings Red Flag:
Then disaster struck. As the pair raced uphill into Turn 3, Van Hallen’s front wing clipped the rear of Fisher’s Mercedes at over 170mph. Both cars slammed into the wall. The impact triggered the emergency cut-off systems on both simulators. The race was redflagged immediately.

Fisher later reported mild wrist discomfort but was cleared . Red Bull confirmed Van Hallen was taken to HMC Westeinde for precautionary checks to his right wrist.

The Restart Four-Lap Shootout:
After a lengthy delay, the race resumed on Lap 14 with a standing restart. Murphey led from Huis, with Adam Chadwick and Gunthenstiner in close pursuit. The order remained largely unchanged at the front, with only a front wing tap between Chadwick and Gunthenstiner offering a flash of drama.

Midfield Magic:
The big surprise came further back. Brad Smith and Andreas Bauer used fresh tyres to catapult from P15 and P19 to P9 and P10 respectively, bringing much-needed points to Haas and Stake Esports