Oscar Piastri claims Feature Race victory and extends Championship lead

Oscar Piastri has made it two consecutive Feature Race wins in a row after crossing the line first at the Sochi Autodrom for the Russian Grand Prix. The win on Sunday and the fastest time in Qualifying saw the Australian collect 29-points, furthering his lead in the Championship.

The PREMA Racing driver started from pole position and held the lead into the first corner of Sunday's race. Théo Pourchaire was Piastri's nearest challenger; however, Piastri could keep him out of DRS.

Piastri opted for a tyre change on lap nine, with Pourchaire staying out for one extra lap to go for the overcut. The ART Grand Prix driver emerged onto the track ahead of Piastri, though cold tyres on the French driver meant he couldn't hold the lead.

Piastri maintained the lead for the remainder of the race and saw the chequered flag ahead of Pourchaire in second and Carlin Racing's Jehan Daruvala rounding out the top three.

"Another Feature Race win - two in a row! I am very happy with that, it was a very tough race with no Safety Cars. Théo (Pourchaire) was pushing me the whole way," said Piastri.

"I'm glad I could hold on, I could keep the gap at one and a half, two seconds. I was pushing the whole way. I'm very happy I could pull that one off after a bit of a disappointing day yesterday."

Piastri extends his championship lead and sits on 178 points, ahead of Zhou, who has 142 to his name. Shwartzman is third on 135, with Ticktum and Pourchaire in fourth and fifth with 129 and 120 points, respectively.

PREMA sits out in front on 313 points in the Teams' fight, leading Carlin with 225. UNI-Virtuosi is third in the order with 201 points.

There are just two rounds to go in the 2021 season, with the Championship set to resume in two months in Jeddah.