Bilinski started on pole for the sprint race due to the reversed grid, yet all eyes were on Camara. The Spaniard had secured pole position for the feature race on home soil, further strengthening his lead in the championship.
He was looking to bounce back after a difficult weekend out in Monaco. With his closest rival, Tsolov, starting the race next to him, a thrilling battle was in the air. Both had a clear objective: score points and outpace their title rival.
But the top three had a nightmare start, taking each other out within the first few corners. Taponen stalled and his race ended with Camara hitting him from behind. The home hero was glancing in his mirrors at that crucial moment and couldn’t steer aside in time. That way, the race ended prematurely for Bilinski, Stenshorne, Tramnitz, and Taponen before it had even properly begun. Camara, missing a front wing and with suspension damage, limped back to the pits. He retired there shortly after under the safety car.
Domingues, Stenshorne, and van Hoepen restarted from the front on lap 5, with the VAR driver chasing his first points of the season. He got a clean getaway, quickly pulling away and setting the early fastest lap of the race. Stromsted then responded by taking the fastest lap and closing into DRS range.
Giusti made a late-braking move past Leon, though it came with slight contact from the Prema driver. Meanwhile, Ramos overtook van Hoepen to leap into the podium places. Inthraphuvasak finally got past the slower-running Sharp after a multi-lap battle, opening the door for teammate Boya, who managed to pass both into P11.
Giusti capitalized on the fight between Wharton and Leon to close the gap and eventually overtake both, moving up to P7 with impressive pace. Boya followed him shortly after. Stromsted clocked another fastest lap before slowing down and immediately retiring with a technical issue, handing Domingues and Ramos a 1–2 for VAR.
With just two laps remaining, Tsolov pushed to catch P2 and minimize the championship gap, knowing Camara was already out. But his charge stopped when a yellow flag appeared for Garfias, who lost a wheel — a concerning trend, as this marked the third consecutive race with such a mechanical failure.