Naël, 18, went from third to first in a thrilling double pass on Enzo Deligny and KCMG ENYA Pinnacle Motorsport team-mate Mari Boya with the leading trio running three abreast towards Lisboa Corner on lap 14.

With the safety car deployed shortly after, Naël couldn’t be beaten as Boya – who led on two occasions – was forced to settle for second.

“To be honest I was not believing in this, they made a mistake and I just go full throttle, sixth gear,” Frenchman Naël said. “The pace was there the whole weekend. The team are just amazing, thanks to them.”

Deligny took third for the R-ace GP team, the winner of the first FIA FR World Cup in 2024, but there was frustration for Freddie Slater.

Slater, part of the SJM Theodore Prema Racing line-up, started from pole position, lost the lead to Boya at the first corner but reclaimed top spot from Boya heading to Lisboa on lap four. The Qualification Race winner was starting to pull ahead when the high-paced action was neutralised behind the safety car on lap nine.

The lead was Boya’s again on lap 11 with another slipstream move ahead of the braking zone for Lisboa. But it all went wrong for Slater before the end of the lap when he got out of shape through R Bend and struck the barriers with the rear of his car and retired.

More to follow…