The first race turned into a complete chaos. A number of incidents prompted the red flag once and forced the safety car to intervene twice.
Eventually only five laps were completed, equating to 50% of the scheduled race distance. As a consequence only 50% of the points were awarded.
With Stefano Comini emerging as the winner and James Nash eliminated as he hits the wall and retired, the gap between the two was reduced to only half-a-point before the final race, with the Briton still in the lead.
The only other driver who is still in contention – at least theoretically – is Jean-Karl Vernay who is 25 points behind.
Key facts
Start – Comini takes the best start from Monteiro and Vernay
Lap 1 – three local drivers crash into each other at T1; Morbidelli crashes at Mandarin; Vernay overtakes Monteiro at the Lisboa bend and moves up to second; Nash climbs to fourth ahead of Borković
Lap 2 – The safety car is deployed; Afanasyev pits with engine problems
Lap 4 – The race resumes after one lap behind the safety car, with only seven minutes left on the clock
Lap 4 – Homola hits the barrier at the Lisboa bend and blocks the track; Buri, Files, Tassi and a number of other cars are stuck behind him
Lap 4 – Nash hits the wall and breaks the rear left suspension
Lap 5 – The safety car is deployed once again; Comini leads from Vernay, Monteiro, Borković and Oriola
Lap 6 – The race finishes but the chequered flag is not being waved… the drivers resume racing, but they are slowed down by the full course yellow in the second half of the lap
