Formula 2 Sprint Race:
The Formula 2 Weekend got underway with the sprint race in Monaco, 1 month after the Azerbaijan weekend. It was a clean getaway for every driver until we got up to the chicane after the tunnel. Stanek and Maini got spun around with 4 drivers getting caught upon the incident. This brought out a VSC which lead into a full safety car. Whitch came in on lap 6 but Hadjar got an issue at the restart and had to retire. Iwasa managed to inherit the lead which brought every driver up by 1 place from the retsrta apart from Nissany and Boshung who had to retire. Leclerc and Maini were battling for P16 but due to the insignificant advantage of DRS. Fittipaldi managed to get cordeel on lap 22. After that. Cordeel crashed before the hairpin and brought out another safety car. Correa and Cordeel collided. The safety car came in lap 24 and Iwasa decided to go early. Bearman had to pit at the restart. Iwasa managed to pull a gap of over 6 seconds to lead the pack to the win and take home a win at Monaco. Daruvala finished P2 and Crawford P3.
Formula 2 Feature Race:
The Feature Race in Monaco kicked off with a clean start for most of the drivers. Dennis Hauger managed to cut turn 1 and ended up getting a 5 second time penalty. Cordeel started to fall back the field as the racers entered lap 2. Cordeel then picked up damage and retired but Hauger was then noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. With Formula 2, there is a rule which states that the drivers cannot complete their mandatory pitstop until the end of lap 6. So Benevides and Boschung decided to pit at the end of lap 8 which was a surprise. Arthur Leclerc got struck by a curse thats his brother also has as he DNFed from the race on lap 9. Further on in the race Nissany, Daruvala, Correa, Crawford, Fittipaldi, Iwasa, Hadjar, Bearman and Benevides all pitted. Nissany and Novalak battled through the tunnel section with a VSC having to be deployed due to Enzo Fittipaldi having an engine issue. Dennis Hauger received a 5 second time penalty on lap 20 for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Jack Doohan ended up crashing on lap 22. The car caught on fire but he was all safe. However, the track was slippery and a red flag was called in order to repair the barrier. Vesti, Pourchaire and Martins all pitted before the red flag was called. We went racing again on lap 27 which was a steady start. It then emerged that Victor Martins did not slow down for the collision and ended up receiving a drive through penalty. Vesti managed to convert his pole to victory around the streets of Monaco. Theo Pourchaire finished P2 and Zane Maloney finished the podium positions.
Featured Image Credit to Prema Racing Photos and Videos.
Qualifying was first up and Group A saw Nato, Fenestraz, Ticktum and Evans all through to the duels. The DS Penske duo of Vandoorne and Vergne both lost their lap times due to a technical infraction which dropped them to the back of the grid.
Gunther, Hughes, Mortara and Sette Camara all went through to the final from Group B. Fenestraz appeared victorious over Dan Ticktum for the first session of quarter finals, Nato beat Evans in the second quarter final, Hughes beat Mortara and Sette Camara beat Gunther in the 3rd and 4th quarter finals respectfully. However, Sette Camara got his best lap time deleted so Gunther took his place in the duel. Before their duel however, it was a nissan quarter final with Nato vs Fenestraz and Fenestraz won that battle. Hughes took victory over Gunther in the second semi final so it was Hughes against Fenestraz for the battle for pole.
It was a tight battle which saw Fenestraz snatch the position from Hughes after Hughes made an error. Fenestraz, however, used more power than he was meant to and got the pole snatched away!
Race:
The 29 lap race started by Hughes leading the race with Cassidy trying to make a lot of places up. Cassidy went up to P7 by the end of lap 1. Jake Hughes held the lead from the two Nissans and from Ticktum and Gunther in P5. Dennis managed to get Cassidy on lap 2. Rowland who started P13 is up to P7. By lap 3 rowland managed to make up to P6. A yellow flag then came out on lap 3 due to lotterer and retiring. Rowland took his first attack mode on lap 3. Evans and Gunther were battling on the final sector of lap 3 which Gunther managed to win. Nick Cassidy made a big move on lap 5 to make up 2 places at once. Cassidy made HUGE moves to go up to P2 after Hughes took attack mode! Hughes went down to P4 just ahead of Ticktum. Evans managed to make his way up to P5 after a lunge in the hairpin. Cassidy and Nato took their attack mode together which allowed Ticktum to make his way up to P1. ahead of Evans and Fenestraz. Fenestraz and Cassidy attack their way up the hull after turn 1 and Fenestraz manages to keep the position over the New Zealander.
An image from the ABB FIA Formula E Monaco EPrix. Credit to Formula E.
Lap 13 saw Cassidy lead the race from Evans and Fenestraz who are 2nd and 3rd. Lap 14 saw a titanic battle between Evans and Dennis coming out of the tunnel to battle for position. Gunther had a big moment in the swimming pool section of the track on lap 15but he managed to keep it goether. Evans took the lead of the race at the start of lap 16 . While ths was going on, Vergne and Vandoorne managed to make their way up to P13 and P14 after starting at the back of the grid. Bird and Nato collided after the tunnel and Da Costa suffered a puncture and fell to the back of the grid. Both Maseratis took attack mode on lap 17 and fell to P7 and P8 with Gunther leading the way. Cassidy managed to get the lead of the race on lap 18. Dennis tried to get ahead of Evans into the hairpin but he didn’t manage to make it stick. Hughes and Ricktum Kept switching positions on lap 18 too with Ticktum taking the position. Fenestraz tried to get Dennis into the hairpin but didn’t manage to get him. Ticktum tried to squeeze Vergne into the wall down into the hairpin but Vergne managed to make it out. Mortara appeared to lose his front wing. Ticktum had an issue after he collided with another driver. Nato had to slow down and Gunther stopped on track which resulted on a safety car on lap 22/29.
The safety car came in on lap 25 and Cassidy and Evans went battling for the win with Dennis not far behind. Bird went for attack mode but he managed to miss it! There was no added laps to the race. Muller collided with Bird on lap 28 which resulted in Muller stopping on lap and the safety car being deployed which ended this race. Nick Cassidy won the Monaco EPrix and takes the lead of the championship. Mitch Evans finished P2 and Jake Dennis finished P3. The front row finished P4 and P5 with Fenestraz finishing ahead of Hughes. Ticktum managed to hold onto P6 with Vergne going from p22 to P7. Buemi finished P8 with Vandoorne finishing P9 and Evan’s teammate Sam Bird collecting the final point position. Sam Bird later received a penalty so Pascal Wehrlein picked up P10.
The concludes Formula E for 1 month where we head to Jakara for a double header!
Motorsport at present will not be interrupted by any third party events, so according to current calendars we have racing from the weekend we go into 2023 with the Dakar Rally, through to December with national events and eSports. Here are just a small selection of dates to keep free as a motorsport enthusiast!
Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E
14th January
Formula E starts its third generation at the beloved Autodromo Hermamos Rodriguez in Mexico City, where we shall see the new era of cars reach 200mph hour and a new format of racing begin. McLaren and Maserati enter the fray with a mix up of drivers, so keep the date free! Formula E expects more overtaking in much smaller and lighter machinery, and don’t forget that all the qualifying and racing in one day so an action-packed day looms!
19th February
On this day, you shall see the 65th running of the “Great-American Race” at Daytona Beach in Florida. Daytona is one of three Superspeedways in the States, the others being Indianapolis and Talladega. Fan-favourite Jimmie Johnson is expected to return for the Stock Car Series, which would have seven former winners in the field. Even if NASCAR is not your taste, I do advise it as a watch as they do race on tracks of COTA and Road America throughout the year. There is also the conclusion of the Asian Le Mans series at Yas Marina on the same day, which is a four-hour event.
YAS MARINA CIRCUIT, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Photo by Mark Sutton / LAT Images)
26th-28th May
This weekend is a belter. In Europe and stateside we have two of the three legs of the ‘Triple Crown’ running simultaneously. On Saturday is the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, where on most occasions qualifying could be more important than the Sunday. On Sunday we have the 107th running of the Indy 500 at the Brickyard. Monaco could be more of a tactical battle strategy, followed by seeing the complete flipside of motorsport with cars going at 220mph for nearly three hours! Do not forget to finish off the day one of the speedways. NASCAR has the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, so if no problems do arise with cautions and delays you could watch all three consecutively, a true treat to a motorsport fan!
10/11 June
The final third of the ‘Triple Crown’ would be the famous Le Mans 24 hours which celebrates its centenary this year. The categories for this season have either been revamped or doubled, especially the hypercar which should make it the most contested battle, with Ferrari and Peugeot joining Toyota in the battle at the top for overall victory.
Ferrari seek for victory for the first time since 1965 when legendary Jochen Rindt won as part of the team and Peugeot more recently with the 908 in 2009. The middle classes of LMP2 and GTE will continue to be as close as ever throughout the race and season, a race that is 6/7 times longer than Indy 500 can be separated by seconds overall. The go-to section if you want to go would be the Porsche Curves, a fantastic section to see a car hooked up in qualifying or race mode!
MotoGP heads to India. The Buddh International Circuit was first used in 2011 by F1, the banked 10-12 turns having an Istanbul Park feel. India is second most populated country with nearly 1.4 billion people and with reports of over 200 million owning a motorcycle which is a 75/25 ratio making it perfect sense for bikes to race here.
It will be great to see the track return to the world stage as the Grand Prix of Bharat and with bikes it has the chance to provide some fantastic overtaking opportunities. National racing has taken place there from 2016, but do expect the likes of WSBK to strike a deal in the future as this will be an instant success! Along with this, F1 hosts the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, the European Le Mans Series is at Spa and British Touring Cars is at Silverstone. Three of the most iconic tracks in use along with MotoGP possibly breaking into India.
19th November
Is it another cash cow or F1 gone bust with a third race in America with the race in Vegas? It is not the first time F1 has gone racing in Vegas, as they had two races in the 80’s. They raced at Caesars Palace in 1981 and 1982. It is expected that they will be using the Las Vegas Strip in the night race featuring 17 corners going past the previously used palace and Casinos.
The festival in 2022 that announced the race went well and it comes across as an unique event. With the race being the penultimate round of the season we could see a driver or constructor be crowned here – what a place to do so!
Qatar continues to go strength to strength with MotoGP at Losail for another race in penultimate round of this year’s series this weekend as well. An honourable mention for WRC which concludes in Japan on this day too.
Just a few dates to advise! We will give you weekly updates of all events from Speedway to F1 happening on that weekend. Looks like a fantastic year ahead.
The Indianapolis 500 has become one of the most famous racing events over the past century, combining scintillating speed and unmitigated bravery that is quite unparalleled in motorsport.
With speeds topping over 220mph, drivers are at full throttle for approximately 3 hours, experiencing forces of (4G) across an incredible 200-lap distance.
But with speed comes danger, and hero can turn to zero in a heartbeat. The sport is recognised as one of the most dangerous with over 40 deaths occurring at The Brickyard.
Fox and Cheever 1995 Indy 500. Photo Courtesy of IndyCar.
While there has not been a death at the Indy 500 in almost a decade, serious injuries are still a reality for many. During practice for the Indy 500 in 2015, James Hinchcliffe famously flipped his No.5 Honda after touching the barriers, resulting in a burning inferno and a piece of the car’s suspension piercing his left thigh as he hit the wall. The Canadian driver would survive this incident but missed the rest of the IndyCar season as a result.
The Indianapolis 500 is a race like no other, with incredible technology and deep traditions which make it an event like no other.
But is it *REALLY* the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’?
WHAT IS THE COMPETITION?
The Monaco F1 Grand Prix and the Le Mans 24 Hours can be considered its closest competitors. To win all three is what is known as the ‘Triple Crown’ – suggesting they all share qualities as the toughest races in the world. All of these races present unique challenges, and with that, different audiences.
Monaco is widely seen as the jewel in the crown of motorsport. Since its inception in 1929, the most richest and famous grace the presence of ‘The Principality’ for a week of festivities, boat parties, and galas. If there’s anything that epitomises the socioeconomic legacy of Formula 1 – its Monaco.
No other race can compare to Monaco in terms of the beauty of its surroundings. Wedged between the natural beauty of the Mediterranean Sea and the Maritime Alps, the Circuit de Monaco winds through the tight streets of the principality.
The race presents its own challenges. Like the Indy 500, one mistake can mean the end of your race. The tight, windy streets produce one of the most exciting qualifying sessions in motorsport. It tests every inch of a driver’s concentration and skill to perfect, which is why only the very best see repeated success.
However, they also make it very difficult to overtake which detracts from the overall entertainment of the event. Many people comment on the “dullness” of Monaco and the lack of racing that occurs.
Likewise, you could make a case for the Le Mans 24 Hours, staged at the semi-permanent race course: The Circuit de la Sarthe since the very first race in 1923.
The 38-turn, 8.5-mile track takes around 3min 25sec to complete for LMP1 cars. It’s unbelievably quick and challenging, with tricky corners like the Porsche Curves and plenty of long straights.
Each team is pushed to its technological and physical limits to race through the day and into the night. Machine and humans alike withstand incredible attrition and exhaustion if they want to win this star-studded race.
Moreover, the vast number of cars on track make it an incredible spectacle to watch with: Hypercars, LMP2 Prototypes, and GT cars racing side by side. The sheer variety of teams, drivers, nationalities, and races on show is unmatched.
Now, throw in the likes of the Isle of Man TT and The Dakar Rally – Indy has some stiff competition.
COMPETITIVENESS
While it is a misnomer that IndyCar is a ‘spec-series’, it certainly would fool you to think it was.
It is common for drivers to fight through the field from lowly positions, sometimes even fighting for the win.
Not only did Louis Meyer charge through the pack in the 1936 Indy 500, moving from a starting position of 28th to a final position of first, but he also led 96 laps while capturing his third Indy 500 win.
Moreover, three out of the last six races have seen some of the closest finishes in racing, 15′, 17′, and 19′ all with winning margins of less than 0.25s.
Anything can happen at the 500′ as can be seen this year with Penske’s Will Power nearly failing to qualify, a fate that was all-too-real for two-time Formula 1 Champion Fernando Alonso in 2019.
This unpredictability adds to the entertainment of the event and speaks volumes of the challenges facing teams who are all competing at a very similar level.
TRADITIONS
The first Indianapolis 500 race took place in 1911 (Older than *both* the Monaco GP and 24 Hours Le Mans). Since then, numerous traditions have been created. For many fans, these traditions are an important part of the race experience that they look forward to every year.
Harroun wins the first ever 1911 Indy 500. Photo Courtesy of IndyCar.
But perhaps one of the strangest traditions of the race is the winner chugging a bottle of chilled milk in victory lane.
It’s a unique tradition that has appeared in every race since 1956 and has become a snapshot moment defining the elation of victory after winning one of the world’s most iconic races.
Likewise, the presenting of the Indy 500 rings is a special moment for all drivers who compete, a momento that only a few can say they have received
There are many traditions that may seem odd to those unfamiliar with the event, but they only add an endearing quality to it. You can tell how much this race means to drivers, teams, and fans alike by the way they celebrate and look forward to these moments. It adds richness, built upon years of hard work, achievement, failure, and redemption. This history is personified in these moments which make it hard to resist.
VIEWERSHIP/MARKETS/TV
While comparisons are difficult to make, there is certainly a gulf in global viewership between its nearest competitors.
While a 2018 report by NBC shows figures of around 5 to 6 million average viewers for its domestic audience, this puts it well short of other US events such as the Super Bowl. In other words, that is around 1.6% – 1.8% of the US population.
How does that stack up against other domestic sports events? Well, if you compare this to 3.5 million UK viewers who tuned in for the British Grand Prix – that is approximately 5% of the UK population!
Moreover, according to a report by Nielson Sports in 2017, the Monaco Grand Prix reported saw a 10% rise to 110 million viewers.
While they are no solid sources estimating the worldwide ratings for the Indianapolis 500, they all fall short of the Monaco Grand Prix’s global reach.
It is without question that the reach of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ dwarfs that of Formula 1. There really is no competition.
GET INVOLVED
But what do *YOU* think?
We want to know whether you think the Indianapolis 500 is ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’. And if so, why?
Let us know in the comments section below or interact with us on Twitter!
Before the race began, Leclerc had issues on his lap to the grid. Finally making it back to his garage, it was a race to discover and fix the problem before the pitlane closed. This, however, was not possible.
After several messages between the FIA and Ferrari, the car was not able to start the race due to a failure of the left drive shaft. This was more heartbreak for the Monégasque, who has never finished a race in Monaco after getting DNFs in both 2018 and 2019 and in 2017 with Formula 2.
Because of this there was some question over whether the grid would be shuffled up. The FIA quickly decided, though, to keep everyone in the grid positions they qualified in. This meant that, for the first time since David Coulthard in 2001, nobody would start in pole position at Monaco.
Bottas then had a clean track on the inside to start with only Verstappen on the dirty side, leaving a potential for carnage at the start of the race.
Lights out and Bottas had a better start, but this was shut down by Verstappen before Turn 1. The rest of the pack got away cleanly, which is unusual for Monaco.
(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) – Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
From there it was a relatively straight forward race before the pitstops. On lap 24, Hamilton was the first to pit in an attempt to undercut Gasly. However, it didn’t work on this occasion.
Bottas pitted on the next lap and drama unfolded as the wheel nut on the front right was machined off and the wheel became stuck on the car. Initially it looked as if they may be able to get it off, but this was to be the end of his race.
This created a huge opportunity for Red Bull and Verstappen. Some excellent team play by Red Bull meant that Perez had opened up a gap on Hamilton, Gasly and Vettel to be able to pit without losing too many positions. Bono had to break the news to an already very annoyed Hamilton that he had lost a further position to Perez as a result.
With 20 laps to go, Lando Norris started to complain about his tyres as Perez began to catch him at nearly one second per lap. However, as is normal around Monaco, it is very difficult to overtake and Norris managed to hold off Perez for the final podium position.
McLaren Media Centre
Having accepted his position on the track, Hamilton pitted for soft tyres to fight for the fastest lap point. This was not as simple as it seemed, as he had to let Verstappen lap him before charging for fastest lap. He did eventually get the extra point, a consolation prize after a not-so-successful weekend. This point, whilst not important now, could become crucial in the last stages of the season.
Finally, after a very dominant performance, Max Verstappen won the Monaco Grand Prox. He broke his Monaco ‘curse’ by making it onto the podium for the first time. Sainz followed in P2 with Norris in P3. This was one of the happiest podiums in Formula 1, with all drivers excited to be there. It also gave the fans a great Sainz and Norris reunion which everyone has been wanting since Sainz moved to Ferrari.
Vettel got a well deserved driver of the day vote after a great performance, gaining two places in the race and making a great move on Gasly when he came out of the pits to secure him P5.
Due to his win Verstappen now leads the driver championship, which is the first time since Australia 2013 that it has been led by someone other than a Mercedes driver or Vettel. This is also the first time Red Bull have led the constructor’s championship since 2013.
ART’s Theo Pourchaire took his first Formula 2 victory with a commanding performance in the Monaco feature race, becoming the youngest winner in F2 history.
Pourchaire got a quick launch from pole position to cover off an attack from second-placed Robert Shwartzman into Sainte Devote. The pair then spent the opening laps of the race trading fastest laps, while the gap between them stayed level at around a second.
Robert Shwartzman, Prema (Bryn Lennon, Getty Images / FIA F2)
Behind them, the order remained stable with Oscar Piastri in third, leading Dan Ticktum, Juri Vips, Ralph Boschung, Roy Nissany, Christian Lundgaard, Felipe Drugovich and Guanyu Zhou. But on lap 9, Drugovich pulled the trigger on the pit window by stopping for soft tyres on the alternate strategy, coming out in 15th.
As the cars he’d been racing against made their own stops to cover him, Drugovich got his fresh tyres up to temperature and started setting successive fastest laps. On lap 21 Drugovich moved up a net sixth by passing Boschung after the latter’s stop, then found himself ahead of Nissany and Lundgaard once they exited the pits.
On lap 29 Shwartzman stopped to attempt the undercut on Pourchaire. But a slow left rear tyre change dropped him down the order, leaving him behind Zhou who had yet to stop, and Piastri, Ticktum and Drugovich.
Pourchaire stopped a lap later and came out comfortably ahead of Piastri, with Zhou inheriting the lead as he had yet to pit. But Zhou was prevented from stopping on lap 31 when Marcus Armstrong hit the wall at La Rascasse while fighting Vips, and the virtual safety car was deployed.
The VSC was only out for one lap, but was redeployed immediately after when Lirim Zendelli locked up and hit the wall at La Rascasse at the restart. A third VSC was then brought out a lap later again, when Ticktum tried to pass Piastri around the outside of La Rascasse on the restart but ended up making it three cars in the wall in as many laps.
Guanyu Zhou, UNI-Virtuosi (Lars Baron, Getty Images / FIA F2)
When the final VSC was withdrawn, Zhou led with a 20-second gap over Pourchaire. But with the Virtuosi driver on old tyres, Pourchaire rapidly halved that lead by the time Zhou stopped on lap 37.
Zhou emerged in third ahead of Drugovich, but Drugovich passed him on the outlap with the advantage of his warmer tyres. Zhou then lost another position to Shwartzman and came under pressure from Boschung, although he was able to hold off the Campos before the chequered flag.
At the front, Pourchaire crossed the line with nearly five seconds in hand over Piastri, while Drugovich followed them home in third for his second podium of the weekend. Shwartzman took fourth ahead of Zhou and Boschung, and Liam Lawson, Vips, Nissany and Richard Verschoor rounded out the points.
Leaving Monaco, Zhou stays in the lead of the championship with 68 points, while Piastri and Pourchaire move up to second and third. UNI-Virtuosi remains at the top of the teams’ standings, although Prema have displaced Carlin from second with 15 points the difference between the top two. Find the full F2 standings here.
Charles Leclerc took pole in his home race at Monaco on Saturday afternoon after delivering a good lap on his first run in Q3. The qualifying session did not end in the best way for the rest of the drivers though, after the Monegasque driver lost control of his car coming out of the swimming pool section and ended up in the barriers and brought out the red flag.
This bitter-sweet ending to his qualifying session meant that Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz, who were all setting decent times behind him, had to abort their laps.
A frantic Q1 got underway under cloudy Monaco skies with cars all over the short layout track and drivers had to do multiple warm-up laps to get the tyres to running temperatures as the track was colder compared to previous sessions. Both the Haas cars saw their drivers go out in Q1, especially Mick Schumacher who had a huge crash coming out of the casino square in free practice even failed to make it onto the track in the session.
A surprise knockout of Q1 was Fernando Alonso of Alpine who has had such a brilliant record at the track previously and this meant he would only be starting as high as P17 for tomorrow’s race. His teammate Ocon on the other hand qualified at a decent P11 giving himself a chance to score points. Highly talented Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda in the Alpha Tauri was another driver who had to exit Q1 after his hot lap could only manage to put him at P16. Latifi in the Williams could only manage a P18 while his teammate George Russell got out of Q1 yet again and will be starting at P15.
Q2 saw the 2018 Monaco GP winner Daniel Ricciardo get knocked out after his lap was only good enough to be placed at P12 which shows that the Australian is still getting accustomed to the McLaren car. His teammate Lando Norris however had yet another good qualifying session at put his McLaren at P5. Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo were the rest of the drivers to be knocked out of Q2 and they are set to start from P13 and P14.
Credit: McLaren Media Centre
Q3 got off to a brilliant start as expected with Verstappen in the Redbull taking on the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc but it was Leclerc who came out on top after the first runs. Mercedes who were struggling all weekend will take some comfort from the fact that Valtteri Bottas atleast managed to put his car onto P3 at the grid after the end of the session. Concern will still be present around Lewis Hamilton’s starting position after the championship leader could only manage a lap good enough to put him at P7.
Pierre Gasly put in another stellar performance even outqualifying Hamilton in the process and will be starting his race P6 alongside Norris in P5. Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin impressed yet again after qualifying for Q3 and he will lining up alongside an old rival in Lewis Hamilton at P8.
The Monaco GP returning after a 1 year break is all set to alter the course of the championship standings should Verstappen finish where he is starting from. Fate could still intervene for Charles Leclerc at his home race as his pole position might be taken away from him if his gear box has suffered from the crash but for now, Ferrari have a real chance of making a statement after a horrible season of 2020.
Liam Lawson has been disqualified from the second Monaco sprint race for a technical regulations breach, promoting Dan Ticktum to victory.
After the race, Lawson was found to have used an incorrect throttle map at the start of the race. Under Article 3.6.5 of the Formula 2 technical regulations, drivers are required to use a defined throttle map programme during all formation lap starts and race starts until the car reaches 50kph.
With Lawson disqualified, Ticktum and Oscar Piastri are promoted to first and second in the results, while Juri Vips moves up to his first podium of the season in third. Jehan Daruvala moves up into the points in eighth.
Robert Shwartzman is promoted into the top 10, which doesn’t yield points in the sprint race but does allow him to take the bonus two points for setting the fastest lap.
Dan Ticktum, Carlin (Bryn Lennon, Getty Images / FIA F2)
Hitech’s Liam Lawson took his second win of the season in the second Monaco sprint race, overcoming the challenge of Oscar Piastri and Dan Ticktum in tricky conditions.
Lawson inherited pole position for the reverse grid race, after original polesitter Marcus Armstrong stopped on his way to the grid and was relegated to a pit lane start. But starting on a damp track, Lawson didn’t get enough traction off the line and Piastri beat him into Sainte Devote to take the lead. Behind them, Ticktum jumped from fourth to third with a move on Theo Pourchaire.
But despite having the better launch, Piastri wasn’t able to drop Lawson over the opening laps. After staying consistently within a few tenths of the Prema, Lawson made a move to the inside of the Nouvelle chicane on lap 5. Piastri held him off there, but Lawson got him for the lead at the inside of La Rascasse later in the lap.
Oscar Piastri, Prema (Clive Rose, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA F2)
Once in the lead, Lawson then began checking out while Piastri struggled to keep his wet tyres alive on the drying track and came under pressure from Ticktum. As Lawson pulled out a three-second gap over the field, Ticktum took second from Piastri with an inside lunge out of the tunnel on lap 15.
Ticktum, much more comfortable in the conditions than Piastri, started reeling in Lawson immediately. He halved Lawson’s gap by lap 18, then closed to within a second of the Hitech a lap later.
But Lawson regrouped and set the fastest lap on lap 20, while Ticktum had a wide moment through Mirabeau and lost temperature in his tyres. As he tried to recover the grip, the gap to Lawson slipped to over four seconds.
Ticktum’s mistake looked to be nullified on lap 24, when David Beckmann and Bent Viscaal brought out the safety car by coming together at Sainte Devote. But due to the slower pace of the damp track, the race was run to time instead of the planned 30 laps, and Ticktum was unable to bring his tyres back up to temperature in time to catch Lawson before the flag.
Dan Ticktum, Carlin (Bryn Lennon, Getty Images / FIA F2)
Lawson eventually came home with more than three seconds in hand over Ticktum for his second win of the year. Piastri came under pressure on the final two laps from Juri Vips, but he was able to hold the Estonian behind with clever defending through Mirabeau and finished on the podium in third.
Vips finished fourth ahead of Pourchaire. Ralph Boschung, Richard Verschoor and Lirim Zendelli rounded out the final points positions. Robert Shwartzman took the fastest lap, but was outside the top ten and so did not receive the accompanying points.
Championship leader Guanyu Zhou failed to score after an unsuccessful gamble to stop for slick tyres left him well outside the points. His gap over Lawson in the standings is now 11 points.
UPDATE: Lawson was disqualified from the results after the race for a breach of the technical regulations, with Ticktum inheriting the win. Read the full details here.
Guanyu Zhou took his second consecutive win of the Formula 2 season, leading UNI-Virtuosi teammate Felipe Drugovich across the line from pole.
Zhou and Drugovich started alongside each other on the front row. But while Zhou got a clean getaway, Drugovich was slow off the line and lost second to the faster Christian Lundgaard.
Behind them, Theo Pourchaire jumped the Premas of Oscar Piastri and Robert Shwartzman for eighth. Shwartzman’s start then got even worse as lost his front wing to the wall at Beau Rivage, and retired a few laps later from damage.
Theo Pourchaire, ART (Bryn Lennon, Getty Images / FIA F2)
At the front, Lundgaard prevented Zhou from checking out in the lead. Keeping within a second of the Chinese driver after the start, Lundgaard closed the gap to four tenths on lap 4. But Zhou regrouped and pushed on, opening up a buffer of a second just two laps later.
Zhou’s lead then grew to over three seconds when Lundgaard’s engine started smoking on lap 13. After trying to continue for two laps, Lundgaard eventually pulled off the road at the Nouvelle Chicane and retired, promoting Drugovich to second and Roy Nissany to third.
Drugovich, who had dropped back from Lundgaard to avoid the ART’s oil spill, assumed pursuit of Zhou with five seconds between himself and his teammate. The Brazilian made good progress to close that gap by more than two seconds by lap 19, but Zhou responded shortly after to keep out of reach.
Zhou’s gap was briefly eliminated in the closing laps after Gianluca Petecof hit the wall out of Piscine and brought out the safety car. But at the restart on lap 28, Drugovich struggled to get his tyres up to temperature in time and Zhou managed to restore his three second lead by the time he crossed the line.
Nissany finished third behind Zhou and Drugovich for his first F2 podium, while Ralph Boschung took his best F2 result so far in fourth for Campos. Juri Vips finished fifth and took the fastest lap, and Dan Ticktum, Pourchaire and Piastri rounded out the points. Marcus Armstrong finished tenth to take reverse grid pole for tomorrow’s second sprint race.
Juri Vips, Hitech (Dan Istitene, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA F2)
