Rodin celebrated their first Monaco pole as championship leader Alex Dunne delivered a flawless lap to secure his maiden Formula 2 pole. His closest rival, Luke Browning, struggled in qualifying and lined up eighth for the Feature Race.
Sebastian Montoya suffered more heartbreak as his car failed to launch off the line for the second consecutive week. It was a tough blow for the young driver, especially after another impressive qualifying effort that had promised so much more.
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A Huge Driver Pile-Up!
Victor Martins got the better launch off the line and tried to sweep around Alex Dunne to take the lead. But Dunne turned in sharply and collided with Martins, sending both cars straight into the barrier. With the pack still tightly bunched, several drivers arrived too late to react and piled into the wreckage. The track quickly became blocked, and many drivers stalled before they could find a way through. Race control threw the red flag, and the remaining 15 drivers headed back to the pits as the marshals began the clean-up.
Luckily for Browning and 2024 F3 champion Leo Fornaroli, they made it through the chaos completely unscathed. Montoya, who had to start from the pits after his failed launch, caught a huge break and slipped through easily as the front-runners collided.
Under red flag conditions, several teams repaired damage, allowing 15 drivers to rejoin the race. A full restart followed, with the remaining drivers lining up in their original grid positions. Here’s the revised running order from the restart:
Leonardo Fornaroli
Sebastián Montoya
Arvid Lindblad
Jak Crawford
Luke Browning
Kush Maini
Joshua Dürksen
Oliver Goethe
Roman Staněk
Amaury Cordeel
Dino Beganovic
Cian Shields
Sami Meguetounif
John Bennett
Rafael Villagómez
Full Restart
Due to the long delay, the race transformed into a thrilling 31-minute sprint format. However, the drivers were still required to come in for their pit stops after six laps. Officials opted for a rolling start to begin the action after the drama of the initial start. The field bunched together as they approached the starting line at racing speed. Unfortunately, disaster struck early when Durksen misjudged his approach to get past Maini. His car shot straight off the track in a spectacular mistake after hitting the barrier. Race control immediately deployed the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) to neutralise the field.
The drivers on the supersoft tires went in for their pit stops early, switching to the soft tires for the rest of the race.
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After setting purple sectors on fresh tires, Beganovic suddenly speared straight into the barriers. The impact brought out another Virtual Safety Car period and eventually a Safety Car.
The safety car gave soft tire drivers a perfect pit stop opportunity. Unfortunately, the leaders had passed the pit entry when the safety car deployed, forcing them to complete another lap before pitting. However, Crawford pitted immediately when the safety car emerged, and jumped the leaders to the front of the grid.
Red Flag!
The extensive barrier damage from Beganovic’s crash forced officials to red-flag the race. Crawford claimed a dramatic first feature race win of the season. Fornaroli’s championship dreams crumbled after failing to hold P1 after that crucial final safety car. The dramatic twist catapulted Browning to the top of the F2 championship.
Last Minute Drama
After all the race drama, a last-minute penalty struck Lindblad for pit lane speeding. The infringement dropped him from P3 to P9. This gave Montoya the final podium position in Monaco.
Feature Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
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