AIX’s Taylor Barnard drove to victory in the 2024 Monaco F2 Sprint, following multiple Safety Cars and a great rolling start from a Red Flag. Gabriel Bortoleto finished in P2, with Denis Hauger hot on his heels in P3.
At Lights Out
At lights out, a poor reaction by polesitter Barnard put his lead in jeopardy, but he was able to stay ahead of the field. On a track like Monaco with so little chance of overtaking, keeping position up front is vital.
Rounding the first corner, we had our first incident of a chaotic race. ART’s Victor Martins made contact with a DAMS, sending him into the wall and deploying a Safety Car. The Alpine Academy driver has had a terrible start to the season. He’s only nine points this year – a far cry from his Rookie of the Year title last season. He’ll be looking to make up some valuable points later in the season.
The green flag was waved on lap two after a quick removal of the stricken ART. However, there was already an incident was sent to the stewards for investigation. Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini was noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Oliver Bearman, in an attempt to get some much-needed points on the table, tried a risky move round the hairpin. No advantage was gained, but the bold move set his intentions for the rest of the weekend.
No Margin for Error
On a track so intricate with so little margin for error, Gabriel Bortoleto in P2 was told ‘do not leave doors open’, as Hauger sat behind on his gearbox in P3.
On Lap 5, Barnard snatched the fastest lap with a 1:26.748 in an attempt to stay clear of the McLaren junior driver Bortoleto, as narrowed the gap to the leader down to just over half a second. Just behind, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was gaining on Hauger for third, two-tenths off the Norwegian driver.
However, the racing was soon halted as Pepe Martí, late on the throttle, careered into the wall outside the Swimming Pool on Lap 6. Juan Manuel Correa was quick to react behind, narrowly avoiding the stricken Campos. A yellow flag was waved before the Safety Car was finally deployed as the drivers headed into The Tunnel. 18-year-old Martí was visibly frustrated as he made his way back to the pit lane.
The green flag was waved again on Lap 8, with Barnard taking off around the streets of Monte Carlo once again as the pack hit Lap 9.
Racing Resumes
As racing resumed, Kimi Antonelli was back on the hunt for P3, 0.378s off of Hauger as they headed through The Tunnel, staying within four tenths throughout Lap 11. At the end of the lap, there was a yellow flag and consequently a Virtual Safety Car in Sector 3 as debris was cleared it up. It had come from Verschoor, tomorrow’s polesitter, who had contact with Joshua Dürksen. Dürksen would later receive a ten-second penalty for the incident.
Drivers had to stay alert at the VSC restart – reaction times were key to keep their positions in the winding streets of Monaco. Barnard, driving a great race was straight off the mark at the green flag, staying one second clear of Bortoleto.
Bortoleto was not settling for second, pushing his tyres to the maximum. However, his team were quick on the radio to instruct him to hold back and preserve tyres, sitting 1.9s behind Barnard before attacking on Lap 18.
Session Red Flagged
Another incident, as Championship leader Maloney made contact with O’Sullivan after trying to around the inside of the Hairpin. The lack of downforce on the Rodin car saw him soon run straight into the back of O’Sullivan. Maini was also caught up in the chaos, stuck with no way around the stricken car. The track was now blocked, triggering a VSC and consequent red flag.
With the track cleared, there was a rolling start on lap 24 – great news for Barnard. The pack struggled to get their tyres into the right window, seeing Barnard sprint to victory in the last two laps, followed by Bortoleto and Hauger. The fastest lap went to Antonelli.
Speaking after the race, Barnard talked through his race;
“The start was the critical point of the race and I had to push a little bit more than I would have liked to,but we managed to secure the first position after the first corner and managed it from there.
“[The red flag] was agonising to be honest. I think anyone can agree, every driver in that kind of situation, it’s not just my first win or my first podium, it’s my first even points of this year. I had to wait 15 minutes or something in the pit lane. I didn’t even know if the race was going to restart or not, so it was a little bit agonising.”
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