Monaco Grand Prix – F2 Race: Vesti wins, Martins penalized
This Sunday morning in the principality, Frederik Vesti asserted himself as the master in front of Theo Pourchaire. Victor Martins was penalized and finishes 8th.
At the lights out, Pourchaire gets a better start than his compatriot but finds himself stuck along the wall and forced to defend his 3rd place, which he does perfectly. Hadjar, a bit further down the grid, manages to take advantage of his super soft tires to gain a position on Daruvala at Sainte Dévote.
From the beginning, Martins puts pressure on Vesti but the Prema driver doesn’t falter and quickly widens the gap to nearly 3 seconds. As for Pourchaire, he stays wisely behind Martins, at about 5 seconds.
The first pit stops begin as early as the 8th lap for drivers with the softest tires, and in the following lap, Arthur Leclerc is forced to retire due to brake failure.
A first incident occurs on lap 19 when Fittipaldi suffers an engine issue and has to go straight into the escape area at the port chicane. The virtual safety car is deployed, without consequences. The first half of the race is rather calm and the leader Frederik Vesti is not troubled.
But on the 22nd lap, Australian driver Jack Doohan hits the barrier at Massenet corner and his engine catches fire. The safety car is deployed. Vesti, Martins, and Pourchaire head into the pit lane. However, Théo Pourchaire is hindered by his teammate’s slightly long pit stop, and he loses a lot of time during his tire change. Fortunately, there are no consequences for the restart, and he remains in 3rd place. But due to the damage on the track, the red flag is waved on lap 24.
Lap restart underway, after two laps behind the safety car. The top three drivers push but maintain their positions. Victor Martins, who was in second place, receives a Drive Through penalty for not slowing down enough under the yellow flags during the Doohan accident. He must pass through the pit lane and comes out in 8th place. He will finish in that position with the bonus point for the fastest lap. Up front, Maloney inherits the 3rd place.
Théo Pourchaire increases his pace but in vain, it’s Vesti who emerges as the master in the streets of the principality, ahead of the Frenchman and Maloney. Verschoor and Hauger complete the top 5.
Disappointing result for Martins who once again fails to capitalize on his strong weekend. As for Pourchaire, he loses the lead of the drivers’ championship to Vesti, who leaves Monaco as a very serious title contender.
