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F2: Vesti takes Monaco pole from Martins; Mini has it in F3

  • Darshan Chokhani
    • F2, F3

    Frederik Vesti tops Group B to take F2 pole in Monaco from Victor Martins, as Gabriele Mini was fastest in F3.

    F2:

    Group A –

    The first part in F2 qualifying in Monaco was red flagged with about five minutes remaining for a crash for DAMS’ Arthur Leclerc in the final part of the circuit. He was improving along with others as Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor led the way then.

    He only went fastest pipping Campos Racing’s Kush Maini and MP Motorsport’s Jehan Daruvala with ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins behind them. The re-start had good runs to see Martin improve to first with a 1m21.231s lap in Group A.

    Virtuosi’s Jack Doohan was a big gainer in second from Verschoor, as Daruvala was fourth. The Indian driver caused the second red flag after a crash which ended the session, with Hitech GP’s Isack Hadjar slotting in fifth from Maini.

    The Indian found Verschoor on his flying lap which has been noted as impeding. Carlin’s Enzo Fittipaldi was seventh from Prema’s Oliver Bearman, PHM Charouz’s Roy Nissany, Leclerc and Trident’s Roman Stanek.

     

    Group B –

    Midway in the session, the second part in F2 qualifying in Monaco went quickest than the fastest time of Group A to secure pole for Group B. Like the first part, the second part ended under red flag with a crash for Trident’s Clement Novalak.

    There couldn’t be more improvements as Prema’s Frederik Vesti took overall pole with a 1m21.053s lap. ART’s Theo Pourchaire was second in the group from Carlin’s Zane Maloney, with Hitech GP’s Jak Crawford in fourth from DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa.

    The Japanese driver had a moment with his suspension getting hit but managed to improve to fifth still, with Virtuosi’s Amaury Cordeel sixth from Novalak, MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger, Campos’ Ralph Boschung and PHM’s Brad Benavides.

    With overall pole to Vesti, he will start Sunday’s F2 race from the front ahead of Martins, Pourchaire, Doohan, Maloney, Verschoor, Crawford, Daruvala, Iwasa and Hadjar. The Frenchman will start Saturday’s race from pole alongside Iwasa.

     

    F3:

    Group A –

    For the Championship’s first appearance in the Principality, the 30-car grid was divided into two groups with 16 minutes each. Group A, consisting of even-numbered cars, hit the track first in much sunnier and warmer conditions than Thursday’s Free Practice running. Mansell became the first driver to set a time six minutes in, as most of the field opted for an extra warm-up lap. Once all the initial fast laps came in, Beganovic leapt up to P1 with a 1:25.308, less than a tenth quicker than Browning. The #16 Hitech Pulse-Eight became the first driver to break into the 1:24s, with Beganovic closing his advantage to two tenths.

    With less than five minutes to go, Sebastián Montoya demoted his teammate to second, before Browning repaid the favour to drop the benchmark to a 1:23.883. Utilising the clear air ahead, Beganovic nudged 0.003s ahead of Browning to top Group A as the chequered flag came out. Despite going fastest in Sector 1, the Williams Academy junior couldn’t respond, losing the rear through the swimming pool chicane and was forced to settle for second.

    Despite hitting the wall on his final tour of the track, Montoya managed to hold off Franco Colapinto for third. Leonardo Fornaroli ended fifth, as Grégoire Saucy completed the top six.

    Group B –

    As his PREMA teammate waited and watched on in the pitlane, Aron set the initial benchmark in Group B. However, the Estonian’s 1:26.150 didn’t stand top for long as Minì stormed over a second clear, with Collet closing to six tenths away in second.

    Josep María Martí momentarily snatched P1, but it was the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver who continue to stamp his authority on the session with consecutive fastest laps. Into the final stages, he was three tenths down on Beganovic’s best effort. The Italian fully committed to his final attempt and stormed over eight tenths quicker than Aron.

    Whilst those around him fell foul to traffic, improvements tailed off. Avoiding disaster after a brush with the wall, Caio Collet claimed third. Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto couldn’t break into the top three in fourth, ahead of Jenzer Motorsport’s Taylor Barnard and Martí.

    With the results aggregated, Minì will line up on pole for the Feature Race, flanked by Beganovic. Aron claimed third ahead of Browning. Collet and Montoya will complete the third row, ahead of Bortoleto and Colapinto in seventh and eighth. Barnard secured ninth and Fornaroli rounded out the top 10 for Trident. Finishing 12th overall, Saucy will start the Sprint Race from reverse grid pole with Martí for company alongside him.

     

    More to come