Frederik Vesti resisted pressure to win sprint FIA F2 race at Monza, while Franco Colapinto took the win in F3.

F2:

It was not as a clean start in sprint F2 race at Monza where pole-sitter Ralph Boschung locked-up going into Turn 1 and had to give up lead by going straight on. It put Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor in the lead but not for long.

Prema’s Frederik Vesti got on his tail to take the lead away from the Dutchman with Campos’ Kush Maini up to third from teammate Boschung. Hitech GP’s Jak Crawford was fifth after a small contact with ART’s Theo Pourchaire at Turn 1.

Crawford’s teammate Isak Hadjar was sixth from ART’s Victor Martins who was sandwiched between Prema’s Oliver Bearman and Pourchaire where the latter was behind him in eighth in the points place. MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger was ninth outside the points.

There was a spin for Virtuosi’s Amaury Cordeel who was hit by Carlin’s Zane Maloney. The safety car was deployed to clear the car as re-start saw Vesti still in lead from Verschoor who was close behind. Maini stood third but Boschung dropped outside the points.

Martins gained places to be fourth after clearing both Crawford and Hadjar, with Pourchaire up to seventh from Hauger in the points. There was also a collision between Carlin’s Enzo Fittipaldi who was hit by Bearman at Turn 1 in their own fight.

While Vesti led on, Verschoor came under pressure from Martins who blast past to be second. The Dutchman dropped to third from Maini with Pourchaire up to fourth from Crawford who had a fight with his teammate Hadjar for fifth.

The Frenchman had 5s time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Behind them, it was Hauger in eighth looking to get by them as Trident’s Roman Stanek and Bearman rounded the Top 10 when another safety car period was on.

It was for PHN Charouz’s Roy Nissany who was spun around while fighting for track position against Van Amersfoort’s Juan Manuel Correa, They went wheel-to-wheel from Turn 1 until Turn 4-5 when the Israeli was spun around.

The re-start was good for Vesti as held onto the lead from Martins and Verschoor. Behind, Pourchaire tried a move at Turn 1 but couldn’t make it stick. He blast past Maini at Turn 4-5 to take fourth, with the Indian having to drop back to fifth.

Crawford was sixth from Hadjar as Hauger was sent to the gravel when he tried a move on the Frenchman. He dropped outside the points as Bearman was up to eighth. DAMS’ Arthur Leclerc was the gainer to be ninth from Stanek in the Top 10.

Vesti resisted pressure from Martins to win the sprint F2 race at Monza with Verschoor holding off Pourchaire for third. Maini was fifth as Hadjar and Crawford ended up sixth and seventh but both dropped outside the points due to respective penalties.

It helped Bearman to be sixth from Leclerc and Stanek where both ended up in points due to penalties to the Hitech GP drivers, as Virtuosi’s Jack Doohan and Trident’s Clement Novalak rounded out the Top 10.

 

 

F3:

Promoted to the reverse grid front row, Boya took full advantage with a lightning launch off the line to get the better of Colapinto for the lead. Behind them, disaster struck for Paul Aron and Josep María Martí. The slightest of contact between Caio Collet and Aron on the run to Turn 1 left the #1 PREMA Racing driver with a puncture. The Estonian spun and collected both Jonny Edgar and Martí. Forced to pit for repairs, Collet was later awarded a 10-second time penalty for the incident.

In the battle for third, ART Grand Prix teammates Grégoire Saucy and Nikola Tsolov made contact, forcing the Bulgarian to defend from Taylor Barnard behind. The Jenzer Motorsport driver managed to make it through to fourth as the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the opening lap. Boya got racing back underway on Lap 5, as Zak O’Sullivan found his way past Tsolov for fifth, followed by Christian Mansell and Bortoleto two laps later.

Having dispatched Tsolov, Bortoleto made his own move on the Australian ahead. With the benefit of DRS, the Trident driver went down the inside into Ascari for sixth. Oliver Goethe was also on a charge from P22, clearing teammate Leonardo Fornaroli and Tsolov in one corner for eighth.

Colapinto took charge on Lap 10, passing Boya for the lead into the first corner. Dueling over third, O’Sullivan and Saucy made contact out of Turn 1, leaving the Swiss driver with a puncture and falling down the order. O’Sullivan was later awarded a 10-second time penalty for the contact. Battling for the lead, Boya utilised the DRS to breeze past Colapinto on Lap 12. However, the #10 driver was back past a lap later and began to break clear of the chasing pack behind with five laps remaining.

O’Sullivan soon found himself forced to go on the defensive as Barnard nipped past his fellow Briton into P4. The fast-charging Goethe then made an attempt on O’Sullivan into Turn 1, but a lock up sent the German driver down the escape road, dropping him behind Fornaroli and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning one lap later.

Out front, Colapinto brought home back-to-back Sprint Race victories at Monza. Bortoleto’s patience behind Boya paid off, as the Brazilian claimed second with a move into Turn 4 on the last lap. Barnard added more points to Jenzer’s tally in fourth. Browning stormed his way through the pack to take fifth with a series of late overtakes from P27 on the grid, demoting Fornaroli on the penultimate lap to sixth. Goethe finished in seventh ahead of Gabriele Minì, who made up 18 places. Mansell and Tsolov rounded out the top 10 points scorers, as O’Sullivan’s penalty dropped him from P5 to P12.

 

More to come

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