F2: Daruvala wins Monza Feature Race as ART Grand Prix take the lead in teams’ standings
Jehan Daruvala overcame a race of survival to take his first victory of the season at his PREMA Racing team’s home weekend. The Temple of Speed played host to a frantic race, with only 14 drivers making it to the chequered flag.
The Red Bull junior kept things clean in his battles to cruise from sixth to the win ahead of Frederik Vesti. Ayumu Iwasa originally finished third, however, a post-race disqualification for a technical infringement promoted Enzo Fittipaldi to the podium, having started 15th.
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Several drivers faced an early end to their races. Pole-sitter Jack Doohan struggled to get off the line and the Alpine junior then got caught up in contact with Daruvala, sending the Virtuosi Racing car straight into the side of Logan Sargeant. The opening lap also saw Ralph Boschung clip Theo Pourchaire, sending the pair spinning, collecting Olli Caldwell and Luca Ghiotto to bring out the first Safety Car.
It wouldn’t be long before the second Safety Car appearance on Lap 8, Calan Williams found the barriers at Ascari. Jumping at the opportunity to pit backfired for Marcus Armstrong, as the Hitech Grand Prix driver received two 10-second stop-go penalties for incorrectly entering the pits and pit lane speeding, sending him tumbling out of the top two.
Dennis Hauger recovered from an early drive-through penalty to finish fourth, whilst David Beckmann led a double points finish for Van Amersfoort Racing in fifth ahead of Champion Felipe Drugovich, Amaury Cordeel and Clement Novalak.
Richard Verschoor’s gamble to pit late didn’t pay off as the Trident driver relinquished the lead with a couple of laps to go and had to settle for ninth. Meanwhile, Juri Vips rounded out the top 10 after serving a 10-second stop-go penalty for causing a collision with Lawson earlier in the race.
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Despite their DNFs, Pourchaire and Sargeant remain second and third, with third to seventh separated by only 13 points. In the teams’ championship, ART Grand Prix usurp MP Motorsport’s spot at the top by four points.
The Formula 2 action will resume with the final round in Abu Dhabi from November 18-20.
For more on Formula 2’s Feature Race at Monza, check out the full report on the official F2 website.
