Frederik Vesti secured pole position in Monaco in a tense qualifying battle with title rival Théo Pourchaire. The PREMA Racing and Mercedes Junior Team driver set a time of 1:21.053 in the final five minutes to secure pole position, narrowly beating Pourchaire by 0.052s. Victor Martins topped Group A and will start from P2 on the grid.
With qualifying divided into two groups of 11 in Formula 2, Group A featured even cars after a random vote to decide a race order. Group B, with the odd-numbered cars on the grid, came in second.
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Arthur Leclerc had hoped for a good result on home soil, but he did not bog down early in Group A. He pulled the barriers out of the final corner, leading to a crash and a red flag early in the first segment.
With the runner going, Alpine Academy and Invicta Virtuosi Racing man Jack Doohan took the lead, but was passed by Martins in the Frenchman’s next effort. No one in Group A got another lap after a second red flag in the closing moments, this time following a crash by Jehan Daruvala.
In Group B, Pourchaire came to the front immediately, taking the lead on his first flying lap and slashing time from that effort on his subsequent attempt.
Vesti hit back despite being P2 until his crucial third flying lap. He was good enough to edge out championship leader Pourchaire by just 0.052s for provisional pole with a time of 1:21.053.
With less than a minute to go and all drivers in their final laps, Trident’s Clément Novalak hit the barriers at Portier, bringing out the red flags and ending the session before any further improvement.
Following the aggregation of both groups, Vesti will start on pole ahead of Martins on the front row, with Pourchaire behind him in third. Hitech Pulse-Eight and Red Bull Junior Team driver Isack Hadjar will start Saturday’s Sprint Race from reverse grid pole after finishing 10th overall.
For a detailed recap of the full qualifying session, visit the official Formula 2 website and report here.