Frederik Vesti took the lead in the Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship with an impressive win on the streets of Monte Carlo for PREMA Racing.
The Mercedes Junior Team driver led the way from lights out, overcoming a red flag stoppage and two Safety Car periods.
F2: Iwasa takes the lead in the Drivers’ Championship with victory in the Monaco Sprint
Comfortable in the early part of the ART Grand Prix pairing of Victor Martins and Theo Pourchaire behind, the Dane built up a five-second lead before mandatory pit stops for the leaders.
That moment came after Jack Doohan’s crash at the top of the hill on lap 22, which left his car damaged in turn 4. The fire was put out quickly, but repairs to the barrier required a red flag on lap. 24 after the Safety Car had retired. been initially deployed.
Returning to the race on lap 27 with a rolling restart, the ART Grand Prix teammates battled until Martins received a penalty for failing to brake under yellow flags during the first phase of the Safety Car. The penalty relegated the Frenchman from the second position to eighth.
After the race restart, Vesti led comfortably from Pourchaire, securing his second race win of the 2023 F2 season and, along with it, the Drivers’ Championship lead.
Pourchaire stayed within arm’s reach on the road and in qualifying. He maintained his impressive record in the Monaco feature race with another P2, the worst result he has had in the Principality in an F2 feature race.
F3: Marti cruises to victory in the Monaco Sprint Race from stoplight to flag
Zane Maloney scored Rodin Carlin’s second podium finish in the feature race in as many weekends, finishing third in his second F2 grandstand appearance of the season.
To read a detailed report on the Monte Carlo Feature Race, visit the official Formula 2 website here.