Monaco Grand Prix: F2 Qualifying results

A dramatic battle for pole position saw Formula 2 drivers put it all on the line in Monaco Qualifying.

In a qualifying session that defines the drivers’ weekends more than any other throughout the year, Trident’s Richard Verschoor took pole position by setting the fastest time in Group A. He’ll start next to Victor Martins, who topped the timing sheets in Group B.

Group A qualifying

11 even-numbered drivers made up Group A, with sixteen minutes on the clock for them to set their fast laps.

The drivers were slow to get up to speed, starting with laps in the 1:3os before warming up the tyres and making their way up to more representative times.

Gabriel Bortoleto was the first driver to set a lap time in the 1:23s range, taking the top spot briefly before being displaced by Richard Verschoor.

ART Grand Prix’s Zak O’Sullivan joined those two drivers as a common contender in the top three slots as lap times got quicker and the time ticked quickly down.

Halfway through the session, the top five drivers were all within a second of O’Sullivan’s provisional pole time of 1:23.118, PREMA Racing’s Kimi Antonelli the last of those drivers in fifth place.

The main excitement of the session was when rookie Ritomo Miyata had an issue and slowed down in the tunnel, which resulted in Isack Hadjar just barely avoiding what would have been a harrowing crash.

But everything stayed clean, and drivers struggled to improve on their final laps. Verschoor, who had taken the top spot with a 1:21.283, failed to improve but managed to hang on to keep pole position for Group A, followed closer by Hadjar and late-improver Franco Colapinto.

Antonelli and Bortoleto completed the top five, followed by Enzo Fittipaldi, Juan Manuel Correa, O’Sullivan, Amaury Cordeel, Joshua Durksen, and Miyata.

Group B

Next it was the odd-numbered drivers turn to qualify, all of them hoping that someone would set a time faster than Verschoor’s 1:21.283.

It took six minutes for drivers to finishing warming up and finally get ready to set a representative lap time. Unfortunately, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagomez hit the barriers and stopped on track, bringing out the red flag before anyone could set an actual fast lap.

After the debris had been cleared and the drivers were back on track, they had to start the tyre warm-up process all over again. It was ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins who set a 1:22.690 to take the top spot, followed by Roman Stanek and Taylor Barnard.

Predictably though, there was plenty of improvement to be found, as Zane Maloney, Oliver Bearman, Kush Maini, Jak Crawford, and Paul Aron all cracked the top five as they set faster and faster laps. Maloney took provisional pole in the group as the first to break into the 1:21s range before getting displaced by Martins again.

Then it was Stanek, Verschoor’s Trident teammate, who set a 1:21.466, just two tenths off of the fastest time in Group A.

With just two minutes left, some drivers continued to improve (Hauger taking second place), while others started to slow (Maini failing to improve and staying in sixth place).

There was a brief yellow flag in Sector 2 as Stanek, still holding P1, had a brush with the wall and slowed before making his way back to the pits.

Martins improved yet again, now stealing the top spot from Stanek with a 1:21.310. Aron was the only other driver to come close, making it into second ahead of Stanek. Hauger finished fourth in the group, with Barnard, Bearman, Maloney, Maini, Crawford, Pepe Marti, and Villagomez finishing the group.

Martins’ time was less than a tenth off of Verschoor’s but still not good enough to take pole for the Feature Race.

With Group A coming out on top, Verschoor will start Sunday’s race from P1, followed by Martins, Hadjar, Aron, and Colapinto.

Barnard, who came fifth in the slower group, will take pole position for Saturday’s Sprint Race.

Full results can be found here.

Feature Image Credit: Joe Portlock – Getty Images