Alex Dunne takes pole position after setting the overall fastest lap time after both sessions of FIA Formula 2 qualifying around Monaco.
With the F2 qualifying splitting into two sessions, Group A, the even-numbered cars, was first on track to commence the battle for pole position. Campos’ Arvid Lindblad crossed the line first with a 1:25.060 but was quickly knocked off by MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor, going 0.712 tenths quicker.
After the first runs, ART’s Victor Martins time of 1:21.792 was unbeatable for the second run. With the battle for first heating up nicely, a yellow flag was thrown as Dino Beganovic suffered a huge lock-up into turn one but luckily kept his car running.
That being said, it cost a few drivers a chance to improve, including Lindblad; however, his time was lost after missing the chicane after the tunnel.
After 16 minutes of qualifying, Martins finished first out of Group A with a lap time of 1:21.145, which guaranteed him a front-row start for the Feature Race on Sunday.
Verschoor managed second position, placing him on the second row, and was closely followed by Lindblad, placing him on the third row.
After a short break, Group B were up to see if they could beat Group A’s fastest lap time from Victor Martins. With 12 minutes left on the clock, a yellow flag was turned but quickly turned to red after VAR’s driver Rafael Villagomez hit the barrier into the last corner.
However, it was clear that he and Dunne were battling into the last corner, leaving Villagomez coming off worse and ending his session prematurely. This incident is currently being investigated.
Thankfully, the drivers were well-behaved, and they could start setting their best lap times. Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli quickly set the pace with a 1:23.782. Prema’s Sebastian Montoya quickly knocked him off, taking his position.
The action was far from over, as right at the last second, Montoya spun just after the swimming pool section, but, luckily for him, only the yellow flag was shown.
Dunne set the overall fastest lap time, just three thousandths of a second over Martins, placing him in pole position for the Feature Race.
As Group B set the fastest lap time, they will line up on the inside of the grid (odd-numbered grid positions, E.G – first, third, etc) placing Group A, the outside of the grid (even-numbered grid positions, E.G – second, fourth, etc) for the Feature Race. Meaning Martins, fastest in Group A, will start ahead of Fornaroli, who was second in Group B.
Putting DAMS’ Kush Maini in provisional pole position for the sprint race, as he finished fifth in Group A.
Image: Photo by James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images
