Due to the narrow nature of the Monaco street circuit, FIA Formula 2 have changed their usual structure for Qualifying to avoid dangerous traffic issues.
Since the lap is short and the track is narrow, to avoid any problems in Qualifying, the session will be split into two. Those who race with odd numbers will take part in the first session at 15:10, local time (CEST).
Those who race with even numbers will qualify in the second half of the session at 15:34 (CEST). Both sessions will be 16 minutes long.
To avoid any unfair advantages surrounding track temperature or grip levels, the times of each session will not be compared to make the grid. Instead, each group will start on a different side of the grid.
As an example, whoever is fastest between both groups will start on pole, whoever is fastest in the other group will start second on the grid. The rest of the grid will follow the same pattern.
This is a format that was talked about often for different series and tracks when it was first introduced and is usually mentioned again around Monza Qualifying.
It helps to reduce the risk of crashes by minimising the number of cars on track since closing speeds are a common issue at some tracks during Qualifying. It also gives all of the drivers more of a chance to put a lap in.
The usual Friday gap on a Monaco Grand Prix weekend won’t exist for our F2 grid this year, making it a four day weekend with Practice on Thursday.
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