FORMULA 2
 ART’s Williams academy talent Zak O’Sullivan won the Monaco Formula 2 feature race after a dramatic twist in the latter stages on Grand Prix Sunday. It was an action packed race with five retirements but remarkably only one virtual safety car. O’Sullivan gambled on a long stint and came into the pits just before a virtual safety car, which slowed the field right down, while he served his top and came back out in the lead. O’Sullivan finished ahead of Isack Hadjar who was second and would have been on course to win. New championship leader and rookie Paul Aron was third for Hitech. How the Monaco F2 Feature race unfoldedIt already had been a crazy Formula 2 weekend by the series’ own standards around the streets of Monte Carlo. It would also be a four day weekend and with qualifying being a group session. Richard Verschoor would take his maiden Formula 2 pole on Friday for Trident and would start Sunday’s feature race from pole position with ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins in second on the grid. It would be Taylor Barnard who would start on reverse grid pole for AIX Racing for the Saturday sprint race in Monaco. He would go onto lead every single lap and win the sprint, to take his maiden points, podium and victory in the category all at once. He finished ahead of fellow McLaren young driver Gabriel Bortoleto and Dennis Hauger who was third for MP Motorsport. Saturday’s sprint race would see two safety cars, two virtual safety cars and a red flag. Sunday’s feature race would be highly anticipated and one where strategy would play a huge part due to the limited overtaking opportunities around the Monaco Grand Prix circuit. With Verschoor and Martins on the front row, the lights went out and both of them had mixed starts. A good reaction time from Richard Verschoor saw the Dutch Trident driver lead into Saint-Devote and up the hill towards Casino Square. However, it was a nightmare for Martins. Martins got a horrendous start and slipped all the way to 15th off the start. A nightmare for the Alpine Academy driver who needed this high grid position to get a good result – to aid his season turnaround after what had been a tough start to the season thus far. Oliver Bearman was a big gainer from the opening lap. The young British talent lined up 12th and by the end of the first lap was sat in a very impressive seventh. However, there was no such luck for Jak Crawford. An issue on the opening lap forced him to retire at Portier. On lap 4 the order had gained some regularity and the order was Verschoor in the lead from Isack Hadjar and Paul Aron – both whom could lead the championship by the end of the 42 laps. Franco Colapinto and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were fourth and fifth respectively. Hadjar took the fastest lap and was within DRS range of race leader Verschoor and was really starting to put pressure on the experienced Dutchman. Another on-track battle that was beginning to take shape between Colapinto and Antonelli. Lap nine would see the second retirement of the race. Amaury Cordeel would come into the pits with suspected suspension damage and was forced to retire. Lap 11 and Josep Maria Marti came in to ditch the supersoft tyres and on lap 15 Zane Maloney would ditch them too, as would Bearman on lap 17. Disaster out front for Richard Verschoor the championship leader had issues and slowed. He was able to get back up to speed again but was not running as smooth as he would have wanted. Rafael Villagomez had a moment at Rascasse where he broke his front wing when hitting the wall. He made it into the pits but retired. Lap 22 and Aron was in with an undercut attempt and Hadjar would come in a lap later to cover Aron off, which the Campos Red Bull junior did. Richard Verschoor would box after that and he managed to come out in the lead but the gap was shorter. Antonelli would pit at the same time as Aron and when he rejoined he was right in front of Prema and Antonelli would put a robust defence against his teammate for track position. Bearman though would find a way ahead. Verschoor’s car was really struggling for performance and was becoming under fire from Hadjar who finally got ahead into turn 1 . Aron, Colapinto and Antonelli would soon find a way ahead of his Trident. This was a nightmare for him. He would receive a penalty, a five-second one, for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. He would pull into the pits to serve it and one lap later he would retire from the race. Heartbreak for the Dutchman. Juan Manuel Correa served his mandatory pit stop and came in the mix of the Colapinto and Antonelli battle. A fantastic pit stop for the DAMS driver. Dennis Hauger would be another one to benefit with the overcut. Lap 38 and a superb move by Antonelli caught Colapinto napping and got ahead into Anthony Noghes – the final corner. Out front Zak O’Sullivan had yet to pit. Meanwhile, Joshua Durksen had come out of the pits and not sighted by Zane Maloney on his left he crashed into the side of the Rodin car. Dursken’s AIX would come off worse and he would retire bringing out yellow flags. O’Sullivan came into the pits as he yellow flags came out but crucially before the virtual safety car came out, which made it a perfectly legal pit stop and so much so he came out in the lead of the race. He would keep a frustrated and confused Hadjar at bay to win for the first time in Formula 2. O'Sullivan finished ahead of Hadjar and Aron who were second and third. Aron the new championship leader. Oliver Bearman was fourth for his best finish of the season ahead of Correa, who also had his best finish of fifth. Dennis Hauger was sixth and Antonelli came home in seventh. Gabriel Bortoleto, Victor Martins and Zane Maloney completed the top 10. Formula 2 almost has a month break until when it returns to Barcelona for round six of the season. The action is 21-23 June. 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship: Round 5 - Monaco feature race result
 Brandon Whiteside
Writer - f1journal.co.uk
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