Written by Jasmin Low
Gabriel Bortoleto won from 22nd place on the grid | Image Credit: Formula 2 on X
Formula 2 made its way to Italy for the second time in 2024, this time to tackle the home of the Tifosi- Monza. The high-speed circuit played host to some incredible racing action over the weekend, with Ferrari Academy driver Oliver Bearman taking the sprint race victory in front of the Italian crowd. The Drivers’ Championship also suffered a shake-up as three championship protagonists occupied the front two rows of the grid. However, two of those drivers did not score points. Zane Maloney was to start on pole position for the first time in his career, followed closely by championship leader Isack Hadjar and third-placed Paul Aron. Perhaps the largest upset to the order was the man starting dead last, Gabriel Bortoleto, after he found himself beached in the gravel during qualifying.
However, nothing could stop the boy from Brazil, as he won the race from twenty-second on the grid in an incredible showing of pace, nearly 10 seconds up the road from second-placed Zane Maloney. Richard Verschoor also put in an impressive performance, after stalling on the formation lap and starting the feature race from 19th.
The Race
Richard Verschoor stalled on the formation lap, but managed to move from his grid box, resuming his 19th-placed grid slot. As the five red lights went out, chaos immediately ensued. Hadjar suffered a poor start as Aron launched off the line. Heading into the first turn, Aron spun after making contact with Pepe Marti, whilst multiple drivers took to the runoff area. The incident would make Aron the first retirement of the race, his second non-scoring feature race in a row, and meant Marti was dealt a 10-second penalty. Maloney came out of the first sector unscathed, and the two Formula 1-bound Prema drivers Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli found themselves side-by-side, battling for second place whilst Dennis Hauger made his way to the pit lane.
Racing resumed going into lap 3, with Maloney leading the field from Bearman and Antonelli. Enzo Fittlipaldi plummeted down the order after being pushed wide, whilst Bortoleto made his way up to fifteenth from by lap 5. Meanwhile, Joshua Durksen made his way past the championship leader for fourth place and then past Antonelli for a place on the net podium.
Oliver Bearman was told to pit on lap 6, ceding second place to Durksen, whilst his teammate Antonelli was put under pressure from Hadjar. Leading car Zane Maloney was called into the pitlane as well as Antonelli, Hadjar, and Jak Crawford, who had dipped a wheel into the gravel moments before. Hauger found himself beached in the middle of the first corner after contact with Miyata, as Bearman overtook Durksen for net second place just before the safety car was called out.
Gabriel Bortoleto, who was left first on track, made his way into the pit lane, granting him the net race lead after starting dead last. Racing resumed on lap 11, as Hadjar found himself eighteenth on the road after his slow pit stop. Oliver Goethe led the field across the line on his debut weekend, as Maloney, Bearman, and Durksen entered into battle, whilst Antonelli moved back up behind his teammate. Niels Koolen took to the gravel and dropped down the order on his feature race debut.
Durksen took to the runoff on lap 13, whilst Bortoleto moved up to third place on the road. Miyata was slapped with a ten-second penalty for causing a collision, and then an additional five seconds on lap 22. Bearman came into contact with Juan Manuel Correa, allowing Victor Martins through. Just after, Bortoleto made his way up to first on the road, seeming to hit the jackpot during the first safety car, with a rapid Invicta underneath him. Correa became the third retirement of the race, making his exit at the end of lap 17.
Bearman and Antonelli entered into a battle reminiscent of their earlier fight for track position. Whilst Zane Maloney moved back up to third on the road, the two Premas went wheel-to-wheel for much of the second half of the race, to the amusement of the Italian crowd. Their battle meant that they struggled to overtake Victor Martins who was just ahead, although both Prema drivers were faster than Martins in his ART. Antonelli and a rapid Durksen made their way past Bearman as the Briton was shuffled onto the gravel. Antonelli finally made his way past Martins on lap 26, making his way up to fifth place, with one driver yet to pit.
Kush Maini finally made his way into the pit lane with just two laps left, not getting the safety car intervention he needed to stay at the front of the pack. Gabriel Bortoleto crossed the line in first place after a historic last to first victory, followed by Maloney and Verschoor.
The championship battle heats up even more with just three rounds left to decide who takes the winner’s crown. Bortoleto whittles the gap between himself and Isack Hadjar down to just 10.5 points, whilst Maloney moves ahead of Paul Aron to third in the standings, after neither Hadjar or Aron scored points in the feature race.
Formula 2 is back in two weeks time, heading to Baku from the 13th to the 15th of September.
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