F2: Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman secured dominant victory in Monza F2 Sprint
Although he slightly lacked pace in qualifying, Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman showed tremendous form in the Monza F2 Sprint to take his second victory of the season, beating Alpine junior Victor Martins and AIX Racing's Joshua Duerksen.
It was a fast start for pole-sitter Enzo Fittipaldi but a slow getaway for fellow front row starter Amaury Cordeel dropped the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver to fourth before reaching Turn 1.
However, Fittipaldi went wide at Turn 1, giving Josep María Martí the chance to take the lead from the Van Amersfoort Racing driver at the Curva Grande, with Martins watching on in third.
But there was drama at the back of the field as Zak O’Sullivan made contact with debutant Oliver Goethe on the run to Turn 1, sending the MP Motorsport driver into a spin and then the barrier.
The ART driver was involved in another collision moments later as he and Andrea Kimi Antonelli collided heading into the first chicane. O’Sullivan was out of the race, while the PREMA Racing driver pitted with a puncture and front wing damage.
Martí led the pack away as we resumed racing on Lap 4 following a Safety Car, but Fittipaldi was able to use the tow to get ahead on the main straight. However, he locked up into Turn 1 once again, giving the lead back to the Campos Racing driver.
Fittipaldi struggled for the rest of the lap as Martins and Bearman got ahead of him, demoting him to P4.
On to Lap 5 and the battle for P2 commenced, as Bearman got past Martins into the Roggia chicane.
Bearman was showing great pace and was right on the back of Martí heading to Turn 1 at the start of Lap 7. The Spaniard then carried too much speed into the corner, giving the PREMA driver the lead as the Campos went through the escape road.
A few laps on, Martins overtook Martí for P2 heading to Turn 1.
Martí though was not giving up on the position and made a late lunge on the Frenchman heading into Turn 1. Both drivers ran wide but kept the position, as Fittipaldi and Duerksen closed in as Lap 9 got underway.
Bearman’s lead was over two seconds as we started Lap 10, but the fight for the podium was heating up. Martí was now being attacked by Fittipaldi, and the VAR driver took P3 into the first corner.
Campos were struggling as Isack Hadjar lost out to a charging Gabriel Bortoleto, who after starting from last, claimed P12 down the main straight. Ahead on the road, Martí was now down to P5, as Duerksen got past him into Turn 1.
The battle for the points was incredibly tight and Aron shut the door on Crawford into the first chicane, allowing Dennis Hauger to take P8 from the DAMS Lucas Oil driver at the Curva Grande.
On to Lap 17, Fittipaldi ran wide at the exit of the Roggia chicane, giving Martí and Maloney the chance to close right in on him.
He held them off until Turn 1 on the following lap before Martí dived down the inside to take P4. The Brazilian attempted to take the position back on the next lap, but the door was shut.
At the same time, Maloney and Aron made contact at the same corner, forcing the Hitech driver to pit with front wing damage.
Back at the front, the top three had separated themselves from the rest of the field as Bearman crossed the line to take his second consecutive victory at Monza following his Feature Race triumph in 2023.
Martins finished in second place ahead of Duerksen, with Martí in fourth place. Fittipaldi lost two places on the final lap to Maloney and Crawford to leave him in P7.
Bortoleto’s tremendous charge through the field saw him finish in a tie across the line with Hauger for P8, forcing both drivers to share one point.
Commenting on his victory, Bearman said: “We just won the Sprint Race in Monza, very happy to finally get another victory. It’s testament to the hard work everyone has been doing back at the factory. It’s a home race for PREMA, so I’m really happy. Thank you to everyone for the support.”
The Sprint race has hardly changed the sharp end of the championship standings. The top five in the Drivers’ Championship remains the same, with Isack Hadjar still on 165 points. Gabriel Bortoleto moves to 129.5 ahead the Feature Race, while Paul Aron stays third on 124. Zane Maloney’s four points scored move him to 115, while Jak Crawford stays fifth with 103 points.
In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing are now the clear leaders in the Standings on 208 points, while Invicta Racing are four and a half points behind heading into the Feature Race. MP Motorsport stay third on 179 points, ahead of Hitech Pulse-Eight in fourth on 153. Rodin Motorsport round out the top five on 144 points heading into Sunday’s event.
