It is the penultimate race weekend of the F2 season & the conclusion to the European triple-header.
We come to the home of Italian Motorsport with Felipe Drugovich having one hand on the championship trophy. Winning last time out in Zandvoort has made it almost inevitable. However, Theo Pourchaire still has a chance, mathematically, but will need a strong bounceback, and help, to push the title fight on to the final weekend.
Pourchaire is 70 points behind in the standings with 78 remaining. He will know that he needs a perfect weekend to take the fight to the final weekend or Drugovich will walk away from Monza as champion.
Driver News
After the madness under the safety car last week, Roy Nissany’s penalty points see him serving a one-race ban at Monza. DAMS Racing have confirmed that Luca Ghiotto will be standing in for him for Monza. An Italian driver at an Italian circuit will definitely make the fans happy!
Formula 2 + Monza… YES PLEASE 🥳
Long time no see @Formula2 but finally we meet again… and for my favourite race 😎
I'm super happy to announce I'll be back in F2 for @damsracing this weekend in the Temple Of Speed, it feels so good!
Thank you so much guys 🙏 Let's gooo pic.twitter.com/wWMSIuteCD
— Luca Ghiotto (@luca_ghiotto) September 7, 2022
Luca raced in F2 (and the forerunner GP2) between 2016 and 2020. Luca has five Sprint Race and one Feature Race victory to his name from those seasons. His highest finishing position in the standings was third in the 2019 championship.
The Circuit – Autodrome Nazionale di Monza
Or just Monza to everyone else. This track is one of the most famous on the calendar and is the quickest that we go to. It is not the longest track at 5.793km and with its high speeds, the race is generally over fairly quickly. Overtaking is possible here due to the DRS and the long straights, so expect to see battles throughout the lap.
If the weather forecast is accurate then qualifying could be in the wet, potentially mixing up the grid. Though the weather for both races is expected to be dry allowing for some proper racing. Expect the run into turn 1 off the start to be the spiciest, so make sure you don’t miss that!
Feature Race Predictions
I know I would like to see Pourchaire take it and Drugovich unable to score points just to keep the title battle going. However, I can’t see that happening. I don’t think Drugovich will win the races this weekend but I expect him to do enough to wrap up the championship. He only needs to score points rather than push for a win.
I am instead going for an upturn in form for Sargeant this weekend who has had the pace but incredibly bad luck over the last few races.
Podium
- Logan Sargeant
- Ayumu Iwasa
- Jack Doohan
F2 Championship Standings
While the focus has, quite rightly, been on the drivers’ championship and the battle there. The teams’ championship has gone a little under the radar and is set to be a grandstand finish to the end of the season. 20 points between the top 3 teams and with the drivers’ title all but decided we could start to see some team tactics at the expense of their drivers soon.
Drivers
- Felipe Drugovich – 233 points
- Theo Pourchaire – 164 points
- Logan Sargeant – 130 points
- Jack Doohan – 121 points
Teams
- MP Motorsport – 269 points
- ART Grand Prix – 255 points
- Carlin – 249 points
- Hitech Grand Prix – 190 points
How to Watch Formula 2 – EDT & GMT
- Practice 09/09 – 4:25 AM on ESPN3 (9:25 AM Sky Sports F1)
- Qualifying 09/09 – 12:30 PM on ESPN3 (5:25 PM Sky Sports F1)
- Sprint Race 09/10 – 12:00 PM on ESPN3 (4:55 PM Sky Sports F1)
- Feature Race 09/11 – 4:05 AM on ESPN3 (9:00 AM Sky Sports F1)
Read Next – F3: Monza Preview, Predictions, and How to Watch
