The F2 Monaco round saw drivers alternate between drama and joy in one of the most chaotic weekends of the 2025 season.
Triumphs and Tension in the F2 Monaco Round
As with every year, the F2 weekend in Monaco came with several surprises. From the fight for pole position to the two races, the fifth round of the calendar did not disappoint. Along with the twists, there were additional changes to the drivers’ standings.
While some drivers moved into higher positions, others went down due to a series of retirements on the narrow streets of Monte Carlo. Last Word On Sports covers what happened on the streets of Monaco.
First Pole Position for Alex Dunne
To avoid chaos in qualifying, the drivers were divided into two groups. In Group A were the drivers with even car numbers, while Group B contained the odd-numbered drivers. This separation occurs every year due to the circuit’s tight layout.
Victor Martins led the session for Group A. The Frenchman, who had already found the right rhythm on the streets of the Principality, recorded a time of 1:21.145. Despite the complaints about the traffic, the Williams Academy driver’s time was enough for him to take provisional pole.
A few minutes later, Group B went on track. However, the session was quickly stopped. Rafael Villagomez had hit the barriers in the last corner after contact with Alex Dunne. In the few minutes available, the Irishman got closer to the time of the Frenchman.
It was only on the last lap that he managed to take pole position in 1:21.142, just three thousandths faster than the ART Grand Prix driver, who lost out on pole.
This outcome had invigorated both drivers as they prepared for the race on Sunday. Dunne aimed to win and extend his lead in the championship, while Martins sought redemption after narrowly losing the top position.
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F2 Chaos in Monaco
After the grid was reversed, Kush Maini started from pole in the Sprint Race. Luke Browning started second, while Gabriele Minì and Jak Crawford were third and fourth, respectively.
Browning had a poor start at lights out, causing him to fall behind the Italian and Arvid Lindblad. The Red Bull driver was then penalised, allowing Browning to climb onto the podium.
During a Press Conference, LWOS asked the Hitech driver about his thoughts during the laps behind Lindblad, as in Monaco, everything ultimately comes down to strategy.
“Painful, I think is the right word. It was annoying because you’re trying to get the fastest lap, but he was trying to create a gap to the guys in front to push into creating the bigger gap he could. So I just had to follow him around, unfortunately. And I wouldn’t get a fastest lap opportunity because as soon as I backed off to get some clean air, he would back off and then he’d block my fastest lap attempt. As was yesterday, there’s not a whole lot I could do today with some outside factors, but we did our best to manage it.” – Luke Browning to LWOS
During the Sprint race, there were four accidents. The first was involving Cian Shields, followed by Joshua Durksen. The latter made contact with Oliver Goethe, who was able to complete the race. Then, Pepe Martí and John Bennett had incidents, with their cars sustaining too much damage from various contacts to continue.
The Feature Race was filled with plenty of drama. After lights out, Martins passed Dunne before reaching the first corner. However, at the Sainte-Devote, the McLaren did not want to give up his position. Their cars collided and hit the barriers. Behind them, the rest of the grid was blocked, and only a few managed to free themselves without damage.
Richard Verschoor, Gabriele Minì, Ritomo Miyata, Pepe Mart, and Max Esterson remained involved in addition to the two drivers in front. Beyond this, during the race on Sunday, in the last remaining laps, Joshua Durksen and Dino Beganovic also withdrew.
DAMS Lucas Oil Gets It All
The F2 weekend in Monaco was one to remember for the Dams Lucas Oil team. After a bumpy start to the season, the French team achieved a double victory in this round.
In the Sprint Race, Maini kept his nerves until the end of the race. He made no mistake and prevented Minì from claiming victory. This is the Indian driver’s first success in 2025. He also managed to earn points on Sunday.
In the Feature Race, it was Jak Crawford’s turn to take the win. The American achieved his victory also thanks to the perfect timing of the safety car while returning to the pits. This sent him to the top and, since the race was then permanently suspended, allowed him to celebrate the victory.
Full points were not awarded in the race on Sunday, as the grid ran less than 50% of the race. However, the results still provided a significant boost to the French team regarding the rankings and morale.
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New Drivers’ Championship Leader
Due to the DNF in the Feature Race, Dunne lost the lead in the standings, slipping second behind Browning. The Briton has collected three out of four podiums in the last two rounds.
Leonardo Fornaroli, thanks to the second place on Sunday, re-entered the Top 3 in the rankings.
Formula 2 will be back in Barcelona from May 30th to June 1st.
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ
Recording Date: 25.05.2025
