WHAT WE LEARNED: Strategic missteps and serious contenders

Luke Browning earned a maiden win in FIA Formula 2 at Monza, while home hero Leonardo Fornaroli gave the Italian crowd something to cheer for as he won on Saturday in the Sprint.

The title fight has taken another turn, as contenders faced differing fortunes across the weekend and Round 11.

Here are a few of the big talking points leaving Monza after another important weekend in the 2025 Championship battle.

Invicta on form (again)

As the season has gone on, the Norfolk-based squad have gone from strength to strength and Leonardo Fornaroli continued their winning streak into a fourth-consecutive weekend.

The Championship leader added another Sprint Race win to his record, his third of the year and he looked to be in fine form once again as he continues to lead the way.

It is the first time in 2025 the same driver has remained at the head of the Standings through three race weekends, and as Invicta remain competitive (as evidenced by teammate Roman Stanek’s Qualifying and Sunday performance prior to getting involved in an incident with Arvid Lindblad), it doesn’t look like changing soon.

READ MORE: Fornaroli left with ‘mixed emotions’ after up and down home weekend in Monza

Their performances mirror the kind of run that took Gabriel Bortoleto to the crown back in 2024, as the Brazilian claimed a win in Monza and went on to secure top five results in every single race from that point on, a run that included three podiums.

Fornaroli has made consistency a major strength in his arsenal, and it would not come as a surprise if the British outfit is now at their strongest going forward.

It’s a tough ask for rivals, but one driver is certainly up for the fight…

Browning finding his footing

While others came unstuck in Monza, Browning was assured across the entire weekend. The Hitech TGR earned his first pole in the Championship on Friday with a great lap in Qualifying, giving himself the best possible chance for Sunday.

After a tricky Sprint Race, he was back in contention at the front and while he wound up P1 across the line, he had to fight for the win.

Perhaps crucially, Browning had used the lessons of Saturday in order to take another step forward in performance for Sunday, particularly in regard to how he’d manage the tyres and how best to exploit their grip across a full race stint.

READ MORE: Villagómez looking to take lessons from podium battle in Monza into remainder of 2025

Once he pulled off what turned out to be the race-winning overtake on Joshua Duerksen, he pulled well clear of the field and managed things expertly to win by a comfortable three-second margin.

It was an impressive showing and looks like evidence that the Briton has found his sweet spot with the team going into a crucial three-round run-in for the title.

His win moved him up to second in the Championship to become Fornaroli’s closest challenger, now just 21 points adrift.

Verschoor could be one to watch

A crash in Qualifying and P8 on Sunday doesn’t make for good reading if you’re Richard Verschoor or one of his many fans, but the Dutch driver was deceptively quick across the Monza weekend.

Looking past his results on paper, the MP Motorsport driver was a contender for pole position up until he spun and lost his lap for causing a Red Flag. That led to his starting from P14 for both races, but as he showcased in the Sprint, there was serious pace in hand.

A charge through the pack up to P4 on Saturday indicated that even more could be on offer in the longer Feature Race, but the entire field ended up on the same tyre strategy, with all 22 drivers starting on Supersofts.

It somewhat nullified what otherwise could have been an intriguing strategic fight, with MP making the alternative option work for them several times already earlier on in the year.

But he was looking strong until the Safety Car came out to his detriment, having already made his mandatory stop prior to the deployment. It allowed several of his rivals ahead to pit and rejoin ahead of him on the road, and with slightly older tyres, he could only end up P8.

Still, the raw speed he and MP displayed across the Monza weekend will put them in good stead heading to Baku, a venue where Verschoor has achieved victory around before, most recently winning the 2024 Feature Race.

Any repeat this time around and he will be right back in serious title contention.