WHAT WE LEARNED: The key talking points from our weekend in Monte Carlo

It was a dramatic fifth round of the 2024 Formula 2 season in Monte Carlo where we had two action-packed races, a couple of first-time winners and a new Drivers’ Championship leader.

Those two winners and their teams will have left Monaco incredibly happy with how things went but there will no doubt be a few not too pleased with the end result.

So, as we continue to look back on the weekend, here are some key takeaways from our few days in Monte Carlo.

A WEEKEND OF FIRSTS

Getting your first Formula 2 win is always an amazing feeling but achieving that at the Principality is on another level and for Taylor Barnard and Zak O’Sullivan it was a special weekend.

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The two British drivers came into the weekend having not achieved a podium finish in F2 but left as the latest victors in the category, although both of their wins came in different ways.

Barnard started the Sprint Race from reverse grid pole and managed the Safety Cars and Red Flags well from the lead, holding off Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto to take his and AIX Racing’s first win.

O’Sullivan on the other hand started from P15 in both races, with he and ART Grand Prix making the decision to go long in the first stint on the Feature Race.

He then pitted from the lead before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed on Lap 40 of 42, after Joshua Duerksen stopped on track with damage. That allowed him to come back out in front ahead of Isack Hadjar and he held off the Campos Racing driver for one lap to take victory.

It closed a special weekend in Formula 2 not just for those two drivers but for the teams that surround them.

ART STARTING TO SHOW SIGNS OF FORM

O’Sullivan’s victory is not the only reason ART would have left Monaco very happy as for the first time this season, the reigning Teams’ Champions are beginning to show signs of improved form.

It started in a wet Practice session in which Victor Martins was fastest, while O’Sullivan was fifth. They continued that into Qualifying where the Frenchman qualified on the front row, while an issue hampered the Williams Academy Driver late on after he set the pace early on in Group A.

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A couple of bad starts affected Martins but he and O’Sullivan were able to come through the field in the Feature Race, showing great tyre management and good pace to go long on the soft tyres.

Unfortunately for Martins, he pitted one lap earlier than O’Sullivan so came out in P10 and ending the race in P9, while the Briton pitted at the perfect time.

However, the pace would have encouraged all parties, and they will be hoping to carry that forward to Barcelona and beyond. However, their pace will have encouraged all parties, and they will be hoping to carry that forward to Barcelona and beyond.

ARON CONSISTENCY GIVES HIM CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

For the first time this season, someone other than Zane Maloney leads the Drivers’ Championship and thanks to his fifth podium of the year in the Monte Carlo Feature Race, Paul Aron now sets the pace.

The Hitech Pulse-Eight rookie has been extremely consistent this year and has finished on the podium once in each of the opening five rounds to start the season.

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Along with that, he has only failed to finish in the points on one occasion, and that came in the Melbourne Sprint Race where he was largely a passenger in an incident not of his own making.

With his third place in the Melbourne Feature Race, Aron now moves to 80 points and leads Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar by just two points while Maloney, now in third, is 11 behind.

It has been a brilliant start to the season for Aron and it may just be five rounds out of 14, but the Estonian will be keen to keep the momentum going for as long as possible with an eye even on getting that first win.

TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT IS ON

The Drivers’ Championship may be close at the top, but the Teams’ Standings is on another level with just 20 points separating Campos Racing in first place and Invicta Racing in fifth.

Campos have had an outstanding start to the year and currently have 104 points, leading second-placed Hitech by nine points, and MP Motorsport, in third, by 10.

Rodin Motorsport, who had set the early pace in the Championship, are now in fourth are only 19 points off the lead, showing how quickly things can change.

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It sets up an intriguing next few rounds as the top five look to steal a march on their rivals. But they cannot discount those behind with every team bar PREMA Racing having stood on the podium this year.

Even still, the Italian team have shown great pace at times and have scored double digit points at each race weekend since Sakhir.

On 66 points in sixth, they will be hopeful of getting on the rostrum soon and making a charge towards the top.

It is all to play for starting in Barcelona next month.