What to watch for in Monza

The FIA Formula 2 campaign returns for Round 8 at Monza in Italy, but what should you be watching out for this weekend?

SHWARTZMAN CONTINUES TO SET THE PACE

Robert Shwartzman became the first triple winner of the season last time out in Spa. The Russian driver enjoyed a touch of luck when Roy Nissany and Dan Ticktum collided shortly after the start of the race, but there was still an awful lot to do.

Shwartzman had put himself in a position to benefit with a sublime getaway off the line, and waited patiently for a possible mistake. When the leading pair collided, he made sure he capitalised on it. From there, he did everything he needed to close out the win, putting in a brilliant all-round performance.

After a difficult couple of rounds in Silverstone, the Russian has bounced back in style with two podiums from four races to retake the Championship lead. He heads fellow Ferrari junior Callum Ilott by just 10 points and will need another strong set of results in Monza if he is to retain the position come Sunday afternoon.

He has previous in Monza as well, having taken victory here in Race 1 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship last season.

ILOTT NEEDS A BIG WEEKEND

In a Championship as tightly fought, and as competitive as F2, low scoring weekends are always a possibility, no matter how good you are. Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Nyck de Vries all had pointless weekends, but all went on to win the title. Shwartzman suffered one himself in Silverstone not long back, so the fact Ilott managed to claw a point out of his worst weekend in 2020 so far, at least means he came away with something.

The key is to learn from these weekends, and make sure they are one-offs, anomalies, and not the norm. Ilott’s Spa weekend cost him the lead in the Championship, so he will need to bounce back strongly in Monza to ensure that Shwartzman isn’t able to build a gap between them at the top. The Russian currently leads by ten points, but things can change very quickly.

Expect to see the Briton with the bit between his teeth this weekend, as he looks to take first place back from the PREMA racer.

TSUNODA HAS FIRMLY FOUND HIS FEET

Yuki Tsunoda is enjoying a phenomenal breakthrough campaign in F2. The Carlin racer has arguably outperformed all expectations so far, given that it is only his second season of racing in Europe. He showed his pace in the opening three rounds, often performing very strongly in Free Practice and Qualifying, but struggled to translate that into race pace – barring his P2 finish in the Round 2 Feature Race.

Since Silverstone though, few drivers have been able to match his consistency. Tsunoda has scored points in all bar two of the races, as well as taking two victories - one in the Round 5 Sprint Race and another in the Feature Race last weekend.

During this time, the Red Bull junior has firmly established himself as a title contender, hauling himself up to third in the table, just 21 points off Championship leader Shwartzman. With five rounds to go, there is every reason to believe that he could challenge for the crown.

THE TEAMS’ TITLE FIGHT

Both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship battles have been incredibly tight this season - it’s almost been difficult to keep up. Just as in the Drivers’ title fight, it’s been either PREMA or UNI-Virtuosi on top.

Both drivers from each team are in the top six of the standings, and are regularly delivering strong points finishes in the race for the crown.

Shwartzman’s three wins, and two podium finishes, have been backed up by six podiums from his teammate Mick Schumacher.

Meanwhile at UNI-Virtuosi, it’s not just Ilott scoring points. Guanyu Zhou has stepped on the podium four times to aid their title challenge.

As it stands, PREMA lead the Teams’ Championship, but only by 24 points, and it could so easily all change again in Round 8.