A close Championship fight in the offing: Bruno Michel’s Monza Debrief

Another weekend of Formula 2 action is in the books, and the title fight is taking shape as Leonardo Fornaroli looks to fend off his closest rival Luke Browning after the Briton’s maiden victory.

Looking back on the action, F2 CEO Bruno Michel gives his thoughts on what unfolded around the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, and what we might expect from the protagonists from now until the end of the year.

TITLE CONTENDERS STEP UP

“Monza was a really strong weekend with some great winners who are now in the top two positions in the Championship.

“Leonardo Fornatoli had quite a difficult Qualifying session, but he recovered so well in the Sprint and won the race. He’s the first Italian driver to win a race at this level in Monza for a very long time. That’s great for the Italian fans.

“Meanwhile, Luke Browning had a very strong performance and secured his first victory in Formula 2 from pole position, something he had been chasing after since the start the season. He had been one of the most, if not the most consistent driver on the grid at the beginning of the year, so it was obvious his maiden and pole position were going to happen. We know he is a very strong driver, so it was only a matter of time before it happened. He’s now second in the championship, 21 points behind Fornaroli. We have three rounds left in 2025, so I know we’re going to have a great end of the Championship between them.

“Looking at the Drivers’ Standings, behind the leading pair, there are more experienced drivers in Richard Verschoor and Jak Crawford, who remain within catching distance, so between the four of them, the battle for the title will be very interesting, I believe.”

DUERKSEN CHARGING ONCE AGAIN

“Joshua Duerksen is another very strong driver. He made a great impression already last season, and in 2025 he showed that he knows how to fight at the front. This weekend, he displayed two mature drives to feature on the podium twice, which is not an easy thing to do.

“F2 is a very difficult Championship, sometimes everything goes well and other times, you have to overcome challenges. You can ask any driver on the grid, they’ve had weekends on and weekends off the mark. Monza was on for Joshua.

“Being on the podium twice in one weekend is a major achievement, and I think he and AIX Racing deserve it. It’s a fantastic result for them and we’re happy to see it.”

READ MORE: WHAT WE LEARNED: Strategic missteps and serious contenders

INVICTA RACING ON TOP

“Invicta have had quite a few successful and impressive couple of rounds taking the lead in both the Drivers and Teams Standings. Both of their drivers are quick, skilled and consistent, so we can fully expect Invicta to fight at the front in all remaining rounds but in Monza, several other teams have hit back. For instance, Hitech TGR have scored more points than the leading team, and they are not too far off now after Luke’s pole and victory, while Campos Racing stay in the title race, with both of their drivers standing on the podium in Italy.

“It’s probably going to be a three-team battle until the end of the season. Invicta has the edge at the moment but it’s going to be really interesting to see how this fight evolves.

“It’s not always the same teams on top each weekend, and it’s good to see different teams fighting for the top positions. But more globally, it seems these teams have adapted best to the new car with it being the second year of the current car, so it’s a credit to their hard work.

“We have three rounds to go with Baku coming up and then visiting the Middle East at the end of the season, and we can’t wait to see what happens.”