Your guide to...Monte Carlo

Round 2 of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship gets underway this weekend at the Circuit de Monaco, in Monte Carlo.

WHEN TO WATCH All times local (GMT +1)

Thursday Free Practice: 09:45 – 10:30 Qualifying Group A: 13:20 – 13:36 Qualifying Group B: 13:44 – 14:00 Press Conference: 14:30

Friday Sprint Race 1: 11:45 (30 laps) Press conference: 13:05 – 13:35

Saturday Sprint Race 2: 08:20 (30 laps) Press conference: 09:40 – 10:10 Feature Race: 17:15 (42 laps) Press Conference: 18:50 – 19:20

THE STORY SO FAR

The FIA Formula 2 Championship makes a long-awaited return to screens this weekend, as the grid hit the track for Round 2 of the 2021 campaign at Monte Carlo, Monaco after a suspenseful seven-week interlude.

An exhilarating opening round at the Bahrain International Circuit saw the names of two rookies etched into the history books, with Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri both securing Sprint Race wins on their debut weekends. Meanwhile, Guanyu Zhou set his sights firmly on a title battle, securing his third career pole, finishing in the points in all three races and claiming the win in Sunday’s Feature Race.

Hitech Grand Prix’s Lawson demonstrated skilful defending to claim victory in the opening race of the season brushing off a stiff challenge from his Red Bull academy-mate Jehan Daruvala to seal victory in Sprint Race 1. While PREMA Racing’s Piastri seized the victory from UNI-Virtuosi’s Zhou with a last lap overtake in Sprint Race 2. The Australian came home ahead of academy-mates Lundgaard and Zhou to round-out an all-Alpine Academy podium.

Saturday may have been the day of the rookie, but Sunday’s Feature Race was a masterclass from second year Zhou. After missing out on the win in Sprint Race 2, the Chinese driver delivered a stand-out drive to seal his second victory in Formula 2 in emphatic style.

THE CHALLENGERS

After three races Zhou (41 points) leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship with a 11-point gap to second-placed Lawson (30), who picked up an impressive haul of points in his debut weekend. The rookie is currently two points ahead of Carlin’s Daruvala (28), who was the only driver other than Zhou, to score points in all three races.

Reigning Formula 3 Champion Piastri (21) and Williams Development Driver Dan Ticktum (19) round out the top five.

Carlin leads the pack in the Team’s Championship with 47 points, after strong weekends for both Daruvala and Ticktum. Second-placed UNI-Virtuosi (43) are just four points back, and lead PREMA Racing (37) by five points. Hitech Grand Prix (30) and ART Grand Prix (24) occupy fourth and fifth, respectively.

With the first weekend of the new campaign under their belts, this weekend provides an unmatched opportunity for teams and drivers to set the scene for the season ahead. A switch to the Soft and SuperSoft compounds will no doubt add an exciting dynamic to an already thrilling race on the streets of Monte Carlo.

FROM THE GRID – ROY NISSANY (DAMS)

“I’ve been preparing a lot with simulator sessions even though I’ve already raced in Monaco twice, once in 2018 and once in 2015. Even though I have some experience there, it is important to refresh and get it perfect in the sim. The track is mostly demanding mentally so I’m also using very interesting methods to work on the brain with my trainers, to make it sharp and connect all the right neurons.

“I know many drivers love Monaco, but purely as a track, if we were to copy and paste it to a less beautiful location it probably wouldn’t be their favourite. But the history, the location and the atmosphere of Monaco is unmatched. It’s like another world, you can feel the atmosphere from the plane – it’s the Monaco Grand Prix! Being able to say I am racing here is an honour.

“Since we’re on a public road, we’re going to have a very soft tyre compound. Looking at past races in Monaco, I don’t think tyre management will be the biggest issue as the degradation won’t be very high in the races. It will mostly be about performance in Qualifying, and after quite a poor one in Bahrain we’re working very hard and we’re very motivated.

“When it comes to on-track action, the hair pin is always tricky. It’s probably the tightest corner on the calendar so you need to be in first gear, full lock on the steering. You have to be so accurate even when you’re the only car on track, so imagine what it’s like in a race situation or if you are trying to overtake. If you’re looking for a view with action, that’s a good place to be watching.

“I think the new race format is great for our fans: they are getting a lot of action and I hope they appreciate it because for us drivers it’s not easy! Even having two races a weekend is demanding, because we prepare so much for each race. Having one per day is very challenging, having two in one day on Saturday especially with a short turnover in between is a big effort.”

TYRE TALK – MARIO ISOLA (PIRELLI’S HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING)

“We will bring our softest compounds – the P Zero Red soft and P Zero Purple supersofts – for the Formula 2 round in Monaco, where tyre wear and degradation is very low. Because of the impact of the pandemic on last year’s calendar, this will be the very first time that the teams and drivers have used the 18-inch tyres on a true street circuit.

Getting the most out of the rubber in Monaco’s unique split qualifying session is always important because of how difficult it is to overtake – although the new three-race format does present some additional opportunities, and it will be interesting to see how the teams approach this in terms of strategy. The value of track position means we should only expect pit-stops during the feature race, and the timing of these around the significant potential for safety cars can be pivotal.”

STAT PACK

• The F2 Race lap record at the Circuit de Monaco is 1:19.309, set by Charles Leclerc for PREMA Racing in 2017.
• Monte Carlo is the shortest track on the 2021 calendar, at just 3.337 KM long.
• Guanyu Zhou’s two podium finishes in Bahrain take him to a total of 13 career podiums, two more than Jack Aitken (11), who returns to Formula 2 this weekend with HWA RACELAB.
• Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri became only the 3rd and 4th drivers to win on their debut weekend in Formula 2, after Charles Leclerc in 2017 and Felipe Drugovich in 2020.
• Lawson and Piastri became the 28th and 29th drivers respectively to win a race in the modern era of Formula 2.
• Six of the eight 2020 Formula 3 graduates scored points in the opening weekend of the season, and two rookies Lawson and Piastri currently sit in the top five of the Driver’s Championship standings.
• Ten of 11 teams scored points at the Bahrain International Circuit, and six different teams featured on the podium across the weekend.