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Formula 2: Drugovich Dominates Feature Race Ahead Of Pourchaire

Formula 2: Drugovich Dominates Feature Race

Formula 2: Drugovich Dominates Feature Race

Felipe Drugovich secured his third Formula 2 win in four races with a measured masterclass in tire management at Monte Carlo. Despite being put under immense pressure from Theo Pourchaire, the MP Motorsport driver dominated.

Red Bull junior Juri Vips breathed some life back into his Championship fight in third after failing to score last time out in Barcelona. Having endured a nightmare Sprint Race yesterday, Drugovich was eager to make the most of his pole position.

As he got a dream getaway, Pourchaire was forced to defend from Jack Doohan, while yesterday’s Sprint Race winner Dennis Hauger shot up four places to fifth by Turn 2.

Unusually, tire management became a key factor in the race. An incident on Lap 20 allowed most of the grid to take advantage of pitting under the Safety Car.

This helped Vips get the jump on Alpine junior Doohan for the final podium spot and forced the leaders to run their supersoft tires for a remarkable 22 laps.

Although Sauber junior Pourchaire continued to stay on Drugovich’s tail, there was nothing he could do to get past the Brazilian – who roared home to his third F2 win in four races.

Enzo Fittipaldi drove another strong race to finish fifth, ahead of Marcus Armstrong and Hauger. Their gamble on the alternative strategy didn’t pay off due to the Safety Car’s appearance and traffic ahead.

Jehan Daruvala finished eighth, and Williams Racing Academy driver Logan Sargeant recovered strongly from 13th on the grid to take ninth. Lastly, Marino Sato profited from contact between Calan Williams and Ayumu Iwasa on the last lap to seal the final point in 10th.

With three victories in five rounds, Drugovich will have just under two weeks to wait to see if he can extend his drivers’ championship lead over Pourchaire beyond 32 points as F2 heads to the streets of Baku on June 10-12.

Ayumu Iwasa has received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Calan Williams on Lap 42 of today’s Feature Race.

The DAMS driver attempted to overtake the Williams car inside at the entry to Turn 6. The Stewards found that Iwasa was not close enough to have earned the right to the racing room from the Trident driver, and the pair collided at the apex.

However, they did note that Williams could have taken a more defensive entry into the corner to avoid appearing to have left the door open for a move.

With the penalty, the Japanese driver remains last in P17.

AS IT HAPPENED

It was all to play for on the front row, as pole-sitter Drugovich sought to recover his weekend while Pourchaire was keen to take his second Feature Race in Monaco. After his maiden Formula 2 victory, Hauger opted to gamble on running the supersoft tires for his opening stint from ninth – one of only two drivers in the top 10.

Disaster struck Carlin’s Liam Lawson before the lights went out. The New Zealander stalled on the grid from P5 during the formation lap and was forced to start from the pit lane instead. However, it was the opposite turn of events for Drugovich, getting a perfect getaway which forced Pourchaire to go on the defensive to keep Doohan behind.

Further back, PREMA teammates Hauger and Daruvala went wheel-to-wheel, with the Norwegian driver coming out on top before sending one down the outside of Fittipaldi at Turn 1 to climb up four places to fifth. Trident’s Calan Williams was another big mover on the opening lap jumping up four positions to tenth but soon found himself falling prey to Ayumu Iwasa outside the Grand Hotel Hairpin.

Drugovich set about clawing himself out of Pourchaire’s DRS range, clocking in the fastest laps to go 2.8s clear of the ART Grand Prix driver. Things were heating up in the fight for third, as a three-way battle began to unfold between Doohan, Vips, and Hauger. The Virtuosi Racing driver was hounded by the Hitech behind, pushing hard on his tires to close the gap.

Iwasa and Sargeant became the first runners to hop into the pits on Lap 8, dropping them from within points range to the back of the order. Several drivers followed. PREMA nailed the stop for Hauger to send him back out in P15, and with an empty track ahead, he quickly caught up to Lawson. In seventh, a slow stop for Daruvala cost him valuable time in the pits on Lap 12.

 

Written by John N

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