 2021 Monza Race 3
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The Autodromo Nazionale Monza was unchanged for 2021. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 12 September 2021 | |
| No. | 108 (15 of 2021) | |
| Event | Formula 1 Heineken Gran Premio d'Italia 2021
| |
| Location | Autodromo Nazionale Monza Monza, Lombardy, Italy | |
| Format | 170 km / 60 min (Feature Race) | |
| Lap length | 5.793 km (3.600 mi) | |
| Distance | 30 laps / 173.790 km (107.988 mi) | |
| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  Oscar Piastri
| |
| Team | Prema Racing
| |
| Time | 1:32.199 | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Liam Lawson
| |
| Team |  Hitech Grand Prix
| |
| Time | 1:35.000 on lap 14 | |
| Race Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
| Oscar Piastri
|
 Guanyu Zhou
|
Dan Ticktum
|
| Winner Team | Prema Racing
| |
| Time | 59:39.491 | |
| Race Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
| 2021 Monza Sprint Race 2
|
 2021 Sochi Sprint Race
| |
The 2021 Monza Feature Race, officially known as the 2021 Monza Formula 2 Race 3, was the fifteenth race of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship, staged on 12 September 2021 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Lombardy, Italy.[1] The race would see Oscar Piastri secure his second win of the campaign to enhance his Championship lead, having kept Guanyu Zhou at bay for the entire race.[2]
Qualifying to set the grid for the Feature Race had been staged on Friday, with Piastri having claimed pole position in the final moments of the session.[3] Jehan Daruvala would secure second in the flurry as both slipped ahead of Zhou in that exchange, with Liam Lawson and Felipe Drugovich in fourth and fifth just two tenths from pole.[3]
Unlike the two Sprint Races pole position would prove to be an advantage at the start of the race, with Piastri surging into the lead when the lights went out.[2] He hence left Daruvala scrambling to try and hold second, only for Zhou and Lawson to both dart past on the run to the Rettifilo to relegate the Indian pilot to fourth.[2]
The battling continued throughout the opening lap, until Guilherme Samaia touched the gravel exiting the second Lesmo, spun into the barrier and bounced back onto the circuit.[2] The few cars behind would avoid the spinning Charouz, although with Samaia stalling while broadside across the circuit there was no choice but to deploy the Safety Car.[2]
Piastri controlled the restart well to break clear almost instantly when the race resumed, with Zhou instead having to watch out for Lawson, who would ultimately move past the #3 UNI-Virtuosi later during the lap.[2] Jüri Vips, meanwhile, would complain of an issue on his car, a couple of laps before the #8 Hitech stopped at the side of the circuit, having first received a tap from Dan Ticktum.[2]
The SC intervention came just as the pit-window for those on the soft-medium tyre strategy opened, resulting in the majority of the field diving in to serve their stops.[2] Lawson was the big loser, falling back behind Zhou and Daruvala, while Ticktum moved to the head of the pack as the lead driver on the alternate strategy.[2]
The restart came without issue, although Marino Sato, one of those on the alternate strategy, would not resume as his car shut itself off during the SC period.[2] The following laps saw those on the main strategy begin to pick their way through the remaining quartet on the alternate run plan, with Drugovich losing out due to contact with Alessio Deledda.[2]
Into the closing stages and Ticktum still held the lead, but needed to serve his stop, knowing that he would drop into the back of the midfield as the field had kept pace with his aged medium tyres.[2] However, his hopes were given a huge boost as Lawson stopped on the start/finish straight after his extinguisher went off, triggering a third SC period and allowing Ticktum, Marcus Armstrong and Christian Lundgaard to all serve their stops.[2]
The final laps saw Ticktum begin his charge to the front, starting in ninth before a lunge on Ralph Boschung went awry at the second chicane and the #5 Carlin was sent scrambling off track.[2] Yet, the controversial British racer would gather the car back up and resume his assault, hunting his way towards the podium with a series of measured moves.[2]
Out front, meanwhile, Piastri would resist several assaults from Zhou in the closing stages, the Chinese racer having almost snatched the lead at the restart only for Piastri to retaliate.[2] However, their fight as well as Ticktum's charge to join them would be halted moments after the Brit secured third from Théo Pourchaire, as Bent Viscaal and David Beckmann tangled at the Rettifilo to trigger a late SC with two laps to go.[2]
That SC settled the race, with Piastri following the SC across the line to secure his second win of the campaign and first Feature Race triumph.[2] Zhou was second ahead of Ticktum, who cheekily asked for a couple more laps to added on, while Pourchaire and Daruvala followed across the line.[2] Robert Shwartzman was next up ahead of Richard Verschoor and Lirim Zendeli, with Roy Nissany and Armstrong rounding out the scorers.[2]
Background[]
There were no changes to the field for the third and final race of the weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which would be staged in the build-up to the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.[1] Likewise, the Monza circuit was unchanged for F2's last battle of the meeting, with drivers having to use both compounds of Pirelli tyres for the race.[1]
Piastri Pull[]
Four points for Oscar Piastri had been enough for the Australian youth to retain the lead in the Championship, and increase his advantage at four points at the head of the table. Guanyu Zhou had hence lost ground in second, but maintained his position, while Robert Shwartzman had inched closer in third, fifteen off the lead. Jüri Vips and Dan Ticktum then completed the top five, both yet to break into triple figures, while Jehan Daruvala had been the race's biggest mover as he moved towards the fight for fourth.
In the Teams' Championship Prema Racing had increased their ever secure lead at the head of the field, the Italian squad having moved onto 225 points for the season. The fight for second, meanwhile, was being fought between three British squads, with UNI-Virtuosi heading the charge with 175 points, three more than Hitech Grand Prix. Carlin then completed the trio, fifteen behind, while ART Grand Prix rounded out the top five on 120.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2021 Monza Feature Race is displayed below:
- * Placeholder liveries are show for the second drivers in each team.
Practice[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying used the well established format for the FIA Formula 2 Championship, with a thirty minute session on Friday afternoon ahead of the Feature Race on Saturday.[3] All 22 drivers would venture onto the circuit during the session, and were allowed to complete as many laps as they could to set their qualifying time.[3] There was also a free choice of tyres, although drivers could not exceed their allocation of either compound of Pirelli tyres.[3]
Report[]
In completely dry conditions the field would head out of the pitlane all on the soft, red walled, Pirelli tyres, with Théo Pourchaire heading the crocodile out of the pits.[3] The rest of the field would quickly fall into a long line behind the #10 ART, with the slipstream effect known to be its potent best at Monza.[3] As a result, Pourchaire found himself still heading the pack when the field began their first flying laps, with the #10 ART delivering an impressive time in the first sector.[3]
Yet, Pourchaire would be punished for his positioning over the rest of the lap, quickly getting shuffled back to tenth as the rest of the drivers flashed across the line in his wake.[3] Instead, it was Ralph Boschung towards the back of the train that set the initial pace, the Swiss racer recording a 1:32.609, as the field wound down and did another preparation lap.[3] A second flurry of hot laps then followed, with Oscar Piastri one of a handful of drivers to find time as he hit the top of the timesheet by two tenths.[3]
With that the field all headed, as one, into the pits for fresh tyres and would rejoin with time on the clock for two more runs with a prep-lap in-between.[3] Once again, improvements would seem hard to comeby as drivers began to lose as much time as they gained in the crocodile, with Guanyu Zhou the most notable improver as he moved into third having been towards the head of the pack.[3] The drivers then completed another slow tour to cool their tyres and brakes, before beginning one final assault just before the clock hit zero.[3]
Zhou was the first of the contenders for pole to set his final run, and duly hit the top of the timesheet with a 1:32.256 having improved a lot in the second sector.[3] However, Piastri was also improving, and a few cars and seconds later the #2 Prema was back on provisional pole with a 1:32.199, albeit with a few more drivers to come.[3] Yet, only Jehan Daruvala would come close, slotting between Piastri and Zhou, while Liam Lawson and Felipe Drugovich used their final runs to move within 0.210s of pole in fourth and fifth.[3]
Overall it would be very close on the timesheet, with the top twenty in the field separated by less than a second, while Guilherme Samaia was only two tenths off that mark in twenty-first.[3] Alessio Deledda, meanwhile, qualifying almost two seconds off of Piastri for his home race, the lone Italian pilot in the field.[3]
Results[]
The final qualifying result for the 2021 Monza Feature Race are outlined below:
| 2021 Monza Feature Race Qualifying Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Ave. Speed | Grid |
| 1st | 2 | Oscar Piastri
|
Prema Racing
|
1:32.199 | — | 226.193 km/h | 1 |
| 2nd | 6 |  Jehan Daruvala
|
Carlin
|
1:32.240 | +0.041s | 226.092 km/h | 2 |
| 3rd | 3 | Guanyu Zhou
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
1:32.256 | +0.057s | 226.053 km/h | 3 |
| 4th | 7 | Liam Lawson
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
1:32.383 | +0.184s | 225.742 km/h | 4 |
| 5th | 4 |  Felipe Drugovich
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
1:32.409 | +0.210s | 225.679 km/h | 5 |
| 6th | 21 |  Ralph Boschung
|
 Campos Racing
|
1:32.553 | +0.354s | 225.328 km/h | 6 |
| 7th | 10 |  Théo Pourchaire
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:32.586 | +0.387s | 225.247 km/h | 7 |
| 8th | 5 | Dan Ticktum
|
Carlin
|
1:32.641 | +0.442s | 225.114 km/h | 8 |
| 9th | 8 |  Jüri Vips
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
1:32.675 | +0.476s | 225.031 km/h | 9 |
| 10th | 20 |  David Beckmann
|
Campos Racing
|
1:32.699 | +0.500s | 224.973 km/h | 10 |
| 11th | 12 | Lirim Zendeli
|
 MP Motorsport
|
1:32.885 | +0.686s | 224.522 km/h | 11 |
| 12th | 1 | Robert Shwartzman
|
Prema Racing
|
1:32.942 | +0.743s | 224.385 km/h | 12 |
| 13th | 14 | Enzo Fittipaldi
|
 Charouz Racing System
|
1:32.965 | +0.766s | 224.329 km/h | 13 |
| 14th | 25 |  Marino Sato
|
Trident
|
1:33.023 | +0.824s | 224.189 km/h | 14 |
| 15th | 16 |  Roy Nissany
|
DAMS
|
1:33.031 | +0.832s | 224.170 km/h | 15 |
| 16th | 22 | Jake Hughes
|
HWA Racelab
|
1:33.043 | +0.844s | 224.141 km/h | 16 |
| 17th | 17 | Marcus Armstrong
|
DAMS
|
1:33.054 | +0.855s | 224.115 km/h | 17 |
| 18th | 24 | Bent Viscaal
|
Trident
|
1:33.080 | +0.881s | 224.052 km/h | 18 |
| 19th | 9 |  Christian Lundgaard
|
Charouz Racing System
|
1:33.155 | +0.956s | 223.872 km/h | 19 |
| 20th | 11 | Richard Verschoor
|
MP Motorsport
|
1:33.193 | +0.994s | 223.780 km/h | 20 |
| 21st | 15 | Guilherme Samaia
|
Charouz Racing System
|
1:33.478 | +1.279s | 223.098 km/h | 21 |
| 22nd | 23 | Alessio Deledda
|
HWA Racelab
|
1:34.194 | +1.995s | 221.402 km/h | 22 |
| 107% Time: 1:38.652[5] | |||||||
| Source:[5] | |||||||
Grid[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | 1 | ______________ |
| Oscar Piastri | 2 | |
| ______________ | Jehan Daruvala | |
| Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
| Guanyu Zhou | 4 | |
| ______________ | Liam Lawson | |
| Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
| Felipe Drugovich | 6 | |
| ______________ | Ralph Boschung | |
| Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
| Théo Pourchaire | 8 | |
| ______________ | Dan Ticktum | |
| Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
| Jüri Vips | 10 | |
| ______________ | David Beckmann | |
| Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
| Lirim Zendeli | 12 | |
| ______________ | Robert Shwartzman | |
| Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
| Enzo Fittipaldi | 14 | |
| ______________ | Marino Sato | |
| Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
| Roy Nissany | 16 | |
| ______________ | Jake Hughes | |
| Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
| Marcus Armstrong | 18 | |
| ______________ | Bent Viscaal | |
| Row 10 | 19 | ______________ |
| Christian Lundgaard | 20 | |
| ______________ | Richard Verschoor | |
| Row 11 | 21 | ______________ |
| Guilherme Samaia | 22 | |
| ______________ | Alessio Deledda |
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
The final classification of the 2021 Monza Feature Race is displayed below:
| 2021 Monza Feature Race Race Result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Strat. | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 2 | Oscar Piastri
|
Prema Racing
|
30 | 56:39.491 |  -
|
1:35.396 | 29 |
| 2nd | 3 | Guanyu Zhou
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
30 | +1.043s | -
|
1:35.184 | 18 |
| 3rd | 5 | Dan Ticktum
|
Carlin
|
30 | +1.818s | -
|
1:35.375 | 15 |
| 4th | 10 | Théo Pourchaire
|
ART Grand Prix
|
30 | +2.066s | -
|
1:35.059 | 12 |
| 5th | 6 | Jehan Daruvala
|
Carlin
|
30 | +2.445s | -
|
1:35.075 | 10 |
| 6th | 1 | Robert Shwartzman
|
Prema Racing
|
30 | +2.728s | -
|
1:35.202 | 8 |
| 7th | 12 | Lirim Zendeli
|
MP Motorsport
|
30 | +3.560s | -
|
1:35.866 | 6 |
| 8th | 16 | Roy Nissany
|
DAMS
|
30 | +3.964s | -
|
1:35.552 | 4 |
| 9th | 17 | Marcus Armstrong
|
DAMS
|
30 | +4.477s | -
|
1:35.645 | 2 |
| 10th | 9 | Christian Lundgaard
|
ART Grand Prix
|
30 | +5.015s | -
|
1:35.807 | 1 |
| 11th | 14 | Enzo Fittipaldi
|
Charouz Racing System
|
30 | +8.690s | -
|
1:35.289 | |
| 12th | 4 | Felipe Drugovich
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
30 | +8.793s | -
|
1:35.873 | |
| 13th | 22 | Jake Hughes
|
HWA Racelab
|
30 | +10.106s | -
|
1:36.534 | |
| 14th | 21 | Ralph Boschung
|
Campos Racing
|
30 | +17.038s | -
|
1:36.524 | |
| 15th | 24 | Bent Viscaal
|
Trident
|
28 | +2 Laps | -
|
1:35.710 | |
| 16th | 20 | David Beckmann
|
Campos Racing
|
28 | +2 Laps | -
|
1:35.368 | |
| DSQ* | 11 | Richard Verschoor
|
MP Motorsport
|
30 | Disqualified* | -
|
1:36.153 | |
| Ret† | 7 | Liam Lawson
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
21 | Extinguisher | -
|
1:35.000 | |
| Ret | 23 | Alessio Deledda
|
HWA Racelab
|
14 | Damage |
|
1:37.080 | |
| Ret | 25 | Marino Sato
|
Trident
|
9 | Electrical |
|
1:37.024 | |
| Ret | 8 | Jüri Vips
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
7 | Gearbox |
|
1:36.427 | |
| Ret | 15 | Guilherme Samaia
|
Charouz Racing System
|
0 | Accident |
|
— | |
| Source:[5] | ||||||||
- Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
- Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
- * Verschoor was disqualified from the race for failing post-race scrutineering.[5]
- † Lawson recorded the fastest lap of the race, but was ineligible to claim the bonus points as he failed to finish inside the top ten.[5]
Milestones[]
- Second career victory for Oscar Piastri.
- Prema Racing secured their 22nd victory as a Formula 2 entrant.
- Also Prema's 31st win at GP2/F2 level.
Standings[]
A second victory of the campaign, combined with pole position, had boosted Oscar Piastri's bid for the title in his rookie season, the Australian youth having moved onto 149 points for the campaign. Furthermore, his advantage had grown to fifteen points as the Monza meeting came to an end, with Guanyu Zhou having kept within touching distance with second in the Monza Feature. Robert Shwartzman, meanwhile, had slipped 36 behind in third ahead of Dan Ticktum, while Théo Pourchaire rounded out the top five.
In the Teams' Championship Prema Racing's ominous march towards retaining their title had continued at their home round, with the Italian squad having moved onto 262 points after the final fight at Monza. UNI-Virtuosi were 69 points behind in second, while Carlin had moved back into the top three, eight behind Virtuosi. Hitech Grand Prix had made way for Carlin and slipped to fourth after a rare double DNF, while ART Grand Prix completed the top five.
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Only point scoring drivers are shown.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'FIA Formula 2 Championship 2021 season provisional calendar announced', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 10/11/2020), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/1lFF2lrhzJbOeFTnd2hPE4/fia-formula-2-championship-2021-season-provisional-calendar-announced, (Accessed 11/11/2020)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 'FEATURE RACE: Piastri triumphs over Zhou in Monza to win for the first time on a Sunday', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 12/09/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/68qdLSl47HmpzJnicmTsIu/feature-race-piastri-triumphs-over-zhou-in-monza-to-win-for-the-first-time, (Accessed 02/04/2022)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 'QUALIFYING: Piastri beats Daruvala to Monza pole with title rival Zhou in third', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 10/09/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/1x8RkSZkhqbM97N3y2vLUZ/qualifying-piastri-takes-pole-at-monza, (Accessed 30/03/2022)
- ↑ Archived, 'Teams and Drivers', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 2021), https://web.archive.org/web/20210816222954/https://www.fiaformula2.com/Teams-and-Drivers, (Accessed 27/03/2022) - Original
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Cite error: Invalid
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