Before the start of qualifying, the Formula 2 drivers expressed their concern that everyone would play the typical Monza races, that is: try not to give your opponents the chance to take advantage of the slipstream. Accordingly, no one will take the initiative, everyone will play for time, and this will eventually lead to crowds on the track.
Increasing attention was focused on Kimi Antonelli, who crashed George Russell’s car almost at the start of his debut training in Formula 1 and now, as usual, took his place in the cockpit of the Prema team car. But everyone was even more interested in how Oliver Goethe, who replaced Franco Colapinto at MP Motorsport, who was unexpectedly promoted to become a Williams driver, would handle the matter.
Roman Stanek was the first to take to the track, followed by Dennis Hauger and a number of other drivers, but the Norwegian returned to the pits immediately. In contrast to the Czech Trident driver, who completed the lap and climbed to the first line of the protocol, although it was clear that his time was not representative.
Goethe’s first attempt at a fast lap ended, however, when he failed to brake properly for Turn 1 and cut the chicane. He returned to the circuit, whereupon his car spun into another corner – overall, it was clear that finding an approach to the classic circuit was not so easy for the German Formula 2 newcomer.
Antonelli managed to put in a more or less fast lap, improving Stanek’s time by almost a second and moving into first place with a result of 1’32.941, before the session was stopped by red flags.
This was because Victor Martin, after leaving the track at Lesmo, took down a sign indicating the distance to the corner, so that the drivers could more easily choose the braking point. While the marshals repaired and put everything in order, everyone returned to the pits.
After the break, the racers returned to the track, but no one could block Antonelli’s time, as red flags were waved again – this time due to the departure of Gabriel Bortoleto, the Brazilian Invicta driver, whose car got stuck in the gravel trap at the exit of the same Lesmo corners.
Once again everyone returned to the pits, but the countdown was not stopped and the end of qualifying was getting closer.
Just six and a half minutes before the end of the session the engines roared again and now everyone had to rush to show a normal result, leaving no time for the aforementioned games. In effect this meant that the riders only had time to complete one full attempt.
In this rather nervous situation, Isaac Hajjar had a good chance of navigating, as he had not climbed to the front line, but Zane Maloney almost immediately pushed him aside and completed a lap 0.089 seconds faster than the leader of the youth series. In third place behind Hadjar was Paul Aron, who is also third in the individual competition.
As time ticked away in the extremely chaotic session, it became clear that no one else had been able to distinguish himself and Maloney, the Rodin Motorsport driver, held on to the best time. For the 20-year-old from the exotic island of Barbados, this is his first pole position of the season, although he started the year with two wins in a row. Since then, he has climbed onto the podium several more times, but victories have not come.
Whether he can distinguish himself in Monza, we will soon find out, but we must remember that this is not Monaco; the legendary Italian circuit is known for its excellent overtaking conditions, so pole position does not mean much. And due to the partially reversed starting order, Enzo Fittipaldi, who posted the tenth fastest time in qualifying, will start from the first position in tomorrow’s sprint.
The results are being prepared…
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
