Data (GMT+2)

Friday

Free Practice: 11.55 – 12.40

Qualifying session: 16:20 - 16:50

Press conference: 18.00

Saturday
Driver’s Parade: 13.05– 13.25

Feature race: 16.00 (30 laps)
Press conference: 17.30

Sunday
Sprint race: 10.15 (14 laps)
Press conference: 11.30

Note: The FIA F2 press conferences take place in the F1 press conference room.

Season Stats
7 Poles in 8 rounds for championship leader Charles Leclerc

1 Pole for championship challenger Oliver Rowland (Budapest)  

2 Drivers in the top 4 for DAMS  

3 Teams with both drivers in the top 10 (RUSSIAN TIME, DAMS, ART Grand Prix)

Warm Up // Luca Ghiotto – RUSSIAN TIME     

“Monza is special: it’s my home race, and I love every single centimetre of it! The track is great, the Italian fans, the tifosi are the best, and I think everyone can tell that there is no other place where you can feel the passion like there. Just look at the crowd on the track after the F1 race! Under the podium is unbelievable, and I love every single thing about it, and I can’t wait to be there.

“Monza is one of those tracks where there’s not many corners, but the corners that are there are technical and tough: you have to get every single centimetre of the track right, and you need to have a clean lap, to be always smooth, and to keep the momentum. I’ve raced there many times my short career, and I know it quite well, so I am really looking forward to it.”

The Stakes        
The teams arrived at one of the most legendary circuits in the world, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, for Round 9 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship just days after another tough fight at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for possibly the toughest back to back challenge in motorsport. The Italian circuit is known as the Temple of Speed for good reason: even without the former banking the track is by far the fastest on the calendar with a handful of corners (including the famous Parabolica) which require inch-perfect driving to have any chance of bringing home a good result.

Spa saw Charles Leclerc extend his lead in the drivers’ championship slightly over Oliver Rowland, but the weekend was not without controversy: the Monegasque driver claimed pole position before walking away in the feature race for the biggest winning margin of the season ahead of Artem Markelov and Rowland, with the Russian grabbing P2 on the final corner, but post-race scrutineering revealed Leclerc and Rowland’s skid planks were both excessively worn, breaching the Technical Regulations for a double disqualification, promoting Markelov to the win ahead of teammate Luca Ghiotto and Antonio Fuoco.

Sergio Sette Camara stunned his rivals with an astonishing getaway from P3 in the sprint race, slicing through into the lead at La Source before flying off into the distance. Nyck De Vries blew past poleman Norman Nato at Les Combes for P2, with Ghiotto working his way forward through the race before claiming 3rd with a few laps remaining: a safety car period for Nobuharu Matsushita’s big crash at Eau Rouge scuppered any late race squabbles for the podium, with Leclerc coming through from the back of the grid to P5 at the flag, with Rowland behind him in 8th place.

Mario Isola, Head of Car Racing at Pirelli:

“The Monza weekend is one we always look forward to at Pirelli, and that includes the Formula 2 races, which are often action-packed thanks to the good overtaking opportunities the circuit provides. With equal opportunities from the cars, driving talent comes to the forefront. As track position can be less important than at other circuits, there will be good strategic opportunities for the F2 teams to take advantage of in the feature race. Another event we’re looking forward to is the launch of the new Formula 2 car for 2018 and beyond: we’re privileged to host this important event in our Formula 1 fitting area on Thursday.”

Noteworthy

·       The F2 2018, the newly designed car with which the teams will compete from next year in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, will be revealed in the Formula 1 paddock in Monza on Thursday. Full details of the car launch, along with photos and a video, will be made available on the website simultaneously.

·       DAMS have achieved the most podium finishes (14), ahead of RUSSIAN TIME (10) and PREMA Racing (8).

·       DAMS are leading in the teams’ championship by a solitary point over RUSSIAN TIME.

·       Following ART Grand Prix’s pointless weekend in Spa, RUSSIAN TIME are now the only team to have scored points in every single race this season so far.

·       Both Leclerc and Rowland have finished outside of the points in only four races, but neither has gone a weekend without scoring points: the closest they have gone to missing out is 4 points for pole in Monaco for Leclerc, and 1 point for 8th in Spa for the sprint race.

·       Luca Ghiotto is the most consistent point scorer in the championship, failing to score points in just two races. Teammate Artem Markelov is the next most consistent, missing out in three races.

Most Improved

Sergio Sette Camara (MP Motorsport) +7 Places between Round 7 (Budapest) and Round 8 (Spa-Francorchamps)