Formula 2 Report: Monaco pile-up dents Dunne's title bid

After clashing with Victor Martins while squabbling for position during qualifying, the Irishman ran into him yet again on the entry to turn one of the Feature Race. This not only wiped out both drivers but stopped half their competitors from making the corner.

On a farcical weekend, where Formula 1 failed to experiment with the racing format to trigger more overtaking action in Monaco, Dunne’s crash really was the icing on the cake. Even the session’s eventual winner, Jak Crawford, lucked into victory by virtue of a late safety car and red flag situation, which effectively rewarded him for being first into the pits.

Following the race, the American was a little stunned about what had just unfolded and admitted that Lady Luck appeared to be on his side on a messy weekend in the principality.

Crawford said: ​​”This has been the craziest race of my life. I've been, honestly, so lucky today to avoid the crash at turn one and obviously come in at the right time for the safety car.

“And to get it right. I mean, when I woke up this morning, it was not what I had imagined the race being. I can't thank the team enough just for giving me a good pit stop. We were quite competitive, just to be close up there fighting for the podium anyways. Wow, what a day, honestly!”

another disaster unfolded in Monaco

Unlike the drivers in F1’s cagey two-stop experiment, F2’s young guns went full-send in Sunday’s Feature Race. Polesitter Dunne turned in on Martins when he should’ve admitted the position was lost, causing a massive pile-up that significantly delayed the race.

What followed was more of a sprint, with the likes of Joshua Durksen and Dino Begnaovic absolutely going for it on super soft tires. Though Durksen nearly made a great pass around the outside of Kush Maini for sixth early on, an overzealous move ultimately sent him into the barrier at Rascasse—Beganovic suffered a similar fate at Casino Square.

This brought out the safety car, sending all the soft starters into the pits. As it turned out, Crawford’s nearest rivals, Formula 3 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, Arvid Lindblad, and Luke Browning, had just passed the pit lane when the flags dropped, but he was right next to the entrance.

With the barriers badly damaged and F1 fast approaching, the red flag dropped. Crawford inherited the victory in a major boost to his own title tilt, but he benefited from a huge dose of luck at the cost of Fornaroli, who seemed on course for a win. In a bizarre turn, Sebastian Montoya was then handed his first F2 podium after Lindblad received a post-race penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Montoya said: “It was a roller coaster today. But no, we're really happy. I'm extremely grateful. We've been working really hard with the team. It hasn't really been the easiest season, but we have had a lot of speed.

“I'm really happy with the steps we've done this weekend. In qualifying, we were quite strong. The car was in a good window. We worked a lot with the team to keep improving. And after last week [starting in the pit lane] and this week being in the pit lane again, I'm extremely thankful. I'm extremely grateful for this," he added.

F2’s Sprint Race may not have been as messy as the Feature, but it wasn’t exactly smooth running. Williams Academy driver Browning stalled it off the line, leaving Maini and Gabriele Mini to storm into turn one, and they went on to battle all race long.

After Dunne ran across the run-off area at Sainte Devote, more chaos ensued at the hairpin, with Crawford narrowly surviving a divebomb from Lindblad. Pepe Marti then left just enough room to survive a similar attempt by Roman Stanek. However, he was later forced to retire, impacting his own title ambitions after a strong start to the F2 season.

Durksen, Oliver Goethe, and John Bennett each made contact with the barriers as the race wore on, but this didn’t dent their ambitions—F1’s future stars stuck at it. Goethe sent a risky move on Martins at Rascasse, causing minimal but costly contact, as he was later slapped with a ten-second penalty. Mini and Maini, meanwhile, dueled right to the line.

Having held on for first, Maini said that he hoped to “kickstart” his championship and claimed “the best is yet to come” after a mixed opening few races. Currently 12th in the standings, he’s got a lot of work to do. But with Browning, Dunne, Fornaroli, Crawford, and Verschoor tripping over each other at the front, who knows where this season is headed?

F2’s hectic season continues this weekend at Barcelona from May 30 to June 01, 2025. Stay tuned to GP247 for all the latest on the next generation of budding F1 drivers. (Quotes by Formula 2)