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The Frenchman controlled from start to finish even though he came under pressure from Robert Shwartzman. Oscar Piastri finished in second ahead of Felipe Drugovich in third, who made the alternate strategy work fantastically.
Robert Shwartzman missed out on the podium after a slow pit stop but he came across the line in fourth ahead of Guanyu Zhou in fifth. Ralph Boschung finished sixth with Liam Lawson in seventh, Juri Vips in eighth, Roy Nissany in ninth and Richard Verschoor in 10th after Christian Lundgaard’s penalty dropped the Dane down to 12th.
Starting Grid
ART’s Theo Pourchaire started from pole position after a flying qualifying lap with the Prema duo of Robert Shwartzman and Oscar Piastri in second and third.
The winner from the second Sprint Race, Dan Ticktum, started in fourth ahead of podium finisher Juri Vips in fifth. Ralph Boschung followed on the grid in sixth, Roy Nissany in seventh, Christian Lundgaard in eighth, Felipe Drugovich in ninth with his teammate Guanyu Zhou rounding out the top 10.
Jehan Daruvala qualified 11th with Liam Lawson in 12th, David Beckmann in 13th, Marcus Armstrong in 14th, Bent Viscaal in 15th, Richard Verschoor in 16th, Lirim Zendeli in 17th, Marino Sato in 18th, Gianluca Petecof in 19th, Guilherme Samaia in 20th and the two HWA Racelab’s of Jack Aitken and Alessio Deledda in 21st and 22nd respectively.
As It Happened
Petecof started from the pit lane as the Brazillian failed to make it to the grid on time. From the off, Pourchaire led into turn one ahead of Shwartzman and Piastri in second and third.
Aitken did not get off the line as the marshalls wheeled his car back into the pit lane for his team to fire back up which they were able to do so with their driver going lap down.
Zendeli and Daruvala both pitted after receiving a black and orange flag which meant they had to pit to fix a mechanical problem on their cars.
Drivers on the alternate strategy made their pit-stops early on. The biggest surprise was Drugovich as the UNI-Virtuosi dropped down the field after his stop.
Daruvala received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane which was compounded by his retirement on lap 19 after he collided with the back of Petecof’s Campos.
A few laps later, Petecof was awarded a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision with Daruvala at the Nouvelle chicane.
At the halfway point, Pourchaire led the race ahead of Shwartzman in second and Piastri in third
The first of the top five, Dan Ticktum, opted to pit for fresh tyres as Carlin looked to trigger the undercut as they reacted quickest. Piastri followed suit a lap later as Prema looked to cover off the early move from the Carlin team.
Lundgaard was another driver that received a penalty from race control after the Dane was speeding in the pit lane which warranted a penalty.
A poor stop from Prema saw Shwartzman stationary in his box for an age which moved Piastri and Ticktum up to second and third.
On lap 30, Pourchaire pitted as the Frenchman allowed Zhou to take the lead of the race, but crucially came out ahead of Piastri and Ticktum.
Armstrong went into the barrier at La Rascasse as the Virtual Safety Car was released so that the DAMS car could be wheeled off the track.
The VSC was back out moments later as Zendeli went into the barrier at La Rascasse. That wasn’t the end of the Virtual Safety Car as Ticktum was the next victim of Rascasse. The Brit looked to get past Piastri but the Australian didn’t leave him any room with the Carlin going into the barrier.
Zhou gave back the lead of the race to Pourchaire as the Chinese driver pitted on lap 38. Vips was then awarded a five-second penalty for his collision with Armstrong which saw the Kiwi retire from the race.
Pourchaire held onto the lead of the race until the very end with Piastri crossing the line in second and Drugovich in an impressive third.
Shwartzman missed out on the podium due to the slow pit stop as the Russian finished fourth ahead of Zhou in fifth, Boschung in sixth, Lawson in seventh, Vips in eighth, Nissany in ninth and Verschoor in 10th after Lundgaard’s penalty dropped the Dane down to 12th.
Viscaal finished ahead of the ART in 11th with Beckmann behind Lundgaard in 13th. Sato finished 14th, Samaia in 15th, Petecof in 16th, Deledda in 17th and Aitken was the final finisher in 18th.
What’s Next?
The drivers have a week break to recharge their batteries and get ready for another street circuit as the next round sees F2 go to Baku, Azerbaijan.
Guanyu Zhou currently leads the Championship with Oscar Piastri moving up to second after a fantastic weekend and Theo Pourchaire up to third after his Feature Race win
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