Ghiotto started 13th for his home race but before drivers started to pit on the sixth lap, he was already into the top five after a phenomenal start and impressive opening laps.
He led the majority of the race before making his pitstop, when an issue meant the Italian driver lost time. He came back out with the bit between his teeth, and a string of fastest laps allowed him to jump into second in the closing stages, proving the 24-year-old and the team’s prodigious pace.
Renault Formula 1 junior driver Guan Yu Zhou showed strong form in the team’s other car, and he and the team executed a brilliant undercut strategy to reclaim a place that had been lost out on track. He had to retire shortly after due to a right-rear puncture. He had qualified a fantastic second on the grid for his third front-row qualifying position of the year.
Zhou has led the rookie standings for most of the season and is still a whopping 62-points clear of the next highest rookie in the championship. He lies seventh after the Monza race.
Ghiotto is third in the championship and still has a mathematical chance of the Formula 2 drivers’ title.
Both drivers in the UNI-Virtuosi Racing team are displaying stickers on their car for Anthoine Hubert – who lost his life in a crash in F2 at Spa last weekend, and also logos supporting another fellow F2 driver Juan Manuel Correa who is critical but stable in hospital after being involved in the same crash as Hubert. The teams thoughts are with the families of Anthoine and Juan Manuel.
