Invicta Racing driver Gabriel Bortoleto navigated an unpredictable race on the streets of Monaco to bring home four points, while Kush Maini was unable to make progress further down the field.
The FIA Formula 2 Feature Race was held on Sunday surrounded by a glistening Monaco harbourfront, and an equally scintillating prospect awaited the drivers at the end of 42 laps. Kush lined up in 16th while Gabriel would launch from ninth on the grid, and was one of only a few drivers to start the race on Super Soft tyres.
READ MORE: 2024 FIA Formula 2 Monaco Qualifying report
FEATURE RACE START
Both drivers did well to hold position into Turn 1, but it wasn’t long before Gabriel was utilising the extra grip offered by the softer rubber. As they filed down to the Grand Hotel Hairpin, he made an audacious move around the outside of Dennis Hauger to move up to eighth. Later on Lap 1, Kush conceded a position to Josep Maria Marti at the Nouvelle Chicane.
As the 10-lap mark approached, the pace of those on the Super Soft tyres – namely Oliver Bearman in seventh and Gabriel in eighth – was beginning to fade. Meanwhile, with cars up ahead pitting, Kush had moved into 14th.
With Bearman pitting on Lap 17, Gabriel quickly followed suit two laps later. Although he rejoined ahead of the Brit, tyre temperature was vital, and he was unable to keep Bearman behind. From that point on, pitstops cascaded up the order with Kimi Antonelli stopping from fifth on Lap 22 and slotting in just ahead of Gabriel.
Up ahead, race leader Richard Verschoor ran into mechanical troubles and a scrabbling queue formed behind him. Once past, the still-duelling pair of Antonelli and Gabriel began harrying Franco Colapinto. Of the drivers who were still yet to pit, Kush was the first to change tyres and emerged in 18th position.
A frantic finish
Finally, Antonelli forced Colapinto into a mistake at La Rascasse, allowing him to sneak past at Antony Noghès, with Gabriel following him through on the main straight. A late-race Virtual Safety Car denied him another position gain in the final laps, but Gabriel still finished eighth to score valuable championship points. Further back, Kush finished in 17th following a tough afternoon at the principality.
READ MORE: Bortoleto on a roll with F2 podium in Monaco
Next up on the FIA Formula 2 calendar is the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Round 6 (21-23 June) of the 2024 championship.
FEATURE RACE RESULTS:
Gabriel Bortoleto: P08, 4 points
Kush Maini: P17
GABRIEL BORTOLETO: "That was a crazy race in Monaco. There was a lot going on and tyre temperature was critical, so it was frustrating when Bearman came past and when those ahead were initially struggling for pace. But we've still taken some good points away even after struggling in qualifying. We've got plenty to look at and improve on before the next race in Barcelona."
KUSH MAINI: "This has been an event to forget for me. Put simply, the race did not play out in our favour today and I’m disappointed we couldn’t bring home a better result at this iconic track. Now, we must look ahead. We’ve got the triple-header coming up in just over a month, so we’ll be targeting a strong run of races there."
ANDY ROCHE, TEAM PRINCIPAL: "Monaco really threw everything at us today. Tyre warm-up was so important and on more than one occasion, Gabriel came across traffic or had a faster car behind him at just the wrong time. Still, he took home valuable points for the championship. This was a tough event for Kush, though. Things haven’t gone his way all weekend, but we know he’ll come back stronger for the next round in Barcelona."
