F2: Browning on pole in Monza after late red flag

Hitech TGR driver Luke Browning earned his first Pole Position in FIA Formula 2, setting a 1m 32.390s for the top spot in Monza.

The Briton set his best effort in the closing stages, but there had been time for one more attempt until a crash for title contender Richard Verschoor brought out the fed flags.

It was the third and final stoppage of a truncated session, and Qualifying did not resume due to how little time remained following the MP Motorsport driver’s spin into the barriers at Turn 6.

Verschoor had wound up second at the chequered flag, however in line with the Sporting Regulations in Formula 2, he was deemed the sole cause of the red flag and, as a result, had his fastest time of the session deleted.

It dropped him from P2 in the results down to P14 where he is now set to start both the Sprint and Feature Races from.

The Dutchman’s demotion left Kush Maini to benefit and move up to P2 for DAMS Lucas Oil, with Roman Stanek of Invicta Racing promoted to third.

Goethe moved up to fourth and was followed by Alexander Dunne in fifth after the Irishman’s FP1 outing with McLaren earlier in the day.

Arvid Lindblad was P6 ahead of Joshua Duerksen, Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli in eighth, Sami Meguetounif and Dino Beganovic. The Swede is now set to start Saturday’s Sprint Race from reverse grid pole having been promoted up one position from P11.

For an in-depth report of the F2 Qualifying session, head to the official website.