F2: Daruvala dominates in Monza Race 2 for first victory of 2021

Red Bull junior Jehan Daruvala put on a controlled performance in the second Formula 2 Sprint Race at Monza to clinch a first victory of the season, ahead of Bent Viscaal, who scored his and Trident’s first podium in the second tier. Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman completed the top three to collect his fourth rostrum of 2021.

Given the chaos of the first race, Sprint Race 2 was surprisingly calm. Daruvala jumped reverse polesitter David Beckmann when the lights went out and dashed off into the distance, building up an assailable 6.1s lead.

F2: Sauber junior Pourchaire beats Alpine test driver Zhou in opening Monza bout

Beckmann fell out of the podium positions after a lock-up in the closing stages of the race dropped him to fifth, promoting Viscaal, Shwartzman and Liam Lawson. Red Bull junior Juri Vips ran out of time to catch the German and settled for sixth.

Championship rivals Oscar Piastri and Guanyu Zhou finished one behind the other in seventh and eighth, with the Australian extending his lead at the top of the standings to 124 points, with Zhou on 116.

Piastri will get another chance to add to his tally in Sunday’s Feature Race, with the Alpine junior set to start from pole for the second round in a row, the grid set by Friday’s qualifying session. He’ll line up ahead of Daruvala and Zhou when the action gets under way at 1025 (local time).

For more on F2, visit the official series website.