2018 Monaco Sprint Race

The 2018 Monaco Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2018 Monaco Race 2, was the eighth round of the 2018 FIA Formula Two Championship, staged at the Circuit de Monaco on the 26 May 2018. The race, which was staged in support of the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, saw Antonio Fuoco claim victory in spite of a post race penalty.

The Italian racer had started the race from pole after finishing eighth in the Feature Race, and would duly fend off the attentions of Lando Norris into the first corner to claim an early lead. Jack Aitken, meanwhile, would make a miserable start from second and dropped down the order, before Luca Ghiotto had his second start line accident of the weekend, ramming into the back of Tadasuke Makino.

A VSC was called immediately to recover Makino's stalled car, before being withdrawn at the end of the opening tour. Norris would go on the offensive after the restart, attacking Fuoco for all his worth, only for a full safety car to appear before he could launch a full blooded attack.

This time it was Sean Gelael who was the cause, the Indonesian racer going out of the race in spectacular fashion by striking a kerb at Piscine, which duly launched him into the air and, ultimately, into the barriers. He escaped uninjured before his Pertamina Prema was swept aside, with the race resuming on lap nine.

Fuoco would just hold onto the lead at the restart, coming under a double assault from Norris and teammate Louis Delétraz, before Artem Markelov joined the dray. Indeed, the Russian was bruising his way up the field with a series of dives into Rasscasse, although his charge was ended by an ultra defensive Delétraz just before half-distance.

Norris' anti-Fuoco charge, meanwhile, would fade as the race entered its final third, with the Italian pulling two seconds clear just in time for George Russell to hit the barriers at Piscine, causing another VSC. This time, both Fuoco and Norris would come out of the VSC "mode" too soon, putting both in the steward's notebook for the rest of the afternoon.

Into the closing stages and another VSC was required to clear the circuit, this time to clean up after Roy Nissany and Alexander Albon tripped over each other out of the tunnel. Again, Fuoco held his lead at the restart from Norris, before the race came to a conclusion under the safety car, as Nirei Fukuzumi and Santino Ferrucci both smacked the barriers at La Rascasse. That handed Fuoco a provisional maiden victory over Championship leader Norris, while Delétraz successfully defended third from Markelov.

After the race, both Fuoco and Norris would be handed time penalties for jumping the restart, although Fuoco's 0.8s addition was not enough to cost him victory. Norris, meanwhile, would drop to third after 1.1s was added to his time, meaning Delétraz was classified in second to claim a one-two for Charouz Racing System.

Background
There were no changes to the field after the Feature Race on Friday, with Sérgio Sette Câmara once again refused entry after his injury during qualifying. Indeed, the only other change to the grid, other than the usual top-eight reversal, was that Alexander Albon dropped to the back of the field, the Thai racer having been adjudged to have cause his collision with Nyck de Vries during the race. As for strategies it was expected that everyone would opt for the soft Pirelli tyres for the race, although some, such as Albon, were rumoured to be considering a gamble on supersofts.

Elsewhere, there were rumours circulating about the immediate future of one F2 pilot, for his father had recently invested a large sum of money in the the McLaren Automotive Group. That investor was the father of Nicholas Latifi, whom already had a role testing with McLaren's Formula One rivals Force India, and was set to make his practice debut at the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix. Yet, speculation was rife that the £200m investment had been made to secure his son a drive with the McLaren F1 team, although both team, driver and investor were quick to state that this was not the case.

Into the Championship and a second victory of the season, combined with fastest lap, had put Artem Markelov back in the title hunt, although Championship leader Lando Norris had managed to extend his lead. Indeed, the F2 rookie's advantage had grown to seventeen points over second placed Alexander Albon, while Markelov had slotted into third, a further eight behind. George Russell was next ahead of Jack Aitken, while Roy Nissany had become the only man yet to score after Louis Delétraz claimed his first points finish in the Feature Race.

In the Teams Championship it was still advantage Carlin at the head of the field, the British squad heading into the Monaco Sprint Race with a 23 point lead. ART Grand Prix had remained their closest challengers, and had inched further ahead of rivals DAMS, while Pertamina Prema had also gained ground in fourth. Russian Time were the biggest winners but remained fifth, while BWT Arden slipped to the foot of the table.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Grid
The grid for the eighth race of the 2018 campaign was formed from the finishing positions of the Feature Race, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA Formula Two rules.


 * * Albon was handed a five place grid penalty for causing a collision during the Feature Race.
 * † Câmara was not able to start the race due to the injury he sustained in qualifying.

Race
It was a very warm afternoon in Monaco for the second F2 race of the weekend, with nineteen drivers set to take part after Sérgio Sette Câmara was ruled out once again with a hand injury. In terms of strategy all nineteen starters were set to use the soft Pirelli tyres, which would last the entire 30 lap race distance, particularly if the race was to be disrupted by VSC or safety cars. Regardless, Antonio Fuoco would lead the field onto the grid for the start, with another bruising afternoon expected to greet the starters.

Report
Fuoco made a decent start from pole to lead into Sainte Devote, leaving Jack Aitken to unsuccessfully fend off the attentions of Lando Norris for second behind his Charouz. Aitken appeared to have an issue out of the corner and was slow up the hill, causing the rest of the field to bunch up behind him. Elsewhere, Artem Markelov had made a blistering start from eighth, squeezing past Roberto Merhi and Sean Gelael before the first corner, while Nyck de Vries stalled at the back of the field.

Another staller at the back of the grid would be Tadasuke Makino, with Ralph Boschung just managing to swing around his stranded Russian Time off the line. Luca Ghiotto, however, was unsighted by the Swiss racer's MP, and duly slammed into the back of Makino's car, launching the car a couple of feet into the air. Both they, and the stalled de Vries, were left stuck on the grid, meaning a VSC was required to get their cars cleared.

The restart came on lap three, with Fuoco and Norris sprinting clear ahead of Louis Delétraz in third. Indeed, Aitken's race had come to a conclusion at the end of the opening tour, for his engine, which had struggled up the hill to Massenet at the start of the race, had expired in the pits. Makino was also out as a legacy of his contact with Ghiotto, which had smashed his suspension, while the Italian himself, along with de Vries, was running at the back of the field.

However, before any real on-track action could blossom a more destructive accident brought out a full safety car, destroying the advantage that Fuoco and Norris at the head of the field. This time the source was Sean Gelael, for the Indonesian racer had got airborne on the kerbs of Piscine before momentum carried his car into the outside wall. Gelael escaped his ruined car without issue, although there was a long delay for his car to be dragged away from the scene.

The restart came and went without any issue, although this time Fuoco would drag Norris and Louis Delétraz along with him as broke away from the pack. Fourth, meanwhile, would be occupied by Arjun Maini, who had to put up a furious defence from Markelov to hold onto his position at the restart. Yet, the Russian was not to be denied, and duly sent his Russian Time skating inside the Trident to complete a beautifully executed move at La Rascasse on lap seventeen.

Markelov's charge carried him onto the back of Delétraz during the following couple of laps, with the Swiss racer dropping back from the leading duo of Fuoco and Norris. Indeed, Markelov would try an ambitious move around the outside of Sainte Devote at the start of the twentieth tour, although Delétraz had the wherewithal to squeeze him out on the exit. That allowed Maini and Merhi to tag onto the back of the squabbling duo, meaning any mistake from Delétraz or Markelov would cost them at least two positions.

However, before the fight could be continued a second VSC was called to recover a crashed car, for George Russell had struck the barriers on the exit of the final part of Piscine. Indeed, the Brit had misjudged his line through the second chicane and bounced over the inside kerb, which caused the car to skip into the wall on the outside of the corner. The debris was swept away fairly quickly, although Nicholas Latifi took the opportunity to bolt on a set of supersoft Pirelli tyres from thirteenth in the field.

One lap later and the circuit was clear again, with Fuoco and Norris still in a stalemate out front, although both were to be put under investigation for reacting to the end of the VSC too soon. Regardless, those two still held a healthy lead over Delétraz in third, with the Swiss racer sprinting away with Markelov on his tail at the restart. Indeed, with five laps to go the two were on their own, prompting Markelov to try an optimistic dive at Antony Noghes, only to give Delétraz a slight tap at the apex.

A lap later and a second full safety car was called, this time to recover Alexander Albon and Roy Nissany from the circuit at the Nouvelle Chicane. The pair had made contact in the brake zone for the chicane, with Nissany weaving around in the middle of the circuit, just as Albon tried to dive down the inside of his Campos. Albon duly went straight into the back of the Israeli racer, causing Nissany spin to a stop on the inside of the chicane with smashed rear suspension. Albon, meanwhile, careened into the barrier between the circuit and the escape road on the opposite side of the chicane, although both escaped unharmed.

The restart came and went without issue, only for the penultimate lap to be ruined by a third and final safety car, for Nirei Fukuzumi and Santino Ferrucci had clashed at La Rascasse. In a rather bizarre circumstance, Fukuzumi had suffered a brake failure, and was trying to get around the corner to the pit lane but ran out of room. Ferrucci, following the Japanese racer, then went off in sympathy, smashing into the outside wall before stalling when he tried to rejoin.

With that the race was run, with Fuoco only needing to lead the field across the line, under racing conditions, once the safety car pulled into the pit lane at the end of the final lap. Fuoco duly did so to claim a maiden F2 victory from Norris, while Delétraz had successfully kept Markelov at bay for third. Behind them came Merhi ahead of Maini, although the Indian racer was convinced that the Spaniard had passed him under safety car conditions.

Post-race
After the race several drivers would be penalised for various infractions made during the race, most relating to the numerous safety and virtual safety cars. Both race winner Fuoco and Norris would be awarded a time penalty for speeding under the final VSC, although Fuoco would still retain his victory after 0.8 seconds was added to his race time. Norris, however, would slip to third after being given a 1.1 second time penalty, meaning Delétraz was promoted to second.

Elsewhere, Merhi was handed a five second time penalty for overtaking Maini during the final safety car period, dumping him behind both Maini and Maximilian Günther. A fourth and final penalty was handed to Ferrucci, whom had conducted a series of clutch bite checks in the pitlane, against the instructions of the race director. However, the ten second time penalty handed to the American would have no impact on the final standings, leaving Ferrucci classified in twelfth.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Fuoco was handed a 0.8s time penalty after the race for restarting before the VSC ended.
 * † Norris was handed a 1.1s time penalty after the race for restarting before the VSC had been withdrawn.
 * ‡ Merhi awarded a five second time penalty for overtaking Maini under safety car conditions.
 * § Fukuzumi was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
 * ƒ Ferrucci awarded a ten second time penalty for conducting a clutch bite point check in the pitlane, contrary to the race director's instructions.
 * ₭ Câmara was unable to start the race after injuring his hand during qualifying for the Feature Race.

Milestones

 * Second victory for Antonio Fuoco in Formula Two.
 * Charouz Racing System claimed their first victory as an entrant in F2.
 * Maiden podium finish for Louis Delétraz.
 * Nicholas Latifi claimed his fifth fastest lap award.

Standings
Another points finish, and another podium visit, ensured that Lando Norris once again extended his lead in the Championship, with the Brit's tally standing at 98 points ahead of the visit to Le Castellet. Behind him sat Artem Markelov, level on points with Alexander Albon but ahead on count-back, although they were some 27 points behind Norris after eight races. It was status quo behind with George Russell and Jack Aitken failing to score, while race winner Antonio Fuoco moved closer to the lead group after claiming victory.

Likewise, the weekend on the Mediterranean coast had been a profitable one for Carlin, with the British squad extending their lead in the Teams Championship, despite only fielding one car across the two races. Indeed, ART Grand Prix left Monte Carlo 33 points behind the F2 rookies, with arch-rivals DAMS a further fourteen points back. Russian Time, meanwhile, had moved ahead of Pertamina Prema, while Charouz Racing System inched closer to the top five after their maiden one-two.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.