2018 Monza Feature Race

The 2018 Monza Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2018 Monza Race 1, was the nineteenth race of the 2018 FIA Formula Two Championship, staged at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on the 1 September 2018. The race was staged in support of the 2018 Gran Premio Heineken d'Italia, with a number of drivers in the F2 field in the frame for a future seat in F1.

First blood in terms of the F2 Championship would go to one of those drivers, with George Russell, Championship leader, snatching pole. His major title rival Lando Norris, meanwhile, would qualify down in seventh, with Sérgio Sette Câmara, Alexander Albon, Artem Markelov, Nicholas Latifi and Antonio Fuoco in between the two.

At the start, however, things would not go Russell's way, despite the fact that he would start on his own on the front row as Câmara disappeared into the pits. Indeed, a poor start for Russell saw him slip behind Markelov and Albon, with the Russian racer ahead into the Rettifilo chicane.

Markelov and Albon soon pulled out a small lead during the early laps, engaging in a private duel for the lead ahead of Russell. Elsewhere, Tadasuke Makino was emerging as a dark horse for victory, having jumped up to eighth at the start, and was matching the leading duo's pace, despite using the slower medium compound tyres.

Indeed, over the following laps Makino would duly snatch the lead, easing past Luca Ghiotto, Norris, Latifi and Russell as tyre wear began to bite. By the start of lap five the Japanese ace was on the back of Albon, and two quick moves on the Thai racer and his Russian teammate saw Makino lead the race outright midway through the same lap.

Makino's surge prompted all of the supersoft runners into the pits, leaving only Makino, Ralph Boschung and Dorian Boccolacci as non-stoppers. However, even those on fresh tyres could not match the pace of Makino, with the Japanese racer establishing a forty-five second advantage over teammate Markelov at the halfway mark. Indeed, everyone else began to fight among themselves, with Markelov, Albon, Russell, Norris and Latifi all fighting.

With three laps to go Makino finally made his stop, rejoining a couple of seconds clear of teammate Markelov with fresher, quicker, tyres. However, knowing that he had a huge advantage in grip should he need it, Makino cruised around the final few tours of Monza to claim his maiden F2 triumph, with Markelov and Albon completing the podium.

In terms of the Championship, the result proved favourable for Russell and Albon, as they both finished ahead of Norris.

Background
Formula Two headed to the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the nineteenth and twentieth rounds of the season, supporting Formula One as usual. The circuit remained unchanged from the series' previous visit in 2017, with the Royal park closed off for the Grand Prix weekend. There were no major changes to the entry list or field either, while Pirelli continued that theme by bringing the familiar medium and supersoft compound tyres.

In terms of the Championship, George Russell had continued to lead the title hunt at the end of the Spa weekend, although his lead had been slashed to just five points. Indeed, a productive second race for Lando Norris had allowed the Brit to move within striking distance of his compatriot, and inch a little further clear of third placed Alexander Albon. Albon himself could not be ruled out with six races left to run, ending the Spa weekend just 27 points back, while Nyck de Vries was also still in the hunt.

Into the Teams' Championship and Carlin had smashed through the 300 point mark with Norris' podium finish in Belgium, leaving them on 307. ART Grand Prix had remained their closest challengers in second, but had slipped over 50 points back after a poor second race at Spa-Francorchamps. DAMS, meanwhile, had moved past the 200 point barrier as a result of Nicholas Latifi's triumph, meaning they had moved closer to ART and away from Pertamina Prema.

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

Results
The final qualifying result for the are outlined below:
 * * Boccolacci was unable to set a representative time due to a gearbox issue, but was allow to start the race at the back of the grid.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Câmara set the fastest lap but was not eligible to claim the points as he started from the pitlane.
 * † Aitken was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
 * ‡ Fuoco was disqualified from the results after an illegal throttle map was found on his car.

Milestones

 * Maiden victory for Tadasuke Makino.
 * Makino became the tenth different winner in 2018.
 * Russian Time secured their tenth victory as an entrant in Formula Two.
 * Also the Russian team's twentieth triumph at GP2/F2 level.
 * Artem Markelov's second place also gave Russian Time their second one-two finish.

Standings
With Tadasuke Makino sweeping to victory the impact of the race on the Championship fight was minimal, although it was to the benefit of George Russell. Indeed, pole combined with fourth meant that the Brit extended his lead over his immediate rival Lando Norris, and carried him past the 200 point mark. Norris would, however, remain a threat, thirteen points off, while Alexander Albon had maintained his status as the third man in the fight, a further fifteen back.

In the Teams' Championship it was still, as ever, advantage Carlin, the British squad having moved onto 323 points. Indeed, although ART Grand Prix, DAMS and Russian Time had all out scored Carlin, their British squad's advantage was still north of 50 points with five races to run. That left ART and DAMS in a likely duel for second, while Russian Time had moved ahead of Pertamina Prema and Charouz Racing System.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.