After the long summer break, the FIA Formula 2 Championship was back this weekend for round five around the stunningly fast Autodromo Nazionale Monza. As the battle in the championship recommenced, it was another sensational display from 20-year-old Oscar Piastri who, throughout an eventful weekend, showed great composure and maturity to win the feature race and further extend his lead in the drivers’ standings with three rounds remaining.

As the teams and drivers arrived amid glorious early autumn weather, the stage was set for some great racing around the fast low-downforce track. Proceedings quickly got into full swing on Friday morning with practice; Piastri running comfortably in the top five making his preparations for qualifying. As qualifying arrived, the drivers on the soft tyres were all out in close proximity trying to get a tow; the Prema driver always in the top five before ending his first run on top of the times with a 1:32.402. It was copy/paste for the second run as the field jostled for position but as the clock began ticking down, the pack started to put in their times. Initially no-one was able to beat Piastri’s time until the final nail-biting moments when a number of drivers exchanged fastest laps. However, it was the young Melburnian who had saved the best for last and delivered a stunning lap with a mega final sector to retake P1 and pole for Sunday’s feature race with a 1:32.199. Back-to-back poles and four valuable points to add to his championship tally.

“Pole position in Monza! I’m very happy with that, and it’s two in a row. It was a good session. We were quick in the beginning and then delivered when it counted. It wasn’t my finest lap, I’ll be honest, but it was good enough for pole. Big thanks to Prema for the great car, we made a few changes in the middle that probably helped a bit. Hopefully, we can survive turn 1 tomorrow starting from tenth place and have a clean weekend from there. Last year I started 15th and survived that. I think it will be OK, nobody has raced for a while, but everybody understands how the format works now, and I hope nobody will try to be a first-corner hero because this is the best place all year for overtaking.”

It was an early start for the first sprint race where the young Australian started P10. As the lights went out, Piastri initially got off the line well but his team-mate Robert Shwartzman was coming up quick behind. As the sister Prema car came down the straight and over the track lines to make a pass down the inside of the first chicane, Piastri was compromised but managed to survive the melee and make it past the Carlin of Jehan Daruvala. Up ahead there was a battle between Theo Pourchaire and Dan Ticktum and on the following lap going into turn one, Pourchaire went deep, compromising the Brit who was then spun by Felipe Drugovich. This brought out the safety car to collect Ticktum’s Carlin. Drugovich needed to pit for a new front wing, followed by a pit-stop for a struggling Ralph Boschung. This all brought Piastri up to eighth as the safety car period ended.

As racing recommenced, Piastri was on the hunt for his Prema team-mate. Up ahead another incident involving Pourchaire and Liam Lawson caused damage to the latter’s Hitech car while further behind Drugovich had a crash coming out of the Ascari chicane. This brought out the virtual safety car and Lawson into the pits. The VSC ended on lap seven and the two Prema drivers began to battle it out for sixth. Side by side going into the second Lesmo, Piastri was pushed wide onto the gravel, which allowed the DAMS of Roy Nissany past and brought Daruvala close to the back of the Prema. Turn one of lap eight and the Carlin driver made his move but Piastri stuck onto the back of the Carlin and made a brave move around the outside of the second chicane to regain his position. In eight and fast approaching Nissany going into Ascari, the DAMS driver span coming out of the exit causing Piastri to make a snap move to narrowly avoid contact. This allowed the ART of Christian Lundgaard past before the VSC and subsequent safety car were deployed.

Back under green flag conditions and Piastri was back on the hunt. Chasing the Dane, the two Alpine Academy drivers got past the Campos of David Beckmann on lap fifteen. This was followed by a move on Lirim Zendeli for sixth on lap eighteen before catching and passing the struggling Juri Vips down the main straight on the following lap to cross the line in fifth. Shwartzman was penalised for his move off the track at the start, promoting Piastri to fourth. With Guanyo Zhou finishing second, the Prema driver’s lead was now five points.

After a short breather from a hectic first sprint race, it was soon time for the second. The track and air temperature now significantly higher so tyre preservation becoming a factor for the race. Lining up seventh with his fellow Alpine Academy drivers close by with Lundgaard alongside and Zhou just behind. As the lights went out Lundgaard got a good start and got past Piastri into the first chicane but the ART driver span coming into the second chicane giving back the position to the Prema driver. This allowed Piastri to close in on his team-mate and he made his move into turn one of lap three but the Russian defended the line, which allowed Pourchaire behind to make a move and get through. The Australian fought back and was joined by Zhou to make it a three-way battle but a VSC for the stricken HWA of Jake Hughes paused the fight for seventh.

When the VSC ended on lap five, Piastri was in hot pursuit of the young French driver, posting the fastest lap on his way. On lap thirteen, after waiting patiently for the opportunity, Piastri got a great exit off of Parabolica and sent it past Pourchaire moving himself back up into seventh. Now in clear air the Prema driver was flying, swiftly creating a gap of 1.5 seconds and chasing down the Hitech of Vips. In the final stages, Zhou was closing in on the Prema driver and attempted a move going into Ascari but the Australian had it covered and crossed the line seventh ahead of his title rival. With the extra two points for fastest lap, the impressive young Melburnian extended his lead to eight points after a successful day.

“We got P4 in Race 1, a very, very eventful race with quite a lot of crash avoidance which kept things interesting. Making up six spots from our starting position was pretty solid, but it could have been a bit better. Regardless, it was still a good race. We kept it clean and scored good points, which was the aim. In Race 2, we scored P7 and the fastest lap. Could have been better, could have been worse. I think it was a very different race from the first one as there wasn’t that much action, especially in the DRS train it was really tricky with the hotter temperatures. Being overtaken by Pourchaire wasn’t ideal but then I got it back, and I managed the fastest lap as well which is always handy.”

After the dramatic sprint races of Saturday, it was time for Sunday’s feature race around the world-renowned Temple of Speed. The conditions were perfect, and the sky was clear over the autodromo for the final F2 event of the weekend. Piastri was starting P1 after his impressive qualifying efforts, sitting alongside Daruvala and once again Zhou sat just behind. As the lights went out it was a great getaway for the Prema driver who held position going into turn one. Zhou had got past the Carlin of Daruvala and so the Uni-Virtuosi driver remained behind in second. This was not a problem for Piastri as he built up a gap and posted the fastest lap whilst doing so. The Australian’s hot getaway was cooled as the safety car returned for the stranded Charouz of Guilherme Samaia who had spun in the second Lesmo. The safety car peeled into the pits at the end of lap four and Piastri made a clean get away. Going slightly wide on the exit of Parabolica, Zhou took an opportunity to make a move but once again the Prema driver had it covered and defended well to hold position before re-establishing his lead and posting the fastest lap.

The Australian continued to maintain a gap to those behind up until lap eight when an incident involving a wounded Hitech of Vips and Ticktum brought out the safety car again. Piastri and everyone else who started on the softs took this opportunity to pit for the mediums and he came out sixth, behind those on a different strategy. This became fifth when the Trident of Marino Sato came to a stop. As the green flag waved, Piastri was on the back of Alessio Deleda and took fourth going into turn one of lap twelve. Now in clear air and in hot pursuit of the DAMS of Marcus Armstrong, the Prema driver once again posted another fastest lap and caught the Kiwi, passing on the inside of the entry to Ascari. A couple of laps later the Australian made another move into Ascari, this time on the outside of Lundgaard.

With Zhou closing in behind, Piastri was able to maintain a sufficient enough gap to prevent the Chinese driver from getting DRS. The Carlin of Ticktum was ahead and yet to pit and it was becoming increasingly important to not damage the tyres of the Prema in the dirty air ahead. Lap twenty two and the second Hitech of Lawson came to a halt on the pit straight as there was an issue with his fire extinguisher, bringing out the safety car. This allowed Ticktum to get rid of his worn medium tyres for some fresh softs and put Piastri back in the lead. As the safety car period ended it was a good restart for the Australian as he defended from Zhou going into turn one. A small lockup in the chicane allowed Zhou to be right on the gear box of the Prema through Curva Grande. As they went side by side into the second chicane, Piastri brilliantly held his position and maintained the lead. With two laps to go, the safety car was back after an incident between Beckmann and Viscaal and with debris to clear, the race ultimately ended behind the safety car, Piastri leading the pack across the line for a well deserved victory and a home win for Prema.

“Being the feature race winner in Monza feels amazing! It was a very solid race with a great pace the whole way. I just made one mistake with a lockup after the second safety car, but besides that, I think we controlled the race really well. A big thank you to Prema for the great car as we even made some improvements yesterday. It feels pretty sweet to tick the feature race off on our list.”

It was another brilliant weekend for the Alpine Academy driver who showed his speed and racecraft to once again bring home a great haul of points. It was his second win and sixth podium of the season and means that Piastri has now stretched his lead in the drivers’ championship to 15 points. The youngster doesn’t have long to wait before hitting the track in anger again as round six takes place in Sochi, Russia on September 24-26.

Images © Prema Powerteam