Leader of Group A in qualifying, Rafael Câmara is the only F2 grid driver to have gone under the 1 minute 21 mark: the Brazilian takes pole ahead of his rival Nikola Tsolov (Campos).
Respectively second and third in the F2 championship after Montreal, Rafael Câmara and Nikola Tsolov are not ready to let go.
Already very close to each other in Formula 3 last year, the Brazilian and the Bulgarian are separated by only 20 thousandths of a second at the end of qualifying in Monaco, in anticipation of a main race whose start will be broadcast this Sunday.
Two eventful groups
Author of a reference lap time of 1:20.923, Câmara takes pole position, and remains the only driver on the grid to have managed to drive under the 1 minute 21 mark. Faster than Tsolov, the Ferrari academy protégé also outpaced Alexander Dunne (Rodin), second in Group A of qualifying. The Irishman will start third on the grid, just ahead of his teammate Martinius Stenshorne.
Much more chaotic than in F3, the session was notably marked by the waving of two distinct red flags, one per group. In Group A, it was John Bennett (Trident) who led to the first session interruption. The driver, at absolute full throttle on the straight, visibly misjudged his braking before approaching Sainte-Dévote. Despite braking very early in his maneuver, Laurens Van Hoepen’s teammate crashed head-on into the barriers.
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Mini unlucky
The second interruption is also linked to Trident, although Laurens Van Hoepen, precisely, is in no way responsible for the collision. Committed to the outside of the corner exiting the tunnel, the Dutchman saw Kush Maini (ART) move to the inside, trying to maintain his position close to the chicane. With the Trident driver having been blocked by the floor on the kerbs, the session had to be interrupted for a few moments.
Finally, it should be noted that the championship leader, until now the most consistent since the start of this season, will have to start from 7th place. Indeed, Gabriele Mini (MP), still fast at the start of the session, failed to make the improvements of his competitors, and will be forced to overtake, or rely on a stroke of luck to maintain his position at the top of the provisional standings.
According to the principle of the reversed starting grid, poleman Joshua Dürksen’s (Invicta) teammate will start on pole for the first race tomorrow at 2 PM, to be followed live on Canal + Sport.
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