Isack Hadjar and Theo Pourchaire are the next rookies to be confirmed to be receiving a practice outing at this weekend’s Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix.

The regulations stipulate that every driver in each team has to give up an FP1 session for a rookie, defined as a driver who has started no more than two grands prix.

AlphaTauri handing Nyck de Vries his F1 bow this year counted on one side of the garage, but Liam Lawson filling in for Ricciardo, who replaced the Dutchman mid-season, did not.

Yuki Tsunoda is required to sit on the sidelines in the opening practice hour once across the remaining rounds and AlphaTauri have announced he will do so on Friday in Mexico.

Hadjar will get behind the wheel of an F1 car for the first time when he drives the AT04 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The Frenchman currently lies 14th in the Formula 2 championship, the lowest of the Red Bull-backed drivers. He has notched one podium with eight further points finishes.

Red Bull’s senior team are yet to field a rookie in either of the cars occupied by Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez. But it’s rumoured that Hadjar will get to drive the title-winning RB19 alongside reigning Formula E champion Jake Dennis in FP1 at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo have confirmed that reserve driver Theo Pourchaire will also replace Valtteri Bottas at first practice in Mexico.

Pourchaire, 20, currently leads the way in his third campaign in Formula 2, 25 points clear of Frederik Vesti with only one round in Abu Dhabi remaining.

Vesti, a Mercedes junior driver, will also be granted an opportunity in the W14 this weekend, standing in for George Russell.

Elsewhere, Haas will run Ferrari Academy prospect Oliver Bearman, while Alpine revealed last weekend that Jack Doohan will receive outings in both Mexico and Abu Dhabi.

Bearman has won four races in his rookie season in the second tier to reside in sixth place, seven points behind Doohan, who has progressed to fourth with a late-season charge.

Williams junior Franco Colapinto will make the step up to Formula 2 for the season finale in Abu Dhabi and will compete in the series full-time with MP Motorsport in 2024.

Colapinto has picked up four race wins, five pole positions and 10 podiums over the course of his two-year Formula 3 stint which began with Van Amersfoort Racing in 2022.

The 20-year-old made the switch to MP Motorsport for this year, picking up points in 14 out of 18 rounds this year to be rewarded with fourth place in the standings.

“I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity,” Colapinto said following the announcement.

“We’ve been working really hard to secure a seat in F2 so this is a dream come true. To be able to do it with MP Motorsport makes it even more special.

“Thanks to Sander and Henk [at MP Motorsport] for their trust and continuing to support me. Being part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy this past year has been an incredible experience and I can’t wait to jump into my F2 car in Abu Dhabi.”

“MP are proven race winners in the category, and staying with them feels absolutely right. It’s a familiar atmosphere for me, and it will be to our advantage that we know each other so well as I enter my debut season in the category.

“I very much look forward to the fresh challenge of a new series, with a brand new car to help develop. I can’t wait to get in the car in Abu Dhabi and then work with the team to be ready for a long and challenging 2024 season.”

With Jehan Daruvala and Dennis Hauger currently occupying race seats with the team, it is not yet clear which driver will step aside to make space for the incoming Argentinian.

However, it has already been confirmed that Daruvala will depart F2 to compete in the upcoming 2023/24 Formula E season, where testing has recently commenced.

“It’s great news that we are able to announce Franco’s promotion to our F2 team so early” said MP Motorsport Team Principal Sander Dorsman.

“This will give us a headstart in our preparations for an exciting 2024 F2 season in which we all start from zero, with the new F2 car offering everyone a new baseline to work from.

“Retaining Franco helps us to maintain stability in that transition, apart from the fact that he’s become a member of the MP family and is an extremely quick and talented driver.”

Alpine’s Formula 1 team have bolstered its junior ranks after confirming that Formula 2 racer Kush Maini will be joining the side’s driver academy.

Maini is encountering his maiden campaign in the second-tier series with Campos Racing, scoring a third-place finish in the Australia Sprint race in the third round.

But having been a regular points scorer earlier in the season, the Indian has only added three further points finishes across the past 14 races.

Consequently, Maini has since slipped to 11th in the Drivers’ Championship with 60 points to his name.

It was announced last week that Maini, younger brother of ex-Haas development driver Arjun Maini, will be mentored by two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen

Now, with one round remaining in the F2 championship at the end of November in Abu Dhabi, Alpine have confirmed that Maini will be part of its driver development programme.

The 23-year-old will accompany fellow Alpine-backed drivers Jack Doohan and Victor Martins in F2’s season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Doohan is scheduled to drive for the Anglo-French outfit in FP1 at this weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix while combining his F2 duties with another F1 outing in Abu Dhabi.

Maini has already asserted that his target is to mount a title challenge through a second season in the F2 category next year, which is also set to be supported by Alpine.

His addition means the Enstone squad currently has nine drivers in its academy set-up. Aside from three drivers in F2, Alpine also has a trio in F3 consisting of Gabriele Mini, Sophia Floersch and Nikola Tsolov, alongside Matheus Ferreira and Abbi Pulling in F4, and young karter Kean Nakamura Berta.

“I am super excited to be joining the Alpine Academy,” Maini expressed.

“It’s a dream come true to be associated with a team like Alpine, where I can learn and grow to hopefully one day be ready to take the step into F1. A massive thank you to Alpine for believing in me and giving me this opportunity.”

Julian Rouse, interim Sporting Director of the Alpine F1 team added: “We are happy to welcome Kush into the Alpine Academy. He is a young talent who we believe has strong potential and will be a great asset to our driver development programme.

“The Alpine Academy will enter its ninth year in 2024 and currently features nine drivers of eight nationalities, spanning four different series from FIA F2 through to European Karting. The continual expansion of the Academy’s talent pool runs in parallel to the expansion of our facilities at Enstone with the development of our new state-of-the-art training and testing facilities.”

Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli will skip Formula 3 and make the step up to Formula 2 in 2024 with Prema after winning the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine title.

Last year, Antonelli won both the Italian and ADAC Formula 4 championships with Prema in only his first season of single-seater racing.

This season, Antonelli has been competing in the FRECA series, where he has won five races to clinch the title with two rounds remaining at Zandvoort.

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff had previously hinted that the two-time European karting champion could progress straight from FRECA to F2 and now it’s been confirmed.

Antonelli will continue his association with the Prema squad that has taken Charles Leclerc (2017), Mick Schumacher (2020), and Oscar Piastri (2021) to championship glory.

The 17-year-old will get behind the wheel of an F2 car for the first time at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi. The next season will also see F2 introduce a new car.

Antonelli said he was “very happy for this opportunity”, admitting that he is aware of the “huge jump” that will come from moving to FRECA to F2.

“I’m very happy for this opportunity,” Antonelli expressed.

“From Formula Regional to Formula 2, it will be a huge jump. I’m aware that it will be very challenging because the level is really high there.

“It will be a new car, for me and the others as well, but it’s still going to be tough.

“I don’t want to set expectations, I will try to learn as much as possible in testing to be ready for the first race, have fun as always, and do a good job.

“I’m delighted to continue with Prema as I started my single-seater career with them and they are my second family. I love working with them.”

Meanwhile, Prema team boss Rene Rosin said: “We are proud to welcome Kimi to our FIA Formula 2 team.

“He has been with us since the very beginning so not only do we know him well, but we are also particularly proud of what he was able to achieve in his first two years full-time in single-seaters.

“Kimi is a gifted racer and a great team player, so we cannot wait to see what the 2024 season will bring and we are focused on helping him to make the step in the smoothest possible way.”

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has outlined that Oliver Bearman will combine more FP1 outings in Formula 1 next year with another season in Formula 2.

It was announced last week that Bearman will be making his F1 bow later this month when he conducts an FP1 session with the Haas team at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

He will also be behind the wheel of the VF-23 in the opening practice session in Abu Dhabi, ensuring Haas fulfils its obligation to run a rookie driver in two FP1 sessions in the year.

Ahead of those appearances, Bearman was given the opportunity to drive an F1 car for the first time in his career when he drove Ferrari’s SF21 at the side’s Fiorano test track.

The Briton, who has been a member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy since the end of 2021, is currently competing in F2, where he sits sixth in the standings with four wins.

Vasseur has confirmed that Bearman will return for a second crack at F2 in 2024, alongside more F1 practice sessions to prepare him for the potential step up.

Asked whether he could provide an insight into Bearman’s racing schedule for next year, Vasseur said: “[In] 2024 he will do F2 again.

“But you know the situation, that we already had the discussion – I think it was the last press conference – about the junior series and the general programme is that the step is quite high with the F1, because we have no testing anymore, we have more and more Sprint event with just one FP1.

“We have three tests during the winter, it means that it’s quite difficult to adapt to the F1 and the rookies not always successful. I think Oscar [Piastri] did a very good job also because he had one year of preparation last year and he was already used to the F1.

“And we have to prepare in advance and it’s why we give him two FP1s this season with us and probably much more next year and we will prepare him for the future. So far, he’s doing a very good job in the junior series, but we know that it’s [F1] a long way [away].”

Vasseur’s mention of the lack of testing time now afforded to rookie F1 drivers followed comments by Logan Sargeant, who recently defended his tough maiden campaign.

“Experience always helps, but I have people to talk to just try and understand how to approach things and why these little mistakes are happening and how to get rid of them,” Sargeant said in Qatar.

“It is a constant work-in-progress, and I don’t think anyone is perfect in that sense – it is just about building off the mistakes, and it might sound silly, but using them to your advantage to try and learn from it.

“Ideally, you’d have more testing, as that is the best way to prepare – I mean back in the day when Lewis [Hamilton] and Fernando [Alonso] joined, everyone back then got endless days of testing, and in the current car too which is very different to what we experience now. 

“Now, it is always a previous generation and that makes a difference, but even if it is the previous generation [of car used in testing], just having more days [overall] makes a difference.”

Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen will mentor rookie Formula 2 racer Kush Maini, the pair have revealed.

Maini began his maiden campaign in the second-tier series as a regular points scorer with Campos Racing, peaking with a third-place finish in the Australia Sprint race.

But the Indian’s form has nosedived since then, only achieving three points finishes in the past 14 races. Maini has since slipped to 11th in the standings with 60 points.

However, Maini believes he can be a regular contender at the front in 2024 with the support of Hakkinen, who previously worked with multiple-time F1 winner Valtteri Bottas.

“I think from next year, my approach and that of my team is going to be a lot more structured thanks to Mika,” Maini said. “Having a trainer who’s looking after your nutrition at the track, a mind coach looking after anything you’re going through on a race weekend. Basically the way Mika works is you narrow down everything to the point where the driver just has one job.”

Maini is the younger brother of Arjun Maini, who previously competed in F2 for two seasons and temporarily held a role within Haas’ F1 operation as a development driver.

The 23-year-old is relishing the prospect of working with one of the sport’s greatest-ever drivers as he strives to reach the top flight.

“I’ve watched Mika since I was young. And I know everything he has achieved in this sport,” he commented.

“So just for him to believe that I could reach Formula One shows that we’ve done something right in these last 15 years. It’s a massive weapon you have in your arsenal when you have Mika Hakkinen standing behind you!”

Hakkinen states that progressing Maini through to F1 is their collective ambition.

“I have a lot of experience from working with Valtteri Bottas seeing him developing and growing as a driver,” Hakkinen added. 

“More recently I’ve been following Kush, understanding his abilities, his talent for driving. It’s a very interesting journey together to develop, to be an even more professional racing driver. F1 is our objective, not forgetting the current situation.

However, the Finn insists he will not detail into instructing Maini on specific driving techniques: “I don’t think I have to put my nose into that,” he clarified.

Instead, Hakkinen explains that his newfound role will comprise utilising the “communication and the network that I have. These assets are very powerful when looking after a young talented driver.

“I’ve been an ambassador for Formula One and been part of F1 since 1991. It’s an asset, the power that I have to take this young driver into the right places at the right time.

“Of course, India is an enormous, powerful country. I’m part of bringing a young driver from India to Formula One, bringing these mega companies, learning to understand the opportunities that Formula One can bring them. And vice versa, of course, what Formula One can experience and create with India. I can only see beautiful success stories.

“India is going to be very powerful. And I want all Indians to know Kush Maini, I want everybody in India cheering him. I want them to feel that he’s going to be a winner in Formula One. Of course it requires very hard work and a lot of sacrifices.

“Because of my experience in this motor racing world, I do understand timing, being in the right team, having the right partners, working with the right people is crucial.”

Despite still having the F2 season finale in Abu Dhabi to contest, Maini expressed that he has already got his eye on next year.

“Having Mika behind me, my whole team being created now and not having to stress about racing, I think it’s a very exciting time for myself, and I definitely feel I haven’t showed anywhere near what I am capable of in the car,” he explained. “I’m very excited to hopefully show it next year.”

Maini’s career will also be supported by Guillaume le Goff, who also works with Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly. He will manage the day-to-day business of Maini’s career.

Maserati MSG Racing have announced the signing of Formula 2 driver Jehan Daruvala for the 2023/24 season, with him partnering the retained Maximilian Günther.

After four seasons in F2, Daruvala will finally leave the feeder series to join a World Championship, in the form of Formula E. The Indian driver isn’t exactly a stranger to the series, having been Mahindra Racing’s reserve driver in season nine, whilst he also completed the Berlin rookie test and the Rome rookie session for the side.

It means that as well as departing F2, Daruvala has also left Mahindra, to take a full-time seat at Maserati alongside Günther, who will compete with the side for a second season.

Daruvala has taken the place of Edoardo Mortara, who recently left the team ahead of a rumoured move elsewhere, potentially to Mahindra. The 24-year-old is already an accomplished racing driver despite his young age, with him being a four-time F2 race winner.

Whilst he hasn’t won a race this season for MP Motorsport, he has featured on the rostrum three times, with his most recent podium appearance having come at Monaco, where he finished second in the F2 sprint race.

Daruvala’s arrival will see him embark on his maiden Formula E campaign, with him looking set to be the only rookie driver on the grid. The ex-Mahindra reserve is very much looking forward to racing for Maserati and is fully focused on “hitting the ground running” in the Mexico City season-opener in January.

“Formula E is a championship that I have admired for a long time, and after taking part in two test sessions, I’m very happy to have the opportunity to step up to a full-time race seat,” said Daruvala. “From my experiences so far, the Gen3 car is completely unique to drive, but I’ve found it to be a very rewarding experience.

“I would like to thank James and Maserati MSG Racing for giving me this chance and I can’t wait to learn more about the car and get to know the team better in pre-season testing, before hitting the ground running in Mexico City in January.”

Günther retained for 2024

Unsurprisingly, given just how well he ended season nine, Maserati have made the smart decision to retain Günther for season 10. The German only joined the team at the start of the 2022/23 season and showed instant speed in pre-season testing, where he topped almost every session.

However, the opening rounds were a disaster for Günther, who made several driver errors. His qualifying crash ahead of Diriyah R1 was particularly costly, as his car was too damaged to participate in the E-Prix. In all honesty, the opening six rounds for him and the team were dreadful, before his and Maserati’s campaign came to life at the German driver’s home event.

The Berlin double-header was the real turning point of Günther’s and Maserati’s season, as he claimed the team’s first podium of the year. With the exception of a DNF in Monaco, Günther finished no lower than sixth from rounds seven through to round 16 in London.

Across the final nine rounds of the campaign, Günther secured three P3 finishes, two pole positions in Jakarta and a famous victory also in the Indonesian capital. Günther’s stunning victory in Jakarta marked Maserati’s first in single-seater racing since 1957, marking a day to never forget.

Günther had a real swagger about him in the second half of the season, which could see him challenge the frontrunners from the get-go in season 10, if he can start the new season how he ended the previous one.

He’s delighted to remain with the Monte-Carlo-based team for a second season in what’ll be his fifth Formula E campaign, at just the age of 26 years old. The German driver is confident that himself and the team can continue from where they left off at the London E-Prix in July, and “achieve bigger and better things” in 2024.

“I’m very proud to continue with Maserati MSG Racing. We had a great first season together, particularly with the momentum we built in the second half of the year with one win, four podiums and two poles,” said Günther.

“Continuing to build on this base is something that I’m very much looking forward to in 2024, alongside working with Jehan as my new teammate. After seeing our performance trajectory unfold this year, I‘m confident we can go on to achieve bigger and better things in the future.”

Rossiter ‘confident’ Maserati can ‘fight at the front’

Team Principal James Rossiter is “excited” about Maserati’s line-up for season 10, with him recognising that the side now have a “blend” of youth and experience. Daruvala will, of course, need some time to get up to speed; however, the team boss is hopeful that Günther’s “strong understanding” of the Gen3 era will support Daruvala’s integration into the team and Formula E.

Daruvala certainly has incredibly big shoes to fill, given that Mortara was a valuable member of the team for six seasons. Whilst the Swiss driver was a key part of the side’s cog, Rossiter is a huge believer in Daruvala’s “determination”.

Maserati’s driver pairing is certainly an exciting one which will arguably only grow stronger the longer Daruvala spends behind the wheel, leaving Rossiter “confident” that with the Indian star alongside the very quick Günther, the Jaguars and Porsches can be challenged in 2024.

“We’re excited about our driver lineup for Season 10, and we’re confident that the blend of Max’s experience with Jehan’s determination will prove to be a competitive combination. Max impressed us throughout the 2022/23 season, and continuing our relationship was a natural decision,” admitted Rossiter.

“He has brilliant speed, a strong understanding of Formula E’s Gen3 package, and with five seasons of experience – despite being aged only 26 – has an impressive amount of knowledge.

“That experience will be invaluable for Jehan, who has already shown good promise in his two rookie test outings with Mahindra earlier this year. Over the past four years, he has shown hunger and determination in Formula 2, and has clearly demonstrated that he has what it takes to win races. Now, Jehan is ready to do the work it takes to succeed in Formula E.

“In Season 9, we faced many highs and lows, but we learned a great deal from every scenario we faced. After making some positive performance gains over the Summer, we’re looking forward to getting Season 10 underway, and with our lineup, we’re confident that we can be in a position to fight at the front of the grid.”

Prema’s Oliver Bearman took victory in the Formula 2 Feature Race at Monza, which was blighted by several Safety Car incidents.

Bearman was followed home by Ayumu Iwasa and Theo Pourchaire, with championship contender Frederik Vesti crashing out early on.

Championship leader Pourchaire lined up on pole for the first time since Bahrain, alongside Bearman on the front row, with Saturday’s Sprint Winner esti starting in eighth.

On a glorious sunny Sunday morning at Monza, Vesti needed to go on the offensive to continue to close the gap to Pourchaire at the top of the standings, but would the Prema driver be able to pull it off?

After Saturday’s Sprint, Pourchaire’s lead was cut to just nine points over Vesti in the Championship, 175 points to 166.

It was a good reaction from Pourchaire at the start and he secured the lead into the opening chicane, but Bearman held the inside line at Turn 3 and made his move to take his lead at Della Roggia.

There was then disaster for Vesti who was squeezed and spun round by Roman Stanek going out of Della Roggia and into the first Lesmo, ending the championship challenger’s race and bringing out the Safety Car.

Stanek had just lost out to Victor Martins at Della Roggia and his aggressive defence against Vesti will have huge implications for the championship fight.

For his part in the incident, Stanek was handed a five-second time penalty.

Contributing to the stoppage was Zandvoort Feature winner Clement Novalak, who also spun off into the gravel trap on the opening lap.

With the hazard cleared, racing resumed at the end of Lap 3 and Bearman comfortably led the field to green in front of Pourchaire and Martins.

Bearman’s focus then turned to stretching away from Pourchaire to clear DRS range, with Pourchaire’s goal transforming into capitalising on Vesti’s misfortune by taking as many points as possible with only one more round of the season remaining after the F2 action in Italy.

DRS was enabled at the start of Lap 6, with Pourchaire still within seventh-tenths of leader Bearman.

Further down the order, there was a spin for Arthur Leclerc and his stranded DAMS car prompted another Safety Car on Lap 7, prompting a flurry of action in pit lane as the drivers elected to take their mandatory pit stops and get rid of their super soft tyres.

Jehan Daruvala, Jack Doohan and Iwasa were on the alternate strategy having started on the medium compound tyre and cycled through to the front as a result.

Bearman was then put under investigation for an unsafe release as the Prema driver squeezed Pourchaire toward the pit wall when exiting his pit box, but no further action was taken upon review.

Racing got back underway at the end of Lap 11 with the alternate strategy runners tasked with defending against the rest of the pack, but there was a high-speed crash at the back of the field on the start-finish straight involving Zane Maloney on the restart prompting another Safety Car period.

The Rodin Carlin driver was tagged from behind by Roy Nissany and clattered into the barriers, but luckily was able to get out of the car with Nissany later be handed a drive-through penalty for his part in the incident.

Daruvala, Doohan and Iwasa continued to fight at the front whilst race direction took their time to call the Safety Car into action, with Iwasa winning out in the three-way tussle.

Iwasa and Daruvla then elected to pit under caution, meaning that Bearman inherited the lead once again behind the Safety Car, ahead of Doohan and Pourchaire.

Racing resumed at the end of Lap 15 and Bearman held the lead well, with Pourchaire taking the challenge to Doohan, who was backing up the pack and handing a big advantage to Bearman out in front.

Pourchaire then took second off of Doohan at the start of Lap 18 and set about chasing Bearman for the lead with 12 laps remaining.

Martins then had an issue with his DRS, which got stuck open, prompting him to head to the pits after the black and orange flag was shown to the ART driver.

The Safety Car was then brought out for the fourth time as Kush Maini was tagged by Jak Crawford whilst going for a move around the outside and was sent crashing out with a puncture and front wing damage.

This eroded Bearman’s 2.5-second advantage out front, meaning he had to fight once again when racing resumed at the end of Lap 26.

Bearman nailed the restart and Iwasa snatched second from Pourchaire.

There was then another incident on the penultimate lap as the Virtual Safety Car was called with Crawford stranded at the side of Ascari, after being tagged by Stanek.

The VSC then became a full and fifth Safety Car period, bringing an end to the race under cuation.

Bearman took the feature win (his fourth victory in his rookie season) ahead of Iwasa (who climbed 13 places) and Pourchaire in second and third.

Enzo Fittipaldi took fourth, ahead of Dennis Hauger in fifth and Doohan in sixth.

Daruvala took seventh with Amaury Cordeel in eighth and Ralph Boschung and Stanek completed the top-10.

Pourchaire now holds a 25-point lead over Vesti in the Championship, with the F2 season now on hiatus until the season finale in Abu Dhabi in November.

Frederik Vesti revitalised his Formula 2 championship challenge by resisting late pressure from Victor Martins to win the Sprint Race at Monza.

Verschoor held onto the final podium place, denying Theo Pourchaire a place on the rostrum from 10th on the grid.

The long run down to Turn 1 always offers the drivers an early opportunity to make up ground and Vesti made a storming start to create a three-wide situation with Ralph Boschung and Richard Verschoor.

Boschung, situated in the middle of that fight, locked up and headed down the escape road, leaving Verschoor and Vesti to scrap it out on the way down to the Variante della Roggia chicane. Vesti prevailed in front, snatching the lead from third on the grid.

Meanwhile, his title rival, Pourchaire, was fortunate to avoid damaging his front wing at the first chicane but he still managed to exit the opening sequence of corners with a two-place gain to eighth.

However, the racing action was brought to an instant halt at the end of Lap 1, with Amaury Cordeel stopping on track at the Ascari chicane after being spun around by Zane Maloney to bring out the Safety Car.

Vesti maintained his advantage as the race resumed at the end of Lap 4. But Boschung, nursing heavily flat spotted tyres from his first turn mishap, was unable to arrest his plight down the order, dropping to the tail end before stopping for a change of rubber.

Pourchaire’s charge through the pack continued with a move on Isack Hadjar to rise to sixth, with the Frenchman immediately switching his attention to pursuing Jak Crawford. The Red Bull-backed driver was able to resist Pourchaire for one lap before the ART racer made his way past.

Further up the road, Victor Martins propelled his way into the podium places, diving down the inside of Kush Maini into Turn 1 with a confident move on the brakes.

Enzo Fittipaldi was demoted backwards by the Ferrari Academy duo of Oliver Bearman and Arthur Leclerc, with the former cleared over earlier contact at the first chicane.

Having clocked the fastest lap of the race, Martins was again the last man on the brakes to seize second from Verschoor.

The 2022 Formula 3 champion’s hopes of mounting an attack on Vesti for the win were then handed a major boost by the Safety Car being deployed for the second time when Roy Nissany was stranded at the della Roggia chicane. Replays proceeded to show he had been pinched at the apex by Juan Manuel Correa, sending him into a spin.

For the second time, Vesti executed an exceptional restart, leaving Martins to fend off Verschoor for second rather than mounting an overtake for the lead.

Pourchaire had appeared under immense pressure from Crawford into the della Roggia chicane, but he turned defence into attack in the blink of an eye by diving past Maini.

Dennis Hauger’s hopes of scoring were ended on the spot when he was pushed into the gravel at Ascari by Hadjar, promoting Bearman into the final points place.

But the primary focus remained on the duel at the front between Vesti and Martins as the race headed into its final lap.

Despite his best attempts, Martins was unable to stop Vesti from triumphing for the fifth time this year. Verschoor beat Pourchaire to third, reducing the ART driver’s advantage in the standings to only nine points ahead of tomorrow’s Feature Race.

Maini came home fifth, ahead of Hadjar and Crawford. However, they were demoted out of the points after picking up five-second penalties for exceeding track limits, enabling Bearman to take sixth, with Leclerc and Roman Stanek completing the top eight.

Theo Pourchaire claimed a third career Formula 2 pole position despite farcical scenes in the 30-minute qualifying session at Monza.

When the session got underway, there was no movement in the pitlane for six minutes besides an exploratory lap from Zandvoort feature race winner Clement Novalak.

Early chess games in the pitlane meant it wasn’t until halfway through the session that the lap times started to be recorded. With each driver seeking a tow, it was Victor Martins who set the early benchmark of 1:32.423.

Championship leader Theo Pourchaire was able to displace his ART teammate from the top of the leader board clocking a 1:32.328. Martins’ laptime would then be deleted, promoting Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar into the top three.

The waiting games continued for most as Josh Mason and Ralph Boschung both got out on track early to avoid the chaos behind.

As the remainder of the field returned to the track for one final run, Jak Crawford was left stranded in the pitlane as fire extinguishers were seen around the Hitech. Crawford would return to the car but not in time to complete a lap.

Drivers continued to jostle over track position as 18 cars rounded the Parabolica at the same time. Maini, Verschoor, Doohan and Correa all missed out on setting a lap time after losing track position to those surrounding.

Boschung made use of his clear track to jump into the top ten as it stood and the gamble of hitting the track early paid off as the vast majority of drivers failed to improve their lap time, ironically due to the traffic they had created.

The jostling meant that Theo Pourchaire’s earlier benchmark would not be beaten as he claimed his third career F2 pole. The Prema of Bearman remained second.

Roman Stanek was one of the only drivers to improve amid the final lap chaos, pipping Hadjar and Martins who completed the top five.

Maini qualified sixth ahead of Crawford, Vesti, Verschoor and Boschung who takes reverse grid pole for Saturday’s sprint.