Frederik Vesti secured pole position in Monaco in a close qualifying battle with title rival Théo Pourchaire. The PREMA Racing and Mercedes Junior Team driver clocked a time of 1:21.053 in the last five minutes and secured pole position with a narrow margin of 0.052 seconds ahead of Pourchaire. Victor Martins finished first in Group A and will start second on the grid.
With qualifying split into two groups of 11 in Formula 2, Group A consisted of even-numbered cars after a random vote to determine the starting order. Group B, with odd-numbered cars on the grid, finished second.
F3: Mini beats Beganovic for the Monaco Split Qualifying Pole
Arthur Leclerc was hoping for a good result on home soil but was eliminated early in Group A. He knocked out the barriers from the last corner, which resulted in a crash and a red flag at the start of the first segment.
Back in action, Alpine Academy and Invicta Virtuosi Racing rider Jack Doohan took first place but was beaten by Martins in the Frenchman’s next effort. No one in group A did another lap after the second red flag in the final moments, this time after crashing Jehan Daruvala.
In Group B, Pourchaire was immediately in the lead, taking first place on his first flying lap and saving time on his next attempt.
Vesti responded despite being P2 until his crucial third lap in flight. This was enough to overtake championship leader Pourchaire by just 0.052 seconds and take the interim pole position in 1:21.053.
With less than a minute to go and all the drivers in the last laps, Trident’s Clément Novalak hit the barriers at Portier, lighting red flags and ending the session before further upgrades.
With both groups added up, Vesti will start from pole position ahead of Martins on the front row with Pourchaire behind him in third. Hitech Pulse-Eight and Red Bull Junior Team driver Isack Hadjar will start Saturday’s sprint race from an inverted grid after finishing 10th overall.
A detailed summary of the entire qualifying session can be found on the official Formula 2 website and in the report Here.
