Fuoco beats Norris to victory in dramatic F2 Monaco sprint race

Ferrari F1 protege Antonio Fuoco claimed his first Formula 2 victory of 2018 thanks to a commanding drive in the Monaco sprint race. 

The Italian racer led from start to finish and resisted early pressure from championship leader Lando Norris, before forging a comfortable lead to take a first win in the series for the Charouz Racing System outfit.  

Carlin’s Norris settled for second place to extend his points advantage at the top of the drivers’ standings, as Louis Deletraz held off Russian Time driver and feature race winner Artem Markelov to take his first ever F2 podium and ensure both Charouz drivers made it onto the rostrum.

Fuoco maintained position while Norris jumped ART’s Jack Aitken off the line to snatch second place from his fellow countryman on the run to Turn 1. Aitken fell down the order with a throttle issue on the opening lap, with the Renault F1 junior’s race ultimately coming to a premature conclusion shortly after when he encountered an engine problem. 

Prema’s Nyck de Vries and Tadasuke Makino stalled as the lights went out, while Luca Ghiotto was unable to avoid the Russian Time driver as he slammed into the rear of the Japanese racer’s car, with an early Virtual Safety Car period being called to clear the stranded cars off the grid. 

A big crash for feature race podium finisher Sean Gelael brought out the Safety Car on Lap 5 after the Prema driver ran wide over the kerbs on the entry to La Piscine before being dramatically launched at high-speed into the barriers on the far side.

Carlin’s Norris continued his bid to find a way past Fuoco when racing resumed but fell back at the mid-way stage, as the Ferrari protege surged clear out front en route to sealing his second win in the series. 

The race ended under a Safety Car after two separate incidents in the closing stages, with Alexander Albon and Roy Nissany getting together in dramatic style on the exit of the tunnel, while Arden’s Nirei Fukuzimi and Santino Ferrucci ended up in the barriers at La Rascasse. 

Former Manor F1 driver Roberto Merhi followed up on his feature race podium by finishing fifth ahead of Haas development driver Arjun Maini. Arden’s Maximilian Gunther took seventh with Nicholas Latifi rounding out the final points-scoring position in eighth, despite making two pit stops throughout the 30-lap race. 

ART's George Russell was another high-profile retirement as only 10 drivers made it to the chequered flag. The Mercedes F1 young driver crashed out on the exit of the Swimming Pool section as he ended a race in the barriers for the second time during a torrid weekend for the title hopeful.