Monza, Race 2: Ticktum controls Sprint Race for second F2 win

Dan Ticktum put on a Monza masterclass to clinch a comfortable second win of the season in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race, finishing nearly 4s ahead of Callum Ilott, who retrieved the Championship lead from Robert Shwartzman.

The Russian not only lost first, but also second in the standings, as PREMA teammate Mick Schumacher followed up his Feature Race win on Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the Sprint. Shwartzman did manage to wrestle his way to sixth from P9 in the race, but it wasn’t enough, and he falls to third place in the standings behind his fellow Ferrari Academy drivers.

ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard continued his strong turnaround of form, completing the podium in third place for the second race in succession, having scored just one points finish from the five races prior to Monza.

Having started on reverse grid pole, Louis Delétraz slumped to a fifth-place finish, as his search for a first F2 win continues.

AS IT HAPPENED

Deletraz got a good getaway from pole, but Ticktum got a better one from second, dragging his DAMS into the lead ahead of the first corner. There was little movement behind them, as Ilott, Yuki Tsunoda and Lundgaard all stood firm and held on to third, fourth and fifth.

Feature Race winner Schumacher had gotten a move on, launching off the line from eighth and up to sixth place. The PREMA racer was unrelenting and gained another position from Lundgaard on the second lap.

The PREMA ace was up to fourth by Lap 3, as Tsunoda’s Carlin suffered from technical issues and slowed to a near stop. The Red Bull junior did manage to get going again, but dived into the pits for a check-up, and was eventually forced to retire.

There was a similar issue for Zhou. The UNI-Virtuosi racer had just managed to get ahead of Schumacher, out-breaking him at Turn 1, but slowed significantly just half a lap later. The Renault junior crawled back to the pits, but retired as well.

Shwarztman was making moves. Having started the day in ninth, the Russian was up to sixth, directly behind his teammate Schumacher, who had also lost a place to Lundgaard, during his battle with Zhou.

Ticktum was sitting pretty out in front, with Deletraz too busy defending from Ilott. Eventually, the Briton was able to fling his UNI-Virtuosi down the side of the Charouz on the first straight to leap up to second.

Deletraz got a good getaway from pole, but Ticktum got a better one from second, dragging his DAMS into the lead ahead of the first corner. There was little movement behind them, as Ilott, Yuki Tsunoda and Lundgaard all stood firm and held on to third, fourth and fifth.

Feature Race winner Schumacher had gotten a move on, launching off the line from eighth and up to sixth place. The PREMA racer was unrelenting and gained another position from Lundgaard on the second lap.

The PREMA ace was up to fourth by Lap 3, as Tsunoda’s Carlin suffered from technical issues and slowed to a near stop. The Red Bull junior did manage to get going again, but dived into the pits for a check-up, and was eventually forced to retire.

There was a similar issue for Zhou. The UNI-Virtuosi racer had just managed to get ahead of Schumacher, out-breaking him at Turn 1, but slowed significantly just half a lap later. The Renault junior crawled back to the pits, but retired as well.

Shwarztman was making moves. Having started the day in ninth, the Russian was up to sixth, directly behind his teammate Schumacher, who had also lost a place to Lundgaard, during his battle with Zhou.

Ticktum was sitting pretty out in front, with Deletraz too busy defending from Ilott. Eventually, the Briton was able to fling his UNI-Virtuosi down the side of the Charouz on the first straight to leap up to second.

KEY QUOTE – DAN TICKTUM (DAMS)

“A pretty positive day for me today, with a second win in F2. It has been a very up and down season so far, but I think we have consistently been moving in the right direction and I think we are nearly there. You can always be better, but I feel like the car is a lot closer to the window now – or perhaps even in it.

“I am really happy with the result today: I was able to control the race once I had gotten a good start. I would like to win a Feature Race, I said that in Silverstone, but a win is a win. The big positive is the pace that we have in the car. We will see what Qualifying is like next week and hopefully I’ll be on top in the other race.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Having retaken the Championship lead, Ilott will not want to surrender it again, but Schumacher is the man on form and will have his eyes locked firmly on the prize. Shwartzman has some making up to do from third after a disappointing Round 8, but will be able to do so in less than a weeks’ time, when F2 heads to Mugello for the ninth round of racing.