Maini grabs special F2 victory in Monaco for DAMS

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

DAMS racer Kush Maini took his second Formula 2 victory, and first in 2025, taking a special victory around Monaco with a controlled drive, ahead of PREMA Racing's Gabriele Miní and Hitech TGR's Luke Browning.

Maini took his first win in 2025 on the streets of Monaco | Credit: Formula 2

In a race of scraps and scars for several drivers, both Alpine juniors Maini and Miní kept it clean, hustling each other around the streets of Monte Carlo along the way. The Indian kept his fellow Alpine junior at bay, before opening up a gap after the safety car period ended.

Arvid Lindblad's best efforts to limit the damage from a ten-second penalty incurred on lap 1 proved enough for him to finish in the top eight, taking home one point from Campos, having run third all race.

As a result, Luke Browning inherited a podium finish, having started from the front row for the sprint, ahead of Maini's teammate Jak Crawford, with Richard Verschoor finishing in the top five.

Sebastián Montoya backed up PREMA Racing's efforts by finishing sixth on the road, ahead of Leonardo Fornaroli's Invicta Racing machine, ahead of Lindblad.

Pole-sitter Alex Dunne finished ninth on the road after a measured, risk-free race, while Ritomo Miyata rounded out the top ten for ART Grand Prix.

AS IT UNFOLDED

Maini finished ahead of fellow Alpine junior Gabriele Miní | Credit: Formula 2 via X

After qualifying on Friday decided the grid order for the Monaco weekend, DAMS' Kush Maini and Hitech TGR's Luke Browning started the 30-lap sprint from the front of the field.

A short five-minute delay saw the formation lap begin at 14:20 local time. As the five red lights went out, Browning got a slow start off the line, allowing Minì to claim second and Crawford to move ahead to third.

Lindblad too snuck ahead into fourth, before attempting an opportunistic lunge on Crawford for third into the Mirabeau corner. However, it was a move that didn't quite come off, as the Campos man made contact with Crawford's DAMS, sending the American wide on a tangent, and dislodging his front wing end plate.

Lindblad later copped a ten-second penalty for causing a collision on the opening lap, arguing with his engineer to protest the penalty. At the same time, the Briton was staving off a challenge from Browning behind.

Mirabeau corner was once again the scene of action on lap 2, with Van Amersfoort Racing's Rafael Villagómez spinning AIX Racing's Cian Shields into the barrier. The latter eventually pulled off in the run-off area at the corner, retiring from the race.

As the front two Alpine juniors Maini and Minì raced nose to tail, and Lindblad debated on his approach for the laps ahead, more bodywork was shed when Roman Staněk attempted to move past Pepe Martí at the hairpin.

The safety car wasn't too far away, and was called into action when AIX Racing's Joshua Dürksen's clouted the wall on the exit of Mirabeau corner on lap 11, as he battled with Ollie Goethe's MP Motorsport outside the points.

The Paraguayan stopped on the exit of Portier corner, marking a day to forget for AIX Racing, while the other Van Amersfoort of John Bennett too retired from the race, having made contact with the barrier at turn 1.

The safety car retreated to the pits on lap 15, with race leader Maini opening up a gap initially. Lindblad soon slowed up, attempting to create a gap on track and push away from his rivals, in a bid to retain his position. The gap soon soared to ten seconds, with Lindblad then given the go-ahead to push, from his engineer.

Meanwhile, Goethe once again found himself at the receiving end of an incident. A bold move on Victor Martins' ART saw the Frenchman make contact with the barrier, losing bodywork on his car, and forced to pit for repairs. The German later copped a ten-second penalty for his move, ruling out any chances of a points finish.

Martí too retired from the race, with front wing damage to his Campos Racing machine. The hopes of points rested on rookie Lindblad, who had begun to set the timing screens purple, rapidly closing down the gap to Minì ahead.

With Minì backing off to go for one final push and get a fastest lap, the duo were soon neck-and-neck on the circuit, with Lindblad hungry to make a move and keep his gap to the rest.

Maini had moved into a gap of over four seconds as the race headed into its closing stages. Try as he might, Lindblad wouldn't find a way past Minì's PREMA Racing.

Untroubled in the latter stages of the race, Maini took his first win of the season, and second in his F2 career. The victory, undoubtedly came at a crucial point, with the Indian having scored only one point in his season so far.

Elsewhere, Lindblad attempted to move past Minì as they approached the line. His efforts reaped a point, leaving Campos with something to take away from the sprint, as Minì took his first podium of the season.

Final Classification: Monaco Sprint (F2)

Position	Driver	Team
1	Kush Maini	DAMS Lucas Oil
2	Gabriele Miní	Prema Racing
3	Luke Browning	Hitech TGR
4	Jak Crawford	DAMS Lucas Oil
5	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport
6	Sebastian Montoya	Prema Racing
7	Leonardo Fornaroli	Invicta Racing
8	Arvid Lindblad	Campos Racing
9	Alex Dunne	Rodin Motorsport
10	Ritomo Miyata	ART Grand Prix
11	Roman Stanek	Invicta Racing
12	Oliver Goethe	MP Motorsport
13	Max Esterson	Trident
14	Amaury Cordeel	Rodin Motorsport
15	Dino Beganovic	Hitech TGR
16	Sami Meguetounif	Trident
17	Rafael Villagomez	Van Amersfoort Racing
18	Victor Martins	ART Grand Prix
DNF	Pepe Marti	Campos Racing
DNF	John Bennett	Van Amersfoort Racing
DNF	Joshua Durksen	AIX Racing
DNF	Cian Shields	AIX Racing