Six drivers penalised after chaotic end to Monza F2 qualifying

Credit: Formula 2 via X

In what comes as a major update, several Formula 2 drivers have received grid penalties for the pair of races in Monza, after being deemed responsible for the late melee in qualifying on Friday.

The incident pertains to a chain of events late in the session, which saw PREMA Racing's Mari Boya tiptoe his way down to the final corner in the closing moments, with the rest of the grid following suit, in a bid to gain a slipstream down the long straights at Monza and score the best grid position.

The late chaos ensued after DAMS' Roman Bilinski skipped the queue and attempted to get on with his final flying lap, with under 90 seconds left on the clock.

The series of events saw Boya's teammate Sebastián Montoya veer off track to avoid Nikola Tsolov's Campos, while ART's Kush Maini took avoiding action and made his way past Alex Dunne's Rodin Motorsport at the final corner.

Boya, who was found responsible for the incident due to dropping to an excessively slow speed in order to gain a sporting advantage, was rapped with a three-place grid drop for both Monza races.

Tsolov too received a three-place grid drop for both races, for weaving on the racing line in a bid to warm up his tyres. The Bulgarian driver's actions forced Montoya to steer left off the track in avoidance.

ART's Maini was also found to be at fault for an infraction on the run down to the final corner, with the Indian driver one of four others found responsible for going side-by-side with another car during the session.

Maini, along with Montoya, DAMS' Dino Beganovic and Campos' Noel León all received penalties for failing to follow the 'Practice and Qualifying Etiquette' under the Race Director Competition Notes.

MP Motorsport's Gabriele Minì has also received a three-place grid drop for the pair of races, after impeding AIX Racing's Cian Shields from Turns 9 to 11 during the 30-minute qualifying session.

The series of penalties revises the grid order for both races, and here is how the classification stacks up for the sprint and the feature races:

Starting grid - F2 Sprint Race (Monza)

1. John Bennett (Trident)

2. Ollie Goethe (MP Motorsport)

3. Ritomo Miyata (Hitech TGR)

4. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (ART Grand Prix)

5. Martinius Stenshorne (Rodin Motorsport)

6. Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport)

7. Joshua Dürksen (Invicta Racing)

8. Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing)*

9. Rafael Câmara (Invicta Racing)

10. Noel León (Campos Racing)*

11. Roman Bilinski (DAMS)

12. Rafael Villagómez (Van Amersfoort Racing)

13. Nicolás Varrone (Van Amersfoort Racing) 

14. Gabriele Minì (MP Motorsport)*

15. Laurens van Hoepen (Trident)

16. Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing)*

17. Mari Boya (PREMA Racing)*

18. Emerson Fittipaldi Jr (AIX Racing)

19. Dino Beganovic (DAMS)*

20. Colton Herta (Hitech TGR)

21. Cian Shields (AIX Racing)

22. Kush Maini (ART Grand Prix)*

*- Penalised after qualifying

Starting Grid - F2 Feature Race (Monza)

1. Rafael Câmara (Invicta Racing) 

2. Joshua Dürksen (Invicta Racing)

3. Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport)

4. Martinius Stenshorne (Rodin Motorsport)

5. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (ART Grand Prix)

6. Ritomo Miyata (Hitech TGR)

7. Noel León (Campos Racing)

8. Ollie Goethe (MP Motorsport)

9. Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing)

10. John Bennett (Trident)

11. Roman Bilinski (DAMS)

12. Rafael Villagómez (Van Amersfoort Racing)

13. Nicolás Varrone (Van Amersfoort Racing) 

14. Gabriele Minì (MP Motorsport)

15. Laurens van Hoepen (Trident)

16. Mari Boya (PREMA Racing)

17. Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing)

18. Emerson Fittipaldi Jr (AIX Racing)

19. Dino Beganovic (DAMS)

20. Colton Herta (Hitech TGR)

21. Cian Shields (AIX Racing)

22. Kush Maini (ART Grand Prix)