F2 News: O’Sullivan takes dramatic maiden victory in Monte Carlo

Zak O’Sullivan took his first ever Formula 2 victory in the most dramatic of circumstances after a late Virtual Safety Car to his advantage gave him the win in the Monte Carlo Feature Race.

The ART Grand Prix driver went long in his first stint after starting from P15 and a VSC caused by Joshua Duerksen stopping on track came out on the penultimate lap, O’Sullivan pitted from and came out in the lead.

He held off Isack Hadjar on a thrilling final lap to take victory, with the Campos Racing driver in second place while Paul Aron finished in third.

AS IT HAPPENED

Richard Verschoor made a fast start from Pole in the Trident, but his fellow front row starter Victor Martins fell down the order, with the ART Grand Prix #1 car slow off the line. It allowed Hadjar and Aron to move up to second and third.

Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto was using his Supersoft tires well as he went round the outside of Dennis Hauger at the Turn 6 hairpin putting him up to eighth. He was right behind Oliver Bearman who made his way up from 12th to P7.

It was not good news however for DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford, who stopped on track at Turn 7 after colliding with the Invicta Racing car of Kush Maini.

On Lap 4 of 42, Verschoor was being put under pressure by Hadjar, while Aron was falling back in third. Just behind the top three, Colapinto was feeling the presence of PREMA Racing’s Antonelli for P4.

The drivers then held station but by Lap 10, Bortoleto was given the hurry up from his Invicta Racing team and told to catch Bearman ahead. At the same time, Zane Maloney swapped his Supersofts for the Softs, coming out behind Josep María Martí who had done the same just the lap before.

Bearman was the next driver to go on to the Softs on Lap 16 with Bortoleto following him into the pitlane on the next lap.

Then came trouble for Trident and Verschoor, with the Dutch driver coming on the radio to report an issue. The Dutchman was able to keep things going but his three second lead to Hadjar was now gone.

At the halfway stage, Hitech and PREMA rolled the dice by pitting Aron and Antonelli for the Supersoft tires. The latter came out ahead his teammate Bearman, though the two went wheel-to-wheel and the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent claimed the position.

Hadjar and Verschoor were next in with the Trident driver keeping the effective race lead, but he was soon under attack from the Frenchman, who made the crucial move past down the main straight as the Trident began to slow.

Verschoor’s struggles continued as he managed the issue and by Lap 29, he had fallen to the back of the field. To add salt into the wounds, he had to serve a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage before retiring the car.

On Lap 36, Hadjar came on the radio to say he had hit the wall but was able to continue, although he was still coming under attack from Aron. Elsewhere, Maloney and Barnard made contact at the Turn 6 hairpin, with the AIX racer losing a piece of his front wing.

After being given the hurry up on the radio, Antonelli finally made his way past Colapinto at the final corner. This opened the door for Bortoleto and Maloney, who also overtook the MP Motorsport driver.

On Lap 40, Joshua Duerksen was next to pit but collided with Maloney at Turn 1. The AIX driver stopped on track while the Rodin Motorsport driver continued on.

This gave Zak O’Sullivan, the last remaining runner on the alternative strategy yet to pit, the chance to come in from the lead. Crucially, he was called in by ART moments before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to recover Duerksen’s AIX car, making his stop under the VSC legal.

The Briton re-joined ahead of Hadjar on the penultimate lap before holding him off on a tense final lap to take his maiden victory in Formula 2.

Aron crossed the line to finish third to take the lead in the Drivers’ Championship. He finished ahead of Bearman in fourth and Correa in fifth, while Hauger wound up in sixth. Antonelli, ended up in P7 ahead of Bortoleto and Martins, as Maloney rounded out the points positions in 10th.

KEY QUOTE – Zak O’Sullivan, PREMA Racing

“Just won the Feature Race in Monaco, bit of a crazy race starting from 15th, didn’t really expect it but pace was strong and again luck was on my side with the VSC at the end. But super happy for the team, it’s been a tricky start to the year but it’s finally good to get a big result and a big boost for the rest of the season.”