Formula 2 at Monza: Ghiotto stripped off victory, Fuoco is the winner

September 2, 2017 • Event Reports, Featured • Marijan Malcevic

Antonio Fuoco (Prema Racing) scored his first victory in the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship season today at Monza. Nobuharu Matsushita (ART Grand Prix) and Nicholas Latifi (DAMS) completed a podium in a race which was provisionally won by Luca Ghiotto (Russian Time). However, Ghiotto received 5-second penalty after the race because he gained an advantage after exceeding track limits at the first chicane on the last lap of the race.

Matsushita started from pole. The Japanese driver lost a lead in Turn 1 to Nyck de Vries (Racing Engineering) while championship leader Charles Leclerc (Prema Racing) progressed from P7 to P3. Until the end of the opening lap, Leclerc moved to P2. In the next few laps, Oliver Rowland made a fantastic progress from P13 on the grid to P3. Unfortunately for him, he lost everything soon after exiting pitlane on lap 19. The rear left wheel felt off a car, causing a Safety Car intervention with four laps to go.

The race resumed with two laps to go. On the restart, Leclerc attacked De Vries but outbraked himself. On the other side, third-placed Ghiotto made a move to steal the lead. On the last lap, both De Vries and Leclerc had problems and dropped to the back of the field.