Monaco F2: Daruvala returns to podium

After a disappointing outing in Spain, marred by an electrical issue, Jehan Daruvala has bounced back in Monaco by securing his fourth podium finish of the year with a second place finish in the F1 sprint race.

• Daruvala still third overall in championship
• Second in Monaco sprint race
• Eighth in feature race

Daruvala second in Monaco GP sprint race

Lining up third on the reverse grid, Daruvala was forced to take avoiding action as pole sitter Jake Hughes stalled at the start. A quick reaction saw him slot into second place, behind his Prema teammate Dennis Hauger.

He closely followed Hauger throughout the race, but was unable to find a way past within the tight confines of the street circuit. He had to settle for second place, taking home his first podium finish at Monaco.

P8 in feature race

Daruvala started the feature race from eighth on the grid, but was soon squeezed into the wall. He opted for a similar strategy to what he’d used in Saudi Arabia – starting on the softer tyre and stopping early. In Saudi Arabia, this strategy took him from 14^th to third, but it was a different story in Monaco after the Safety Car essentially gifted those ahead of him a free pitstop.

This wiped away the advantage of drivers like Daruvala, who were running the alternate strategy. He did, however, make up some ground by passing Calan Williams into the Tabac corner to finish eighth.

“Standing on the podium in Monaco is a dream come true for any driver. It would’ve been great to win the race, but overtaking around here is never easy. I’m really happy with the pace we had over the weekend – we were as quick as anyone out there. The feature race was pretty straightforward, but I managed to pull off a good move, that was fun! Now looking forward to some exciting racing on the streets of Baku in a couple of weeks,” he said.

After four podium finishes in five rounds, Daruvala holds on to third place in the championship. He sits 28 points behind second-placed Theo Pourchaire and 60 points behind current championship leader Felipe Drugovich, who also won the Monaco feature race.

The next round on the F2 calendar is the Azerbaijan GP on June 10-12, alongside the F1 weekend.

Also see:

Jehan Daruvala on his F1 ambitions: I must perform well this year