Irishman Alex Dunne continues F2 streak with pole in Monaco
McLaren junior Alex Dunne is on a hot streak in Formula 2.
MONACO–Alex Dunne claimed his maiden FIA Formula 2 pole position with a stunning performance around the streets of the principality.
The Rodin Motorsport driver was just 0.003 seconds quicker than Victor Martins, who led his group earlier in the split-format session.
Dunne takes his first pole position after his victory last week in the feature race in Imola took him to the top of the F2 standings.
"To be honest, I thought the pole was going to go to Victor, and that it was going to be a fight for second," said the McLaren junior.
"But no, in the end, I think I managed to put all three sectors together.
"It wasn't the cleanest lap. There was a couple of little mistakes in there, but I think that's Monaco. I think to put a perfect lap together at Monaco is always going to be difficult, but overall, I was very happy.
"The team and I made some changes to the car overnight from FP, and those changes definitely worked. So yeah, I'm very happy."
Frenchman Victor Martins was the early leader in the first group and saw off a challenge from Brit Arvid Lindblad to set the gauntlet.
Dunne was at the centre of the action when the second group made their way onto the track, the session red-flagged after Rafael Villagómez went into the barriers at the final corner after a tussle with Dunne for position.
With the incident set to be investigated after the session, Dunne's pace was impressive as he led Leonardo Fornaroli and Luke Browning, both contenders so far this year in Formula 2.
On his final attempt it was the Irishman who prevailed, setting a lap of 1:21.142 to top his group and beat Martins to pole, sealing the deal after the session when he was cleared over the earlier collision.
"I wasn't sure initially, and I asked the question on the radio, because the lap time we get on the steering wheel is different to the live timing," said Dunne.
"So, what I had on the steering wheel, I think, was actually like four thousandths slower than what he had done, but on the live timing, they were a bit nicer to me.
"When they told me I was very, very happy. I felt like the lap was good enough to be pole, but I was just hoping. I knew it was going to be very, very close, but no, very happy."
Kush Maini will take pole for the reverse-grid sprint race, with Luke Browning lining up on the grid beside him.
Dunne will lead the grid for the feature race on Sunday ahead of Martins and Fornaroli.
The FIA Formula 2 weekend in Monaco continues with the sprint race underway at 10.15pm AEST on Saturday.
