Oscar Piastri wins at Monza to extend FIA Formula 2 championship lead
Oscar Piastri has won a head-to-head championship battle in Monza, taking his first feature race victory of the FIA Formula 2 season.
Oscar Piastri celebrates his first feature race victory of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 season. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
The Australian started on pole and held his lead from rival Guanyu Zhou at the start.
From there, Piastri was in control despite consistent pressure from Zhou.
Liam Lawson was up to third in the early running, before Guilherme Samaia spun out, bringing out the safety car.
Lawson stole second at the restart, with the trans Tasman one-two threatening to run away with the podium positions.
Fellow Red Bull junior Juri Vips retired after contact with Dan Ticktum, bringing out the safety care once more as the field dived into the pits for their mandatory stop.
Ticktum, on the alternate strategy, took the race lead, and Lawson lost a huge amount of time in the pits, returning to the track in ninth - fourth in the net running order.
The race went from bad to worse for Lawson, passed by Pourchaire, and then stopping his car on the main straight after his fire extinguisher went off.
Oscar Piastri in the lead at Monza. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
Ticktum pitted as the safety car came out once again, and made his way quickly through the field on fresher tyres, passing Ralph Boschung, Jake Hughes, Richard Verschoor, Roy Nissany, and Robert Shwartzman on his quest for fifth position.
Zhou attempted a late-race move on Piastri, but the PREMA driver clung to the lead and took the chequered flag, with Ticktum making his way up to third by the end of the race as David Beckmann and Bent Viscaal collided, bringing out a final safety car.
"I couldn’t be happier," said Piastri.
"It was a very tricky race with a few Safety Cars."
"I had a lock-up at the end that nearly undid all of my hard work, but we held on, and our pace was really good besides that."
Oscar Piastri on the podium with Guanyu Zhou and Dan Ticktum. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
Piastri now holds a 15-point lead over Zhou, with three rounds remaining.
"A big thank you to the team."
"We made some good improvements from yesterday and our pace was really strong."
"It feels awesome"
"It’s another box ticked off in my rookie year, so I am very happy.”
Marcus Armstrong finished tenth.
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