Report – F2 Round 11 – Monza
The Hitech F2 squad returned from the summer break refreshed and ready to tackle the final stint of the season, but a tough weekend in Monza provided little in the way of reward for the team and the drivers’ Herculean efforts.
The weekend got off to a positive start at the Temple of Speed when title hopeful Paul Aron and teammate Amaury Cordeel enjoyed a strong qualifying session to secure third and ninth positions respectively, the Belgian equalling his best qualifying result of the season.
On Saturday they lined up P2 (Cordeel) and P6 (Aron) for the reverse grid Sprint Race. Unfortunately, a slow getaway dropped Amaury to fourth before reaching Turn 1 and Aron, though fighting for a strong points-paying position earlier in the race, had a coming-together with Maloney on the penultimate lap, which forced him into the pits with front wing damage. Amaury ended the 18-lap race 12th, while Paul’s stop dropped him to 20th.
The focus switched to Sunday’s Feature Race, particularly for Paul’s championship ambitions – he was third in the standings heading into this event. He got off to a great start from his second-row grid slot but a thrilling race in prospect quickly turned to disaster when he was struck from behind as Marti locked up into Turn 1, sending the Estonian spinning into the run-off and out of the race.
All hopes rested on Amaury, whose strategy saw him join the early stoppers in pitting on lap 7, switching from the Supersoft tyre to the Medium. Unfortunately, with the safety car deployed on the next lap, this turned the advantage to the late stoppers and ultimately Amaury and the early stoppers lost track position.
We go again at Baku on 12-15 September for Round 12 of 14.
Sprint Race Result – Saturday
Amaury Cordeel – P12
Paul Aron – P20
Feature Race Result – Sunday
Amaury Cordeel – P18
Paul Aron – DNF
