The 2025 F2 Italian GP in Monza lived up to expectations, delivering both thrilling races and chaos, as Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning secured his maiden pole position and Feature Race win. It was a great weekend for the Briton who took pole in a shortened Qualifying session that saw several red flags. On Sprint Saturday, Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli delighted his home crowd with a win. While AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen enjoyed a standout weekend scoring himself two podium finishes.
With the eleventh round now complete, Formula 2 turn its attention to the final three flyaway rounds. Before then, we take a look at the winners and losers of the 2025 F2 Italian GP.
Winners of the weekend
Luke Browning
After a run of results below his usual standards, Browning bounced back with a breakthrough weekend, securing his maiden pole position and Feature Race victory. The Briton showed promising pace from the get-go, finishing the Free Practice session in P2. Heading into the weekend, the Briton sat fourth in the Drivers’ Standings with his sights set on a decent points haul—a goal which he managed to successfully achieve.
Qualifying was cut short after multiple red flags had interrupted the session. However, Browning’s impressive effort—with a 1:32.390—was enough to put him on top and emphasised the importance of a good banker lap. Delighted to have secured his first F2 pole position, the Briton found himself perfectly placed on the front-row to maximise his points haul and close the gap to current championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli.
For the reverse-grid on Saturday, Browning started the sprint tenth. Making his way through the field, the 23 year-old managed to cross the line in eighth, claiming the last points-scoring position on Saturday. During the Feature Race on Sunday, the Hitech driver made a lightning start off the line as he held onto the lead down into Turn 1. Staying calm and composed amid the chaos paid off for Browning. Having controlled the lead for most of the race and aced his safety car restarts, the Briton crossed the line victorious, claiming a well-deserved win.
With 28 points collected across the weekend, Browning now sits second in the Drivers’ Standings. Now just 21 points behind Fornaroli, the 23 year-old will be relying on his consistency to fuel his championship pursuits in 2025.
Joshua Dürksen
Some might argue that, aside from Browning, Dürksen produced the most impressive performance of the weekend. The Paraguayan impressed with two strong drives, earning himself a double podium finish. Dürksen qualified seventh on Friday and lined up fourth for the Sprint on Saturday. While a podium remained a more realistic target on Saturday, Dürksen’s clean and composed driving rewarded him with two podiums.
Despite briefly slipping black as he battled it with other drivers in the Sprint, Dürksen managed to close in on Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic, and after the Swede’s penalty, inherited the final spot on the podium. Building on the momentum and joy from Saturday, Dürksen drove a brilliant race in Sunday’s Feature Race. Starting seventh, he fought his way through the field and managed to eventually close in on Browning for the lead. Though he fell short of the chance, the Paraguayan was still delighted to finish second.
A double podium finish has earned the Paraguayan the most points he’s scored in a single weekend this season. Currently twelfth in the Drivers’ Standings, Dürksen would hope to end his season with a top ten finish in the championship.
Josep Maria ‘Pepe’ Martí
As his Qualifying struggles continued to persist, the Spaniard didn’t let them hold him back, enjoying a strong weekend in Monza. After qualifying well down the order, Martí has often found himself having to battle through the field. With three rounds remaining, if he can improve his Qualifying results, he definitely has the pace to fight at the front of the field, and potentially launch himself a late charge for the championship.
On Friday, the 20 year-old qualified thirteenth, leaving him without the advantage of the reverse grid on Saturday. In the Sprint, Martí fought his way to ninth, narrowly missing out on the final points-scoring position. Sunday’s Feature Race, however, unfolded in favour of the Spaniard, especially with a strong launch off the line immediately put him inside the top ten. By capitalising on others’ misfortunes, Martí worked his way through the field to claim the final spot on the podium.
As the final three rounds soon approach, Martí currently sits sixth in the Drivers’ Standings with 112 points to his name. Although 62 points separate him and the leader, some may argue that a late title charge may be ambitious. However, the 20 year-old still has a strong opportunity to climb higher in the standings before the season comes to an end.
Leonardo Fornaroli
It was a mixed weekend for the championship leader. But, Fornaroli still earns a place amongst the winners thanks to his home-soil triumphant and consistency. His weekend began poorly, finishing last in Free Practice before a gearbox issue forced him to retire from Qualifying. Subsequently, this left him settling for eighth for Sunday’s Feature Race.
Benefitting from the reverse grid, he lined up third for the Sprint and made a great launch off the line to slot himself into P2. Within a few laps, Fornaroli passed Beganovic for the lead and calmly controlled the race from there. The Italian would then cross the line victorious, sealing a memorable victory in front of his home crowd. The Monza Sprint win marked his fourth trip to the top step of the podium in 2025.
One of Fornaroli’s biggest strengths has been his consistency in scoring points. Despite starting eighth, the Italian managed to battle his way to fifth in the Feature Race, earning himself more valuable points to add to his championship lead. Having led the way in the Drivers’ Standings for several rounds now, the Italian has quickly established himself as the driver to beat. As three rounds remain, if he maintains his form, there’s little doubt he could secure back-to-back titles, following in the footsteps of reigning Formula 2 Champion and current Sauber F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto.
Losers of the weekend
Alex Dunne
The F2 Italian GP proved as a weekend filled with mistakes and misfortunes for Dunne. After qualifying fifth, the Irishman had set himself up in a solid position to fight for a solid amount of points. However, his hopes of closing in on championship leader Fornaroli would soon unravel and go downhill. Starting sixth on Sprint Saturday, Dunne constantly found himself in multiple scraps and executing overly risky moves, one of which he was penalised for after the race. He crossed the line eleventh but was handed a 10-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the track which dropped him down to thirteenth in the final classification.
As one of the championship contenders, Dunne’s unnecessary risks have now put him in trouble. In addition to his penalty, the Irishman picked 2 more penalty points which has now brought his total to 10 for the season. Currently just two points shy, Dunne now comes extremely close to receiving a race ban—a potential disaster in the final stages of the title fight.
If Saturday was bad, his weekend went from bad to worse on Sunday. Dunne’s marked the first retirement of the race after a hit from Lindblad sent him into the barriers and out of the Feature Race in the opening stages. Walking away from the weekend, the Irishman left empty-handed, a major setback to his championship hopes. However, fortunately for Dunne, Formula 2 returns next week, giving him a quick chance to reset and salvage a bad weekend. The Irishman would definitely hope to bounce back stronger in Baku.
Arvid Lindblad
The weekend began with a promising start for the Red Bull Junior, highlighted by a strong drive during the Sprint on Saturday. After qualifying sixth on Friday, the Briton lined up fifth on the reverse grid. Battling hard as he fought his way through the field, he showed no hesitation in getting his elbows out. Eventually, Lindblad managed to climb his way into the podium places and crossed the line second, securing his first top three finish since his Feature Race victory in Barcelona. Although his podium at Spa was short-lived, the Briton has since endured a difficult run of races, and Sunday marked arguably his worst performance of 2025 so far.
After colliding with Dunne and repeatedly locking up, Lindblad’s struggles were clear. Failing to get his car slowed down as the pack headed down to Turn 1, the 18 year-old ran straight into the side of Roman Staněk, immediately eliminating him from the race. While it remains unclear if brake issues were to blame for his mistakes, Lindblad reported issues with his brakes over the radio before limping his way back into the pits. With heavy damage sustained, the 18 year-old was forced to retire.
With Martí now moving ahead of him in the Drivers’ Standings, Lindblad’s chances of fighting for the title are slipping away.
Sami Meguetounif
It has been an extremely difficult season for Meguetounif and Trident, as the F2 Italian GP continued on that trend with a double retirement for the Frenchman. Having scored only two points all year, the weekend offered little to no boost to his stagnant rookie F2 campaign. To begin, Sprint Saturday saw him sidelined after he sustained side pod damage to his car. Meanwhile, losing control of his car headed into Turn 1 ended his race prematurely during the Feature Race on Sunday.
With a consecutive run of misfortunes for the Frenchman, it was definitely a frustrating weekend for Meguetounif. Simply finishing both races next weekend in Baku would be a way to bounce back from the setbacks of this weekend for the Frenchman.
