Noel León converted reverse-grid pole into victory in the 2026 Formula 2 (F2) Sprint Race in Monaco after controlling the race from the front.
The Campos Racing driver lined up first on the grid, with Roman Bilinski alongside him for DAMS Lucas Oil. Championship leader Gabriele Minì started third, while Joshua Dürksen lined up fourth after a grid penalty.
As the formation lap got underway, the field prepared for one of the most difficult opening laps of the season around the tight streets of Monte Carlo. When the lights went out, León made a strong start and held the lead into Sainte Dévote ahead of Bilinski and Minì.
Goethe pitted after early contact
The opening lap brought early drama behind the leaders. Oliver Goethe tried to move past Ritomo Miyata, but the pair made light contact. Goethe appeared to pick up a puncture from the incident and headed to the pits, where he switched to the supersoft tyres.
Laurens van Hoepen also endured a difficult start. The Trident driver ran across the Turn 1 chicane and later received a 10-second time penalty for gaining an advantage.
Alex Dunne also lost ground in the early stages. The Rodin Motorsport driver started seventh but dropped to ninth by Lap 2, although the rest of the field largely settled into position after a clean start at the front.
Bilinski kept pressure on León
León led from Bilinski in the opening stint, but he could not immediately break away from the DAMS driver. By Lap 8, the gap between the front two remained close, while the field had already begun to spread out behind the top five.
Dino Beganovic ran fifth, but a growing gap opened behind him to Martinius Stenshorne in sixth. By that stage, Stenshorne sat more than six seconds away from the cars ahead.
Bilinski continued to stay within reach of León. By Lap 12, the gap had dropped back below one second, with the DAMS driver keeping pressure on the Campos ahead.
The order remained stable at the front through the middle phase of the race. León continued to lead on Lap 19, but Bilinski stayed glued to his rear wing and kept the Sprint Race alive.
Miyata and Boya make progress
While overtaking remained limited, there were still moves further down the order.
Kush Maini looked at passing Stenshorne into the chicane after the tunnel on Lap 4, but the ART Grand Prix driver chose not to force the move and tucked back in behind the Rodin driver.
Miyata then made one of the cleaner moves of the race on Lap 22. The Japanese driver attacked Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak on the run to Tabac and completed the overtake before Turn 12, moving up to 11th.
One lap later, Mari Boya also made progress, passing van Hoepen for 15th.
Inthraphuvasak slowed with issue
Inthraphuvasak’s race then unravelled. The Campos Racing driver began to slow on Lap 25 and dropped to 21st with what appeared to be a technical issue.
At that stage, Goethe and Inthraphuvasak were the only drivers out of contention. However, Inthraphuvasak later returned to the track three laps down.
Nikola Tsolov held the fastest lap with a 1:22.100 as the race entered its closing stages, while León continued to manage the gap at the front.
León sealed Sprint Race win
With three laps remaining, León still controlled the race from Bilinski and Minì. The front three held their positions through the final laps, and León crossed the line to win the Monaco Sprint Race.
Bilinski finished second after shadowing León for much of the race, while Minì completed the podium in third and strengthened his championship position.
Dürksen finished fourth, ahead of Beganovic in fifth and Stenshorne in sixth. Maini took seventh for ART Grand Prix, while Rafael Câmara completed the points-paying positions in eighth.
Final points finishers
- Noel León
- Roman Bilinski
- Gabriele Minì
- Joshua Dürksen
- Dino Beganovic
- Martinius Stenshorne
- Kush Maini
- Rafael Câmara
León’s win came from a composed front-running drive on a circuit where track position carried huge value. Bilinski kept him honest throughout, but the Campos driver made the most of pole and avoided the trouble that affected others behind.
