Noel León claimed his second Formula 2 victory of the season after controlling the Monaco Sprint Race from pole.
The Campos Racing driver started from reverse-grid pole with Roman Bilinski alongside him for DAMS Lucas Oil. Championship leader Gabriele Minì lined up third, while Joshua Dürksen started fourth after a grid penalty.
When the lights went out, León made a strong start and retained the lead into Sainte Dévote. Bilinski held second, while Minì kept third ahead of Dürksen. The front four settled quickly, but the opening lap still brought early drama behind them.
Goethe dropped back after contact with Miyata
Ritomo Miyata and Oliver Goethe fought wheel-to-wheel for 11th through the Fairmont Hairpin and Mirabeau. The pair made slight contact, and Goethe was forced to pit soon afterwards, dropping the MP Motorsport driver to the back of the field.
Laurens van Hoepen also made early progress after starting 21st. The Trident driver climbed to 15th by Lap 8, but his recovery was compromised when he received a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at the start.
Bilinski kept León within reach
León led the field in the opening laps, but he could not immediately escape Bilinski. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver stayed inside DRS range during the early phase and kept the Campos driver under pressure.
Behind them, Minì and Dürksen remained close, and the top four started to pull clear of the rest of the field. By Lap 5, just two seconds covered León, Bilinski, Minì and Dürksen.
By Lap 11, the drivers had moved into management mode, but the leading quartet remained close, with only 2.7s separating them.
Beganovic closed on Dürksen
As the race reached halfway, Dino Beganovic began to close on Dürksen in the fight for fourth. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver moved into DRS range of the Invicta Racing driver, adding pressure to the battle just outside the podium places.
Further back, Miyata continued despite carrying a broken front wing from his opening-lap contact with Goethe. The ART Grand Prix driver tried to pass Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak at Tabac on Lap 17, but the Campos driver closed the door.
One lap later, León and Bilinski had pulled three seconds clear of Minì as they continued their private fight at the front. Minì then ran on his own in third, 2.3s ahead of Dürksen, while Beganovic stayed close behind the Paraguayan driver on Lap 20.
Miyata and Boya make moves
Miyata finally found a way past Inthraphuvasak on Lap 22. The Japanese driver dived to the inside on the run to Tabac and completed the move.
On the following lap, Miyata began pressuring Nikola Tsolov for 10th, while Mari Boya made progress behind them. The Spaniard went around the outside of van Hoepen at the Fairmont Hairpin to take 15th.
With five laps remaining, Inthraphuvasak retired to the pit lane with an issue, ending a difficult race for the Campos driver.
León pulled clear to win
At the front, León began to stretch the gap in the closing stages. With five laps to go, he led Bilinski by 2.4s, while Minì closed to just over a second behind the Polish rookie on Lap 27.
Bilinski held firm under pressure, but León continued to move away. By the start of the final lap, the Campos driver was more than three seconds clear and went on to win the Monaco Sprint Race.
Bilinski crossed the line second to secure his maiden Formula 2 podium, while Minì completed the podium in third.
Dürksen finished fourth ahead of Beganovic, with Martinius Stenshorne sixth for Rodin Motorsport. Kush Maini took seventh, while Rafael Câmara completed the points in eighth.
Minì retained championship lead
Minì continued to lead the Drivers’ Championship after finishing third, moving to 63 points. León’s victory lifted him to second in the standings, 20 points behind the MP Motorsport driver.
Stenshorne sat third on 38 points, one point ahead of Câmara in fourth, while Nikola Tsolov completed the top five with 36.
Campos Racing also moved to the top of the Teams’ Championship with 79 points. MP Motorsport slipped to second on 75, while Rodin Motorsport held third with 68. Invicta Racing followed in fourth on 58, with DAMS Lucas Oil fifth on 38.
