With the summer break finally over, Formula 2 is back racing this weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the F2 Italian GP. For the eleventh round of the season, the F2 grid takes on the last European circuit on the calendar before the last three flyaway rounds in Baku, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Heading into the weekend, Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli sits on top of the Drivers’ Standings, holding a 17-point advantage over DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford. Extending his lead with his Feature Race win in Budapest, the Italian now held on to the top spot longer than any driver has in 2025. And, despite that, this is only the second-largest gap between first and second the championship has seen all year. But as the eleventh round kicks off, the battle for the title remains wide open, with just 30 points separating the top five in the championship.
In 2024, Formula 2 history was made when reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto delivered a stunning drive, charging from the back of the grid to claim a well-deserved victory during the Feature Race. The Temple of Speed never fails to provide us with action, but, what will the 2025 F2 Italian GP bring this time?
Weekend schedule
On-track action begins on Friday with a 45-minute Free Practice session at 11:00 local time. As usual, teams and drivers will be hoping to quickly acclimatise to the track and hopefully refine their setups before Qualifying, which will begin at 15:55.
For Sprint Saturday, 21 laps of action awaits with the Sprint starting at 14:15. While maximum points aren’t offered during the Sprint, Saturdays still provide a crucial chance for drivers to score any points they can, especially in what has become an incredibly tight championship fight.
For the final part of action, lights out for the 30-lap Feature Race will begin at 09:45 on Sunday.
The circuit, history and its characteristics
The first Formula 2 race at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza took place in 2017 and has remained on the calendar ever since. The circuit, however, made its debut in the motorsports world in 1992. The 5.793km circuit poses a unique challenge with its high-speed layout and long straights, combined with two DRS zones that set the stage for great overtaking opportunities.
Since the calendar’s inaugural visit in 2017, Formula 2 has paid a visit to the historic and iconic circuit every year since then. However, Nobuharu Matushita’s fastest lap time in 2017—a time of 1:30.982—remains unbeatable.
F2 Technical Director Pierre-Alain Michot weighed in on the unique characteristics and challenges of the track: “The high-speed Autodromo Nazionale Monza is one of the most unique tracks on the calendar. With over three quarters of the lap spent at full throttle, downforce is second to top-end speed in terms of requirements. The two DRS zones into Turns 1 and 8 offer great overtaking opportunities, but with the speeds around the lap and on-throttle time, braking demand is therefore very high, as is fuel consumption for the same reasons.”
Home-heroes and FP1 outings
It’ll be a packed weekend for several drivers, with Fornaroli and Gabriele Minì racing on home soil. Meanwhile, Alex Dunne will also return to the cockpit of a Formula 1 car this weekend, stepping into the McLaren for his second FP1 outing with the team.
Ahead of the weekend, Fornaroli shared with Formula 2 his thoughts on returning to a circuit that holds and carries plenty of special memories for him: “It’s my home race, so it’s special for me. I got my first front row start, first podium and won the F3 Championship there last year. It’s a very high-speed circuit and has big braking zones with some fast chicanes. It’s tough for the team to find a good setup because you want to be quick on the straights but without being too slow in the corners. The first two chicanes are the best places to overtake. If you get a good run to Ascari, you can try something there. Maybe the last corner too…”
Tyre compounds and strategy
In 2024, Pirelli brought a jump in compounds between the two tyres. However, for this year’s F2 Italian GP, that won’t be the case. Ahead of the weekend, Pirelli confirmed that it will bring the supersoft as the softest compound, replacing the 2024 medium with a soft. Taking a more aggressive approach, this tyre allocation could force drivers into staying critically aware of their tyre management, especially during the closing stages of their stint on the mediums.
As for strategy, it’ll be likely to see majority of the grid starting on the supersoft tyres—which was the case last year. If a safety car appears in the early stages of the race—as it did when Bortoleto jumped at the chance to pit when he claimed from his Feature Race win from the back—many drivers will likely take the opportunity to switch to a set of soft tyres, which they will bring to the end.
2024 Sprint Race recap
Last year’s Sprint started intensely as reverse pole-sitter Enzo Fittipaldi led the grid down to Turn 1 with a great launch. Amaury Cordeel, who started from P2, had an unfortunate start and consequently dropped to P4. Drama unfolded at Turn 1, as Zak O’Sullivan collided with Oliver Goethe; sending the debutant straight into the barriers. Just seconds later, O’Sullivan made contact with Kimi Antonelli, forcing the Briton to retire from the session whilst Antonelli made his way back into the pits.
Race control deployed a safety car. Four laps in, racing resumed once again with Martí leading the pack. Oliver Bearman rapidly improved in pace and overtook his opponents with ease. By Lap 5, he’d climbed his way to P2 and outpaced Victor Martins. It soon went downhill for race leader Martí who overshot the first corner, allowing Bearman to take the lead. As Joshua Dürksen continued to make progress through the field, Fittipaldi dropped down to P4, and slowly down to P9. Zane Maloney and Paul Aron soon collided with just a few laps to go, forcing Aron to retire from the race with a damaged front-wing.
Bearman controlled the race lead throughout the last couple of laps and crossed the line to secure PREMA Racing a win on home-soil. Martins and Dürksen rounded up the top three, with Martí narrowly missing out on the last step of the podium.
2024 Feature Race recap
Last year’s Feature Race started in an unfortunate way. The first lap ignited in chaos, as Martí locked up after a false start, taking Aron out as well. The Spaniard was later penalized for the collision.
Racing resumed on Lap 3 as Maloney led the grid, followed closely by Bearman and Antonelli. By Lap 6, Dürksen overtook Antonelli and started to close up on the rear of Bearman’s car. Just two laps later, Dennis Hauger spun off track, after a contact with Ritomo Miyata. Bortoleto, who started on last on the grid, benefitted from the saftey car the most, as he pitted for his mandatory pit-stop.
On Lap 15, Bearman crashed into Juan Manuel Correa at Turn 1 allowing Martins to benefit from the incident and overtook the Briton. Bortoleto seized the opportunity and overtook Kush Maini. From then on, the Brazilian was unstoppable. Bearman and Antonelli weren’t afraid to get their elbows out as they fiercely battled it out on-track, as the Italian shoved the Briton onto the gravel.
Coming from last to first, Bortoleto crossed the line to claim a well-deserved victory and made history, as Maloney and Richard Verschoor rounded up the Feature Race podium.
Stakes are high in both Drivers’ and Teams’ championships
There is a lot of rivalry, overtaking, and general action to expect. With just a few races left on the calendar, the competition for the title is getting more and more intense. While the battle for the Drivers’ title continues to intensify, Invicta Racing currently hold a 42-point lead over Campos Racing in the Teams’ Standings. The team has found strong form in recent rounds with both Fornaroli and Roman Staněk, making them the duo to watch this weekend at the F2 Italian GP.
Co-author: Milla Fuchs
