The StakesAfter two rounds, Stoffel Vandoorne is leading the drivers’ standings by 37 points over his closest rival Rio Haryanto. With two wins, fours podiums, two pole positions and two fastest laps, the Belgian ace looks mighty strong. But he’s not the only one to impress so far: although Haryanto did not make it to the podium in Barcelona, he still scored big points with Alexander Rossi in tow. The American driver has already pocketed two rostrums this season and is definitely hungry for more. Fourth in line, Mitch Evans recovered from a disappointing opening round to fight for the win in Barcelona feature race. An electronic problem ruined his hopes for glory in the sprint race. Last, but not least, reigning GP3 Series Champion Alex Lynn proved his worth winning his first GP2 race with a commanding drive and a display of maturity on Sunday in Spain.
Now comes Monte Carlo, a legendary track where every driver dreams to reign on the streets of Monaco. It will take experience and audacity to cross the finish line ahead of the rest of the pack. It will be the first time that the teams and the drivers will have at their disposal the Pirelli P Zero Red Supersoft tyres along with the Yellow soft compounds. Both are suited for the twisty and tight track providing optimal mechanical grip and performance.
After the free practice, the qualifying session will be divided into two groups of sixteen minutes on Thursday. The feature race will take place on Friday at 11.15 whilst the sprint race will take place on Saturday at 16.10.
Warm Up // Norman Nato – Arden International“Monaco is a special track for me, because I live in Cannes so it feels like my home circuit. It’s always a pleasure to drive on this track. It’s very tricky. You need to be confident. It will be a difficult weekend for a rookie like me, but I think anything is possible here.
“Qualifying will be even more crucial than usual. It’s very hard to do a perfect lap in Monaco because you are not allowed to make any mistakes otherwise you touch the barrier and it’s over. It’s hard to drive at the limit here. But I think you can make a big difference in Sector 3.
“I don’t think the DRS will be a big gain on this track, because the top speed is quite low. It will be the first time that we will have the super soft Pirelli tyres. This will be tough! But it should make things quite interesting too… I’m really hoping for a good weekend.”
Noteworthy
Johnny Cecotto is the only driver of the current grid who has pocketed a GP2 win in Monaco (2012 Feature Race). He is also the only driver of the current grid who has started from pole position in Monaco (2012 and 2013).
Four drivers of the current grid have achieved a podium in Monaco in GP2: Cecotto, Evans, Haryanto and Canamasas.
DAMS won both races in 2014: Jolyon Palmer won the feature race whilst Stéphane Richelmi won the sprint race.
Season Stats 43 Points scored by Vandoorne in each round this season so far.3 Number of podium finishes achieved by Mitch Evans in Monaco in GP2.19 Number of laps led by Alex Lynn in Barcelona Sprint Race.6 Number of teams who have achieved a podium finish this season.
