PREMA Racing claims double Monte Carlo podium
PREMA Racing brought home two podium finishes today at Monte Carlo as this weekend’s FIA Formula 2 Championship event came to its conclusion today with sprint race 2 and the feature race.
Delivering two extremely consistent runs, Oscar Piastri managed to claim two second places. While he struggled for grip in race 2, he kept his cool and crossed the finish line in P3 before being promoted to the runner-up spot.
In race 3, he repeated the same results with a flawless run. Unfortunately, the move from P3 to P2 came when Robert Shwartzman, driving the #1 PREMA car, fell from second to fourth place due to a troubled pit-stop.
The Russian, had put up a solid recovery in race 2, going all the way from the back to P10, taking the points for the fastest lap. He eventually salvaged some points, although the pace was clearly more promising than that.
#1 ROBERT SHWARTZMAN
“In race 2 we started last, and nothing really happened in the opening stages. I kept my pace as nobody was attempting to do any moves. In the end, we decided to go for slicks, which got us the fastest lap. The start of race 3 was good. The tyres this time were in the right temperature and even the clutch setting was right. In turn 1 I was side by side with Pourchaire but I didn’t want to risk everything there and I was aiming to play the strategy game. I stayed close to the lead for most of the race, but right after the midpoint, I started to lose the front left which moved the car’s balance to the understeer side. In the last three laps before pitting I started to lose pace and rotation. We had an issue with the pit-stop, which happens, and we lost a lot of time. After three virtual safety cars, it was hard to put the tyres back to temperature. In the end, I gained one position and got to P4, not the result I hope for, but we’ll move on.”
Qualifying: P1 Gr.B
Starting Grid Race 1: P9
Starting Grid Race 2: P22
Starting Grid Race 3: P2
Fastest Lap: 1’21″403
Race 1: DNF
Race 2: P10
Race 3: P4
#2 OSCAR PIASTRI
“We had a very solid day with P2 in the second sprint race and the feature race. I think we maximized pretty much everything we could this weekend. In race 2, we got to the lead early on, but we just struggled for grip. I tried to defend for the lead a bit, but it was inevitable that we were going to be overtaken. Then in the feature race, everything went well, we had a good strategy and a good pitstop. We got good points and a couple of trophies at Monaco which is always cool. I’m very happy with our progress. It’s great to get back and have another good weekend.”
Qualifing: P2 Gr.A
Starting Grid Race 1: P8
Starting Grid Race 2: P3
Starting Grid Race 3: P3
Fastest Lap: 1’21″443
Race 1: P8
Race 2: P3
Race 3: P2
Source | Photo: PREMA Racing