PREMA Racing faced a challenging qualifying session at Monte Carlo as the qualifying session for the FIA Formula 2 Championship Monaco GP weekend went underway under clear skies today. Coming from a wet practice session, the drivers had to readapt quickly to the new conditions on a track known for its unforgiveness.

Kimi Antonelli gained valuable experience in his first visit to Monte Carlo, improving lap after lap and increasing his chemistry with the car in dry conditions. As the pack was split in two groups for traffic concerns, the young Italian posted fourth place in Group A, good for a seventh-place start in the Feature Race and P4 in the Sprint Race.

Ollie Bearman showed impressive potential throughout the day and made consistent improvements as the track got toward its optimal conditions. Starting his final lap, the Brit clipped the outside barrier in St.Devote and could not set a competitive mark. He was eventually classified P6 in Group B. He will have to start from P12 in both races.

3 OLLIE BEARMAN

“Tough Qualifying today in Monaco. I was feeling quite good and had a great feeling with the car. The balance was really really nice. Unfortunately in the last lap, something went wrong in the braking zone, and I didn’t get to do the lap. With the evolution of the track and the fact that we have only three laps, there were big steps every time. We need to analyze exactly what happened. I’m sorry for the team because they gave me a car for pole today.”

Qualifying: P6 Gr.B
Fastest lap: 1:21.919

4 KIMI ANTONELLI

“It was a special qualifying session, the first in Monaco, and it was a bit tricky because yesterday we ran on a wet track and today it was the first time on the dry but I enjoyed it. Unfortunatly the session was a bit messy, especially towards the end, with traffic and yellow flags. That broke my rhytm a bit, and also losing the last push hurt us a bit because I was gaining more and more confidence and learning the track more and more. It’s a bit of a shame but overall, the car felt good and I was really happy about it. With a bit more experience, I could have fought for a better position. Still, we’re not far and we still can score good points this weekend.”

Qualifying: P4 Gr.A
Fastest lap: 1:21.669

Source | Photo: PREMA Racing