Roundup of the penultimate round of 2022 F2 Season as the title fight drew to its close in Monza, Italy.
Felipe Drugovich entered this round knowing that he was on the brink of the title with a simple need to keep his lead above 39 points by the conclusion of the weekend to seal the championship, yet various curveballs ensured that he completed his task in weird fashion at end of the Sprint.
Further twists however ensured that the fight for second and third places will go to the season-finale in mid-November.
Now, here’s a full roundup of all the action at Monza, Italy.
Practice
Trident’s Richard Verschoor was first out on track on a drying track following torrential overnight rain, with DAMS replacement driver, Luca Ghiotto setting the benchmark time of 1m 41.912 as he returned to F2 for the first time since December 2020.
He and Campos’ Ralph Boschung soon traded fastest lap times as times began to tumble as many initially held back in the pit lane, having only done an installation lap at start of session before they waited for the track to dry up further.
Come the half-way mark of the session, it was Hitech GP’s Juri Vips who set the pace with 1m 35.335 ahead of Virtuosi’s Marino Sato and ART GP’s Theo Pourchaire.
Marcus Armstrong then went fastest in the 25th minute with 1m 34.858 but he was displaced one minute later by Jack Doohan, who went 0.233 seconds quicker but Vips immediately displaced the Aussie with 1m 34.003.
Vips soon lost the fastest lap to Doohan then Liam Lawson as the trio traded the fastest lap until Theo Pourchaire suddenly went fastest with 1m 33.068 in the 41st minute, having gained a slipstream over the line but Vips displaced him immediately as he went 0.535s faster.
In the end, Vips finished fastest with 1m 32.337 ahead of Boschung, Armstrong, Pourchaire, Richard Verschoor and Drugovich who rounded out the top six.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Juri Vips | Hitech GP | 1m 32.337 |
| 2 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | + 0.313 |
| 3 | Marcus Armstrong | Hitech GP | + 0.385 |
| 4 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | + 0.470 |
| 5 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | + 0.505 |
| 6 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | + 0.560 |
| 7 | Frederik Vesti | ART GPP | + 0.564 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | + 0.638 |
| 9 | Jehan Daruvala | PREMA | + 0.685 |
| 10 | Dennis Hauger | PREMA | + 0.763 |
| 11 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | + 0.809 |
| 12 | David Beckmann | VAR | + 0.852 |
| 13 | Luca Ghiotto | DAMS | + 0.950 |
| 14 | Calan Williams | Trident | + 1.039 |
| 15 | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | + 1.230 |
| 16 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | + 1.247 |
| 17 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi | + 1.336 |
| 18 | Amaury Cordeel | VAR | + 1.411 |
| 19 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz | + 1.513 |
| 20 | Olli Caldwell | Campos | + 1.682 |
| 21 | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | + 1.912 |
| 22 | Tatiana Calderon | Charouz | + 2.756 |
Qualifying
Verschoor like in Practice was the first driver out on track but it was Iwasa who set the initial benchmark lap time of 1m 33.600 in the fourth minute, which was immediately bettered by Drugovich who went 0.278s quicker.
Lawson one minute later went fastest with 1m 32.959 ahead of Fittipaldi as Drugovich rounded out the top three at end of the first set of flying laps.
Lawson then further lowered his benchmark time to 1m 32.640 but Pourchaire and Sargeant swiftly displaced him, only for Vips to inherit the slipstream of Ghiotto which propelled him to the top of the order with 1m 32.018.
Doohan though had other ideas and posted 1m 31.965 to go top from the Estonian driver as the opening runs ended and everyone returned to the pits.
Ghiotto then led the field out in the 22nd minute for their final runs from which Doohan lowered his benchmark time to 1m 31.641 to claim pole from Lawson, Armstrong, Drugovich, Verschoor, Daruvala, Iwasa, Vips, Sargeant and Vesti, of whom inherited reverse pole for the Sprint.
Drugovich though was handed a five-place grid penalty for the Sprint after he was caught speeding through a single yellow flag which dropped him to 12th, after Iwasa crashed at Curva Alboreto in the final minute to prevent everyone else from improving their times.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 1m 31.641 |
| 2 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | + 0.126 |
| 3 | Marcus Armstrong | Hitech GP | + 0.193 |
| 4 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | + 0.204 |
| 5 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | + 0.218 |
| 6 | Jehan Daruvala | PREMA | + 0.241 |
| 7 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | + 0.279 |
| 8 | Juri Vips | Hitech GP | + 0.328 |
| 9 | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | + 0.382 |
| 10 | Frederik Vesti | ART GP | + 0.386 |
| 11 | David Beckmann | VAR | + 0.551 |
| 12 | Amaury Cordeel | VAR | + 0.707 |
| 13 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | + 0.711 |
| 14 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | + 0.783 |
| 15 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi | + 0.811 |
| 16 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz | + 0.814 |
| 17 | Calan Williams | Trident | + 1.011 |
| 18 | Luca Ghiotto | DAMS | + 1.213 |
| 19 | Dennis Hauger | PREMA | + 1.272 |
| 20 | Olli Caldwell | Campos | + 1.554 |
| 21 | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | + 1.704 |
| 22 | Tatiana Calderon | Charouz | + 1.984 |
Sprint Race
At lights out, Vesti made a clean start as Sargeant got bogged down and slipped to fifth as Vips jumped up to second ahead of Iwasa and Daruvala.
Further behind, Caldwell and Calderon collided at the opening corner to bring out the Safety Car whilst Drugovich was hit at Variante della Roggia by Cordeel which broke the Brazilian’s suspension in a race where he needed to just finish ahead of Pourchaire to claim the title.
Drugovich consequently was forced to watch on alongside his MP Motorsport team and a global audience, as Pourchaire tried to chase down a top six finish with fastest lap point in order to prolong his title dreams after having started 14th on the grid.
Pourchaire however had slipped to 15th on the restart and once the Safety Car was withdrawn at end of Lap 3, he began his charge as he leapt up to 11th by the end of the second sector on Lap 5.
Up front, Vesti lost the lead to Vips on the restart who proceeded to cruise to victory from the Danish driver as attention focused on Pourchaire’s fight as he found himself stuck behind Lawson and Beckmann.
Iwasa meanwhile struggled with his DAMS setup as he lost third to Daruvala on Lap 10 then was passed by Sargeant a lap later, before eventually falling down the order to 16th at the checkered flag.
Pourchaire meanwhile had continued to sit 11th as Iwasa’s descent began but a late lunge on Lawson into Variante del Rettifilo on Lap 14 saw the pair make contact, with Pourchaire squeezed onto the gravel as he exited the chicane and slid down to 16th after he ran wide at Variante della Roggia.
He however found himself passed by Williams on Lap 19 and found himself running last as chaos reigned in the midfield, as Verschoor, Armstrong and Doohan passed Iwasa on Lap 16 whilst Lawson overtook Beckmann at Variante della Roggia for ninth on that same lap.
Ultimately come the checkered flag, Vips took his first win of the season ahead of Vesti, Daruvala, Sargeant and Verschoor, as Lawson eventually fought his way to sixth ahead of Doohan and Beckmann who rounded out the top eight points finishers as Armstrong slid to 10th behind Hauger.
Pourchaire meanwhile failed to improve as he came home in 17th and last position of those who saw the checkered flag, which triggered celebrations at MP Motorsport as Drugovich was officially crowned 2022 F2 champion.
In the driver standings, Drugovich now held an unassailable 69-point lead over Pourchaire, who had a chance to wrap up second place in the championship if Sargeant, Doohan and Lawson somehow dramatically failed to score in the Feature Race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Juri Vips | Hitech GP | 21 | 35m 29.646 |
| 2 | Frederik Vesti | ART GP | 21 | + 1.035 |
| 3 | Jehan Daruvala | PREMA | 21 | + 7.684 |
| 4 | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | 21 | + 9,022 |
| 5 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 21 | + 9.462 |
| 6 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | 21 | + 13.129 |
| 7 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 21 | + 13.306 |
| 8 | David Beckmann | VAR | 21 | + 14.391 |
| 9 | Dennis Hauger | PREMA | 21 | + 14.723 |
| 10 | Marcus Armstrong | Hitech GP | 21 | + 17.621 |
| 11 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi | 21 | + 19.195 |
| 12 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz | 21 | + 22.604 |
| 13 | Luca Ghiotto | DAMS | 21 | + 24.186 |
| 14 | Calan Williams | Trident | 21 | + 24.687 |
| 15 | Amaury Cordeel | VAR | 21 | + 25.907 |
| 16 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 21 | + 28.155 |
| 17 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | 21 | + 30.385 |
| RET | Ralph Boschung | Campos | 8 | Collision |
| RET | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | 8 | Collision |
| RET | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | 1 | Suspension |
| RET | Olli Caldwell | Campos | 0 | Spin |
| RET | Tatiana Calderon | Charouz | 0 | Crash |
Feature Race
Charouz’s Tatiana Calderon was ruled out of the race on medical grounds which marked the first notable moment of a dramatic start, as Doohan then stalled as he left pole position at the start of the formation lap.
Once the race began, Doohan made a poor start as Lawson snatched the lead ahead of Armstrong who was then passed by Drugovich.
Chaos however reigned at the back as Boschung cut the Variante del Rettifilo chicane and upon rejoining the track, he tangled with Pourchaire who collected Ghiotto as he spun whilst Caldwell was also eliminated in the incident.
Post-race, Boschung was handed a three-place grid penalty after stewards adjudged him as wholefully responsible for the chaos involving Pourchaire and Ghiotto on the opening lap.
Daruvala meanwhile shunted Doohan across into Sargeant’s Carlin at Variante della Roggia, which eliminated the latter pair as the Safety Car was deployed.
On the restart on Lap 6, Lawson made a clean getaway as Armstrong passed Drugovich for second whilst Iwasa unsucessfully tried to pass Vips at Variante della Roggia for fifth, which enabled Daruvala to take sixth round the outside of the first Lesmo.
Vips then passed Verschoor one lap later for fourth but the Safety Car was again deployed after Beckmann punted Williams into the wall at Ascari, which ultimately led to the race being red flagged on Lap 9 to allow for safe removal of Williams’ Trident due to its position on the circuit.
The race resumed 11 minutes later behind the Safety Car as Verschoor stayed out on the medium tyre ahead of Sato who switched to soft tyres during the stoppage, yet the Japanese driver was unable to pass Verschoor on the restart on Lap 11.
Armstrong meanwhile was hit with a 10s time penalty for cutting across the pit entry when he pitted, followed by a 10s stop-and-go penalty for speeding in the pits which ruined his chances of a top-ten finish.
Armstrong’s Hitech GP teammate, Vips was also served a 10s stop-and-go penalty after he spun Lawson on Lap 13 at Variante della Roggia on Lap 13, which caused Lawson to pit with front wing damager as he eventually finished last.
Up front, Daruvala calmly hunted down the top two who were yet to make mandatory pit stops and passed Sato into Variante del Rettifilo on Lap 18 for second, yet was unable to pass Verschoor for the lead until the Dutchman pitted at end of Lap 25.
Daruvala thereafter cruised to victory ahead of Vesti as Iwasa fought off Fittipaldi, Hauger and Beckmann to finish third, whilst Drugovich finished seventh ahead of Cordeel, Novalak and Verschoor who also collected the bonus point for fastest lap.
Post-race, Iwasa was disqualified after his DAMS plank failed the maximum thickness element of inspectory tests, as required by Article 4.2 of Technical Regulations.
Vips consequently benefitted from Iwasa’s disqualification as he was promoted to 10th until a 10s time penalty for spinning Lawson dropped him to 12th, with Sato instead inheriting the final point in tenth.
In the driver standings, Drugovich is already champion but Pourchaire retained his 29-point lead over Sargeant in their fight for second, with Doohan still fourth ahead of Daruvala, Fittipaldi, Lawson, Vesti and Iwasa in a seven-way fight for third with Sargeant.
F2 now takes a two-month break ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi across 18-20 November.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Jehan Daruvala | PREMA | 30 | 1h 06m 39.193 |
| 2 | Frederik Vesti | ART GP | 30 | + 1.970 |
| 3 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz | 30 | + 6.491 |
| 4 | Dennis Hauger | PREMA | 30 | + 7.249 |
| 5 | David Beckmann | VAR | 30 | + 7.801 |
| 6 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | 30 | + 10.502 |
| 7 | Amaury Cordeel | VAR | 30 | + 12.738 |
| 8 | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | 30 | + 27.950 |
| 9 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 30 | + 35.184 |
| 10 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi | 30 | + 47.522 |
| 11 | Marcus Armstrong | Hitech GP | 30 | + 54.718 |
| 12 | Juri Vips | Hitech GP | 30 | + 55.692 |
| 13 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | 30 | + 1m 31.534 |
| DSQ | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 30 | Plank |
| RET | Calan Williams | Trident | 6 | Collision |
| RET | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 1 | Wheel |
| RET | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Luca Ghiotto | DAMS | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Ralph Boschung | Campos | 0 | Collision |
| RET | Olli Caldwell | Campos | 0 | Collision |
| DNS | Tatiana Calderon | Charouz | 0 | Medical |