Monaco F2: Pourchaire beats Shwartzman to feature race pole
Formula 2 rookie Theo Pourchaire blitzed qualifying with a stunning lap to secure pole position for the feature race at Monaco.
The ART Grand Prix driver proved the star of the show posting a 1m20.985s which was unable to be matched by his rivals, claiming four championship points in the process.
As in previous seasons, F2 elected to split qualifying into two 16 minute sessions to help ease traffic flow on the tight and twisty Monaco street circuit. Each group consisted of 11 cars with even numbered entries in Group A first on track, while odd numbered cars were in the final Group B session.
Effectively the qualifying groups decide odd and even numbered positions on the grid with the order dependent on which group provides the fastest overall time.
As Pourchaire’s time came from Group A, the Frenchman will start Saturday afternoon’s feature race from pole ahead of Prema Racing’s Robert Shwartzman who topped Group B.
Oscar Piastri was third fastest and will share the second row with Carlin’s Dan Ticktum, ahead of Juri Vips in fifth and Ralph Boschung sixth.
The top 10 was rounded out by Roy Nissany, Christian Lundgaard, Felipe Drugovich and championship leader Guanyu Zhou.
Zhou will however inherit pole for Friday’s first sprint race courtesy of the reverse top 10 of the qualifying results.
Qualifying Group A
Pourchaire fired in a blistering final lap to top the Group A qualifying session.
The teenager posted a 1m20.985s effort which was a four tenths faster than Piastri, while Hitech Grand Prix’s Vips was third despite hitting the barrier and bending his steering in the closing stages.
Nissany was fourth for DAMS ahead of UNI Virtuosi’s Felipe Drugovich in fifth with Jehan Daruvala in sixth.
Bent Viscaal set the first real indicative time before the Trident man was beaten by Gianluca Petecof with a 1m26.008s in his repaired Campos Racing entry after a spectacular engine failure in the earlier practice session.
Nissany was next to threaten the top of the times but he was quickly deposed by Piastri and Pourchaire, the latter posting a 1m22.843s.
The order changed moments later when Vips went three tenths faster to surge to the top ahead of Drugovich.
Nissany responded on his next run but Pourchaire eclipsed that to move back to the head of the field.
However, in the final moments Pourchaire showed his class to further improve on his effort to lead Piastri and Vips.
Qualifying Group B
Shwartzman topped the times in Group B but it was not enough to eclipse the fastest time overall set by Pourchaire.
It wasn’t until the second half of the session that the field began to fire in any meaningful times.
First to do so was Ticktum who posted a 1m23.390s which was more than two seconds shy of the pace set by Pourchaire in Group A.
Zhou managed a time a second quicker on his first run as he headed Boschung, Lundgaard, Armstrong and Shwartzman as Ticktum dropped to sixth.
Ticktum responded but was eclipsed by Shwartzman although the pace was still well adrift of Pourchaire.
In the end, Shwartzman ended up fastest in the group from Ticktum, Boschung, Lundgaard and Zhou.
The first of two 30-lap F2 sprint races is scheduled for Friday at 1045 BST.
Monaco F2 - Qualifying Group A results
| Cla | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Theo Pourchaire |
ART Grand Prix |
1'20.985 | |
| 2 |  Oscar Piastri |
 Prema Powerteam |
1'21.443 | 0.458 |
| 3 |  Jüri Vips |
 HitechGP |
1'21.523 | 0.538 |
| 4 |  Roy Nissany |
DAMS |
1'22.102 | 1.117 |
| 5 |  Felipe Drugovich |
UNI-Virtuosi |
1'22.131 | 1.146 |
| 6 |  Jehan Daruvala |
Carlin |
1'22.244 | 1.259 |
| 7 |  David Beckmann |
 Charouz Racing System |
1'22.585 | 1.600 |
| 8 |  Bent Viscaal |
Trident |
1'22.827 | 1.842 |
| 9 | Lirim Zendeli |
MP Motorsport |
1'22.933 | 1.948 |
| 10 | Gianluca Petecof |
 Campos Racing |
1'23.344 | 2.359 |
| 11 | Jack Aitken |
HWA Racelab | 1'23.353 | 2.368 |
| View full results | ||||
Monaco F2 - Qualifying Group B results
| Cla | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Robert Shwartzman |
Prema Powerteam |
1'21.403 | |
| 2 | Dan Ticktum |
Carlin |
1'21.589 | 0.186 |
| 3 |  Ralph Boschung |
Campos Racing |
1'21.854 | 0.451 |
| 4 |  Christian Lundgaard |
ART Grand Prix |
1'21.877 | 0.474 |
| 5 |  Guanyu Zhou |
UNI-Virtuosi |
1'21.912 | 0.509 |
| 6 |  Liam Lawson |
HitechGP |
1'21.941 | 0.538 |
| 7 | Marcus Armstrong |
DAMS |
1'22.168 | 0.765 |
| 8 | Richard Verschoor |
MP Motorsport |
1'22.758 | 1.355 |
| 9 |  Marino Sato |
Trident |
1'24.091 | 2.688 |
| 10 | Guilherme Samaia |
Charouz Racing System |
1'24.302 | 2.899 |
| 11 | Alessio Deledda |
HWA Racelab | 1'27.744 | 6.341 |
| View full results | ||||
Related video
Monaco F2: Shwartzman fastest in interrupted practice session
F2 and F3 to focus on cost saving drive instead of driver scholarships
F2 driver Caldwell gets one-round ban for Spa
Formula 2 driver Olli Caldwell will miss the next round of the championship after being handed a race ban for reaching 12 penalty points as a result of a track limits breach in Hungary.
F2 Hungary: Pourchaire reignites title battle with feature race victory
Theo Pourchaire clinched FIA Formula 2 feature race victory in Hungary to reignite the title battle with Felipe Drugovich.
F2 Hungary: Doohan cruises to sprint race win
Jack Doohan cruised to FIA Formula 2 victory at the Hungaroring, holding off Juri Vips to cross the line five seconds clear.
F2 Hungary: Iwasa takes maiden series pole
Ayumu Iwasa took his maiden FIA Formula 2 pole at the Hungaroring, continuing his strong form after feature race victory in France last week.
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
The on-form F1 protege carrying America's hopes on his shoulders
Two feature race wins in as many rounds have helped Logan Sargeant to emerge as the closest challenger to runaway Formula 2 points leader Felipe Drugovich. The Williams F1 junior couldn't have timed his rise better, with interest in grand prix racing on the rise in his US homeland, and he could be his country's best shot at getting a driver on the grid for the first time since 2015
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
The other Doohan charting his way to motorsport success
Heading into FIA Formula 2 this season, there was a lot of pressure on Jack Doohan. The 2021 F3 runner-up joined a new team for his next challenge, as well as signing up to the Alpine Academy. He told Autosport how he’s tackling the step up - with some help from his motorcycle legend father
The Brazilian F2 driver hoping to return his country to motorsport's top tier
With a chaotic but “pretty much perfect” FIA Formula 2 weekend in Saudi Arabia behind him, Felipe Drugovich now leads the drivers’ standings in his third crack at the series. The Brazilian driver explains how he's improved amid some difficult years, and shares his dreams of ending his nation's absence from the F1 grid
The Red Bull junior aiming to emulate Piastri in F2
Norwegian talent Dennis Hauger has a tough act to follow in Oscar Piastri’s footsteps on his graduation to F2 as the reigning F3 champion with Prema. Here’s what he makes of the task ahead of him
The other Mercedes F1 young gun facing a big 2022
With a disappointing 2021 season behind him, Frederik Vesti makes the move up to FIA Formula 2 with a reinvigorated sense of determination. Could this finally be the breakthrough year for the talented Mercedes junior?
Ranking the 10 best drivers of an F1 junior series stalwart
DAMS has been one of the most prolific teams below Formula 1 since its foundation in 1989, launching 32 drivers into grand prix racing. Following the team's sale to ex-F1 racer Charles Pic, formally closing the book on the ownership of the Driot family, Autosport picks out its 10 best drivers during their spell with the team