| Another pole position for Piastri |
| On a dry track surface, Oscar Piastri quickly took command of qualifying. Despite the efforts of Alexander Smolyar, Victor Martins and Lorenzo Colombo (MP Motorsport), the Australian picked up the pace late in the session to take his second pole of the weekend with a best lap of 1:57.022s. |
| Lining up behind the pole winner at more than half a second was Alexander Smolyar, Victor Martins, Lorenzo Colombo and rookies Caio Collet and Ugo de Wilde (JD Motorsport). Yves Baltas (M2 Competition), Kush Maini (M2 Competition), Callan O’Keeffe (FA Racing by Drivex) and João Vieira (JD Motorsport) completed the top ten. |
| Qualifying 2 - Starting grid |
| R-ace GP doubles up |
| In contrast to the day before, Oscar Piastri got a perfect launch off the line to maintain the lead ahead of Alexander Smolyar and Victor Martins. Further back, Caio Collet got the better of Lorenzo Colombo, while Kush Maini picked up two spots to slot into sixth place. |
| Further back, the beginning of the race was animated by the runs through the field of Amaury Cordeel (MP Motorsport), who started last, and Petr Ptáček (Bhaitech Racing), who lost seven places in the opening lap. Meanwhile, Federico Malvestiti (Bhaitech Racing) had to return to the pits to change his damaged front wing. |
| Race leader Oscar Piastri quickly pulled way and immediately responded when Alexander Smolyar began to nibble into his lead at the mid-way point of the race. Never worried, the Australian went on for a comfortable victory ahead of Alexander Smolyar and Victor Martins to become the first driver to win two races this season. |
| Pressured by Lorenzo Colombo just until the finish, Caio Collet came home fourth to win the Hankook Trophy rewarding the best rookie driver. Kush Maini was fifth ahead of Callan O’Keeffe, but the South African was judged to have gained an advantage in going off track at Copse to overtake Ugo de Wilde on lap 13. Ugo de Wilde recuperated his seventh place ahead of Callan O’Keeffe, Yves Baltas and João Vieira. |
| Race 2 - Drivers classification - Teams classification |
| Round 3 of the Formula Renault Eurocup season will take place in Monaco in support of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix (May 23-26). |
| Quotes |
| Oscar Piastri (R-ace GP): “No win is easy. My start was better than yesterday, but I couldn’t really afford myself to cruise in the opening laps. I had a really good pace, which allowed me to pull away and go on for the win. It is good to be at the top of the general classification although it doesn’t mean much after just four races. All I know for now is that I want more after these two victories!” |
| Alexander Smolyar (R-ace GP): “After my retirement yesterday, I had hoped to race for the victory to score maximum points, but today Oscar was just too fast. Maybe it is not the result that I wanted, but I drove a good race and this double is an excellent result for the team and the championship. Our work in testing paid off and I hope that we can keep this momentum going in Monaco.” |
| Victor Martins (MP Motorsport): “Consistency is the key to winning the title, so this podium result could be important at the end of the season. Today, our pace was better and I made fewer mistakes than yesterday in qualifying. It is always difficult to come to a track with a new car, but we will continue to work hard together with my team mates and the team to find more pace. In Monaco, we will have to quickly be up to speed, build from that and go for the win. I really can’t wait to be there!” |
| Caio Collet (R-ace GP): “This first victory among the rookies underscores our progress. The team did a really good job in winning both races and all three of us in the top four. It was more difficult than expected at Monza, but now that I’m back into the top five, I hope to stay there in the next rounds. I’m still learning session after session, lap after lap, so this result is a real step forward!” |
Provisional general classification*
| Drivers |
Points |
| 1. Oscar Piastri (R-ace GP) |
62 |
| 2. Victor Martins (MP Motorsport) |
46 |
| 3. Alexander Smolyar (R-ace GP) |
43 |
| 4. Ugo de Wilde (JD Motorsport) |
41 |
| 5. Kush Maini (M2 Competition) |
33 |
| ... |
... |
|
| * Results subject to confirmation following technical and sporting checks. |
