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00:02МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА
00:41It was the end of July when we last went racing in Formula 2,
00:45and that would be the feature race at the Hungarine
00:48with Alpine Jr. Kushmine leading us away from pole position.
00:54We'd see the likes of Nikola Sollov trying to fight his way
00:57through the field.
00:58Noel Leon would take advantage of a brief virtual safety car
01:01coming through pit lane,
01:02which would promote him up to the lead of the race,
01:05and that would give him his first feature race win,
01:09putting Campos Racing on the top step of the podium.
01:12Once again, an emotional win.
01:14It was for Noel Leon just beating Kushmine to the flag
01:17with Rafa Kamara finishing in third place.
01:21A difficult weekend overall for Nikola Sollov.
01:24P7 he would be, which would see the gap close between the top three
01:29in the championship standings.
01:31Well, after the summer break, we come in to Monza,
01:35a completely different challenge for them,
01:36before a brand-new one at the Mad Ring next weekend.
01:40We've got an additional DRS zone going down to the final corner.
01:4421 laps of sprint race action, 30 in the feature race.
01:49And for the first time, we had an Italian winner in FIA Formula 2,
01:53Leo Fornaroli, getting on to the top step of the podium.
01:57We are away for practice,
01:5945 minutes ahead of us in this practice session
02:03before we go qualifying later on today.
02:06My name, Chris McCarthy, Alex Brando alongside me.
02:09Alex, it's been a little while, hasn't it?
02:11But good to see Formula 2 cars back on track once again.
02:14Indeed, Formula 2 is back.
02:16And mark off your bingo cards
02:17because we're at the Temple of Speed, 5.8 kilometers,
02:21which is the fastest average speed lap
02:23throughout the full season of Formula 2.
02:27And what a magic challenge for these drivers,
02:29not least the man who leads the championship.
02:31Nikola Sollov by 20 points,
02:32as you can see on the left of your screen,
02:35to home race hero, Gabriele Mini,
02:39who said before the weekend,
02:40there's only one goal in the second half
02:42of this Formula 2 season, which is to catch up.
02:45And that's what he's going to be aiming to do.
02:48He's had his fair share of triumph and tribulation
02:51here at Monza, but a great opportunity for him.
02:54And look at the team's championship,
02:56Campos Racing leading that with 261 points.
02:59Yep, a comfortable gap for them
03:01over in Victor Racing.
03:03And then pretty close after that,
03:04you can see MP Motorsport on 176, 167
03:07for the road in team.
03:09Alex Dunn, P4 in the championship standings for them.
03:13We'll need some big scores to catch the top three.
03:17It's very much becoming between those three drivers,
03:20but still a little bit of distance to go.
03:23We're getting towards the business end
03:25of the season now, Alex,
03:27but we have the Madring next weekend
03:29and then off to Baku just a couple of weeks after that.
03:31It's probably the end of the European season,
03:34this sort of quiet backwater, if you like,
03:37of circuits that they know that they,
03:41most of them, will have driven upon.
03:43And then you get back out into the Middle East,
03:47into the circuits where the drivers
03:50might not be quite so familiar.
03:52Places like Baku, places like Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
03:57And indeed the Madring,
03:58an absolutely new circuit in Madrid.
04:01You can see already some issues for Gabriele Mini.
04:05Looks like those brakes getting a little bit warm.
04:07Yeah, the MP team just trying to get those cooled down.
04:11It's a big race for Gabriele Mini.
04:14Italian driver on home soil.
04:17Want to get himself onto the top step
04:19like he did in the sprint.
04:20Oh, there we go.
04:23And I wonder if they're just trying to build
04:27a little bit of brake temperature in the front tyres
04:30and have overcooked it there slightly,
04:31or indeed they've got something stuck in the duct.
04:34Because that is a lot of temperature
04:36to be delivering very, very quickly indeed.
04:40So they'll be wanting to get that fire put out
04:42as quickly as possible for Gabriele Mini.
04:44A new looking AIX racing car
04:46coming in to this weekend.
04:48Some new sponsors on the car for them as well.
04:52AIX Racing.
04:53Their place in Formula 3, Alex,
04:56will be taken by the LN4 Fusion team,
04:58the brand new team which Lando Norris
05:01has announced coming in to this weekend.
05:03And Lando Norris and the LN4 Fusion team
05:06submitting an application to race in Formula 2.
05:09It's been confirmed they'll also race
05:10in Formula Regional, Italian F4,
05:13and trying now to confirm an entry
05:16into the British F4 Championship as well.
05:18This news has absolutely taken over
05:20the paddock coming into this weekend.
05:22Our reigning world champion
05:23has set up a single-seater team
05:26for the junior categories.
05:28Yeah, what a tremendous development
05:31for the junior single-seater Formula.
05:33And I think the first thing to say
05:34is congratulations to all involved,
05:37not only for the team,
05:39but also for the legacy programme,
05:41which Lando's been pretty clear,
05:43the aim of which is to give drivers
05:46an opportunity to arrive in Formula 1
05:48who might not otherwise have done so,
05:51which is a tremendous endeavour, isn't it,
05:54for a reigning world champion.
05:56As it specifically relates to Formula 2,
05:59selected assets of AIX Racing
06:00have been bought by an entity
06:03which will be led by former Prima boss,
06:07Rene Rossi.
06:09They made an application
06:10to enter the Formula 2 Championship in 2027.
06:13Those applications come up on a tri-annual basis.
06:16So every three years,
06:18the FIA and the promoter evaluate
06:20which teams they want in the series.
06:23They can add a team.
06:24You're allowed anything up to 26 cars in Formula 2
06:28should the promoter see fit.
06:31But it'll be interesting to see what occurs then.
06:34I think turning away an enterprise
06:37backed by Lando Norris would be a bold move.
06:40So I would expect to see
06:41that team on the grid next year.
06:43Absolutely.
06:44Guillaume Capietta will serve as their race director
06:46for the team's wider operations.
06:48He has a previous working relationship with Rene.
06:52Dan Hazelwood,
06:53who has built one of the biggest kart teams
06:56in the UK and Europe, Fusion Motorsport,
06:58will run the UK side of the operation.
07:00So continuing to look after that kart team
07:02and the British F4 team as well.
07:05And then we have Julian Rouse as well
07:07who is going to be helping lead the legacy programme,
07:10ADT management,
07:11are going to be operating that.
07:14So a huge amount of figures in this
07:17and very successful figures as well,
07:19not to mention, of course, Lando himself.
07:21Yeah, impressive is the agglomeration
07:24of the full ladder
07:24from karting all the way through
07:27to, you know, potentially in Formula 2.
07:31So that's going to be really one to watch.
07:33Announced this week at a venue very close to the circuit.
07:38So we'll watch that one with interest.
07:41It looks like we've got the first push lap though
07:44for Fittipaldi, who's making his way through the Lesmos.
07:46On the soft compound tyre,
07:47which counterintuitively is the hardest of the two this weekend,
07:50you've got the soft, which has got a red sidewall,
07:53and then the super soft tyre will be available as well.
07:56That's got a purple sidewall to it.
07:58That's the combination we saw last year as well, Alex.
08:02And we were waiting to see
08:04what strategy people are going to go for
08:05because it was the first time they used it.
08:07And then they all chose the exact same one.
08:09And in the end, Alex Dunn,
08:12being helped into the barrier here at the Ascari,
08:14she came, brought out a safety car.
08:16Luke Browning took full advantage
08:17and went into the pit lane.
08:19And we had a tremendously busy pit lane
08:22as all the drivers came in.
08:23Olly Gertha was on the flip side of that strategy,
08:26which put him down the order,
08:27but it put Luke Browning up the order.
08:29And then it was a straight race to the line after that.
08:33Yeah, quickest strategy last year
08:36was relinquishing the super soft tyre after eight laps.
08:39So even at Monza,
08:41which is notoriously low energy for the tyres,
08:44you would tend to get rid of the super soft tyres
08:48as quickly as you can.
08:51It's high on brake energy.
08:53It's obviously extremely high on speed,
08:59but very light on tyres.
09:02Well, Luke Browning is going to be in an F1 car this weekend.
09:05Someone who was in an F1 car in the summer break
09:07was championship leader Nikola Zolov.
09:08Let's hear what he had to say.
09:11Yeah, the F1 test is something I've been dreaming,
09:13obviously, since the day I started racing.
09:16And everything happened really fast.
09:18Obviously, this season has been going very well.
09:20And I think it was all about time that the moment comes.
09:23It was very exciting.
09:25The team was very happy.
09:26I had a lot of kilometres.
09:27So managed to get used to the car quite quickly
09:31and looking forward to more future stuff like that, hopefully.
09:37Another new hair star in the year for Nikola Zolov as well.
09:42High downforce.
09:44Surprising for Monza.
09:46I like it.
09:47Yeah.
09:47I like it.
09:48And he's been behind the wheel.
09:49Of a Formula 1 car as well,
09:54with the shuffle of Red Bull drivers
09:57over the last couple of races.
10:00He's had Jars injury.
10:02And, of course, the absolute best won't be back
10:05in the Red Bull this weekend.
10:08There was a world in which Nikola Zolov got a run
10:13in a Formula 1 car and race conditions.
10:14Unfortunately, that world is where super licence points don't exist
10:17because he didn't have enough to be able to compete
10:20and, indeed, had not really done enough laps in F1 machinery.
10:25Alas, now he has done
10:26and he's had the opportunity to drive the car,
10:31the driver who leads the championship, by 20 points.
10:34Absolutely so.
10:35You can see Kian Shields for AIX Racing.
10:38The track pretty much empty at the moment.
10:41We've had Emerson, bits of power to go around there,
10:43continues to loop around.
10:44So, with that, Alex, I think it's worth picking up
10:47the conversation we were having on this news
10:49that has taken over the paddock.
10:52A legacy programme coming in to development.
10:55We'll get your thoughts on that in just a second.
10:58First of all, we're going to hear from Invicta Racing here
11:02in both the fight for the team's championship
11:04and the driver's championship with the number one car.
11:06Rafa Kamara, let's hear what James Robinson
11:08had to say about that fight for the title.
11:13I think it's been an OK season.
11:14I said at the start of the year,
11:16this is the first season in the last,
11:18well, in the team's history
11:20that we actually went into the season
11:21as championship favourites.
11:24And with that target in our back,
11:25despite winning the last two championships,
11:27both drivers and teams,
11:29I don't think we went into those years
11:31as necessarily the favourites.
11:33And I think this year that was a bit different.
11:36So having that target on our back
11:37was something that we really relished.
11:40But I would say there's been a few areas
11:42where we haven't executed as well as we could have done.
11:45Rafa's shown some tremendous speed, of course.
11:48His qualifying record is second to Nani.
11:50He's got the highest average career position by far.
11:53But, of course, some big mistakes in Montreal
11:56and then in Monaco has cost us a lot of points.
11:59And without those,
12:00we'd be leading the drivers' championship quite comfortably.
12:02And he knows that.
12:03But his speed and his raw pace has been phenomenal.
12:08Joshua, on the other hand,
12:09it's been a case of just struggling
12:11to string together a whole race weekend.
12:14We know we've seen flashes of that pace
12:16and he's had two race wins.
12:19But it's been about pulling that all together
12:21over the course of a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
12:25But, you know, like you say,
12:27we're in the mix for both championships.
12:28We're not far off, both drivers and teams.
12:30So we're confident that we can still make it
12:33a three-peat, as they say.
12:36Good to hear from Invicta Race
12:38and plenty to digest from that.
12:40As they mentioned, it has been one of their first seasons
12:44where they have gone in as favourites for the championship.
12:47That very much helped by Leo Fornaroli,
12:49who you saw there in his McLaren attire.
12:52Rafa leading up to that well.
12:5422 points back from Nikola Sollov.
12:56And then he mentioned Dirksen,
12:57who always seems to come on very strong
12:59at the end of a season
13:00and tends to get on a good run of form.
13:04He has been a bit unfortunate a couple of times this season.
13:07Do you think this has been the first season
13:10for Dirksen and that he's been with a championship-winning team
13:12next to a driver coming in as champion?
13:16Do you think that's played a part at all?
13:18It's been a tougher season than I expected for Joshua Dirksen.
13:22I really thought he'd be battling for this championship.
13:24And indeed, as James alludes to there,
13:26his speed is that which deserves
13:29to be battling for a championship.
13:33But those weekends need to work out.
13:35And building a weekend,
13:37so important,
13:39so important through,
13:41because you get one qualifying session in Formula 2
13:43which tends to give you your full weekend
13:46or give you the concept of your full weekend
13:49about where on the grid you're going to be battling.
13:51If that's not working out for Dirksen,
13:53then you're always going to struggle.
13:55A little bit messy on the out lap there.
13:57That's Kian Shields and Rafael Villegomez
13:59down to the Roger chicane,
14:01battling for position.
14:02And we'll see plenty more where that came from, Chris,
14:05once the toes start being given out in qualifying.
14:07Yeah, there always is a bit of a hunt for a toe, isn't there?
14:11It can make a big difference in a lap around here.
14:15And with an extra DRS zone,
14:17it's going to lead to even more opportunities for overtaking
14:19if you didn't need more already.
14:21Qualifying is the one.
14:24Only twice in the modern era of Formula 2
14:27has the feature race been converted from pole position.
14:31That's Oscar Piastri in 2021.
14:33Luke Browning in 2025.
14:38But it doesn't mean that they're not going to try extremely hard
14:42to be on that top spot.
14:43Well, the Italian fans will be hoping to see the likes of Gabriele Mini
14:47take the win.
14:48Let's hear what he had to say coming into the weekend.
14:52Yeah, it's a very cool one.
14:54It's the only home track that I have this season.
14:59So, yeah, it's very exciting, you know.
15:01Monza is itself a very historical circuit.
15:04It's the temple of speed, you know.
15:06It's very fast.
15:07It gives really nice and chaotic races.
15:11And being home, you know, makes it even more special for me.
15:16It is going to be a special weekend for Gabriele Mini.
15:19He's had mixed memories here, I guess, of course,
15:22as fighting for the F3 title here in 2024.
15:26But now, once again, in the title fight in Formula 2.
15:31Sometimes left out that conversation, isn't he,
15:33amongst those top three, Gabriele Mini.
15:35But he's having an incredibly impressive season.
15:38We've seen MP win the title before with Felipe Dragovic.
15:41Gabriele Mini looking to put them back there once again.
15:45Still within championship challenging distance here,
15:49Gabriele Mini, with plenty of racing still to go throughout the season.
15:53Let's follow him, shall we,
15:54as he heads down the Retafilo straight down towards turn one,
15:59which is a huge braking zone.
16:01You're going to look on the left-hand side
16:03to try and pick out your braking point.
16:06Over that first kerb, you've got to stay tight,
16:08which gives you the nice open apex.
16:11Then you lean on the outside kerb.
16:13As you make your way through Curva Grande,
16:15one of the oldest parts of the circuit,
16:17down towards the Roja chicane,
16:20shortest distance for Gabriele Mini.
16:22There used to be a bridge in a different position here,
16:25which leads to a bump in the braking zone.
16:28Over that first kerb, and then the second,
16:30you can lean on the outside kerb once more,
16:32as long as it's not interrupting your traction.
16:34Down to the first of the Lesmos.
16:36It's more banked than it appears on the camera,
16:39so you get in nice and early.
16:41It's absolutely different from the second Lesmo,
16:44where you try to get in late and get on the throttle
16:46as you make your way down underneath the old banking
16:49towards the Ascari chicane.
16:52Again, a bumpy braking zone,
16:54where you need to resist the temptation to brake too hard
16:57and be super accurate over this left-hand kerb.
17:01Patience is required in the middle
17:02before you let the car go over the final flattened kerb
17:06and down towards the final corner of the racetrack,
17:09the Parabolica.
17:10Over on the left-hand side,
17:11we pick up a tow with Mini,
17:13and we're looking for the 50 board on the left-hand side.
17:16That's the indication for braking.
17:17You apex underneath the photographer's point up high,
17:21and then we're going to take the shortest distance to the line
17:24and try and pick that up nice and early.
17:27It's a simple lap, but it's a challenging lap.
17:30Way too much time to think about everything in Monza, Chris.
17:33Lovely stuff.
17:34Thank you, Alex and Gabriele Mini.
17:37Our first full look at an on-board lap there.
17:40Let's go back to Noel Leon then.
17:42Took that win last time out in the feature race
17:44and going to the top by almost four-tenths.
17:46You could really see what it meant to him,
17:48that win, Noel Leon, when he took it.
17:50A big season in F2, Alex, can go a long way in your career.
17:53I can, whether you choose or whether you have the opportunity
17:56to go and race in Formula 1 or elsewhere.
18:00And they take these results through the rest of their career.
18:03Let's see how Solov gets on in his early flurry of flying laps,
18:08shall we, in the Campos.
18:09He's going to make his way through the exit of the Parabolica
18:12and open up the lower downforce top element of the rear wing.
18:17Makes the DRS slightly less effective here, Chris.
18:20There are three zones, but the lower downforce top element of the rear wing
18:25makes it a smaller difference between DRS open and DRS closed.
18:30Decent lap for Solov, but not a chart topping.
18:33Camera is the next man through the Parabolica
18:36and looks like he has a nicely balanced invictor.
18:39Yeah, going well.
18:40Came from 30th to 5th in the F3 feature race here last year.
18:44Made 43 positions up overall and 20th place for the time being.
18:49Make that 19th as we see a lap deleted for Shields.
18:52This is why I think he wasn't so high up the order.
18:56Bit of a shimmy on the way in to the second Lesmo, looks like.
19:01And then it's a nasty curb out there.
19:05Joshua Dirksen has been across the road through the exit of the Roja chicane as well.
19:09Just finding their bearings now, aren't they?
19:13Starting to attack these braking zones.
19:15Yeah, and these braking zones, absolutely crucial, aren't they?
19:19The Lesmo section coming out of the second one.
19:21You're into three DRS zones.
19:23How is this circuit from a driver's perspective?
19:27As we have more fire around Gabriele Mini's car,
19:29this time coming out the back rather than from the brakes.
19:32Yeah, that was a bit more than a pop and bang map, wasn't it?
19:35From Gabriele Mini.
19:37They'll be wanting to keep an eye on that one.
19:40So much of the time gain and loss at Monza is in the brakes,
19:44in the braking areas of the circuit.
19:47Because those fast corners are over so quickly,
19:50but the braking zones have a huge amount of technical difficulty to them,
19:56not least the first one down to that first chicane.
19:59You have a lot of time to think about things around here as well.
20:02Does that play a part as a driver?
20:04Absolutely does.
20:04You come across the line, front tyre is slightly cold,
20:07and the iconic error is locking up the inside front down towards the first chicane
20:14because you simply don't have the car on anything.
20:17You've got to remember those front tyres move through the air,
20:20cooling all the way from the parabolica,
20:23which is why it's important to get the tyre in the window here.
20:25And then, of course, you've just got to pick a point to stamp on the brakes
20:30and trust that you're going to have the grip under the front tyre.
20:33It's so easy to feel the pressure, particularly late on in qualifying,
20:38and just get that slightly wrong and lock the fronts up.
20:41Holly Gertha looking like he's going along well.
20:44He's in the toe of the car we're looking at.
20:46So Fittipaldi there, Gertha in the orange MP,
20:49who took pole position here in Formula 3 in 2023,
20:54making his way up to the line behind Fittipaldi.
20:57Now, let's see how they both get on.
20:58A place game for Fittipaldi, plenty for Gertha.
21:01Briefly going to pole, but Nico Veroni then going quicker.
21:04Was last here in the World Endurance Championship in 2023.
21:08Let's hop on board with Alex Dunn.
21:10Purple through the middle sector.
21:11Middle sector here is the Roger chicanes and the two Lesmot, basically.
21:16The first sector is effectively the first chicane,
21:19and in the final sector includes the Ascara chicane and the Parabolica.
21:24Top spot for Alex Dunn in the road in,
21:27and it'll keep on improving.
21:29The circuit here does have a certain amount of development to it,
21:32but critically, there's not a huge amount of tyre degradation in Monza,
21:36so you're normally able to run and run while improving your lap time.
21:40And there's that classic mistake you mentioned from Noel Leon.
21:43Look up into Turn 1, and it's a long lap after that
21:46as we have a look back at Ferrari, Driver Academy member Rafa Kameram
21:51just making his way through the final corner.
21:53We saw a mistake from him last time.
21:55We'll see what he can do on this lap now, heading round Parabolica.
21:59Still a little bit of a shimmy on his way into the Parabolica there,
22:03so the car not quite behaving exactly how he wants it to.
22:07You know it's going to be close in Monza as well.
22:09You know, it's not a complex racetrack
22:11in terms of getting the lap out of the car.
22:13Of course, getting a tow is quite a political battle
22:16with those around you in terms of track position.
22:20But these drivers know, if they don't get every apex absolutely right,
22:25you're not even going to be in the top 15 here.
22:27You've got to be putting together a lap that's neat and tidy,
22:30and then it's all about the balance of the car
22:32and whether or not you get a tow.
22:35If you mess up one of these apexes,
22:37realistically, your weekend's over at the end of qualifying.
22:41We've just had a look there at Alex Dunn.
22:4459 points back now in the championship.
22:47It's been a while since his last race win,
22:49Imola Beach Race, last season.
22:51With that distance to the top three,
22:54and our championship leader here, Nikola Solov.
22:56Oh, it's a bit busy down there now, isn't it?
22:58When we talk about going to search for a tow,
23:01and there the search has begun.
23:04That's going to be Miata, isn't it, who'll skip the queue?
23:08Getting bored of waiting in sector three.
23:11This is always the problem.
23:13This is more, I think, probably just a queue to get a lap
23:17rather than the aim to necessarily get a tow throughout free practice,
23:23but you'll get a great big long queue.
23:24Then one driver will make an error,
23:26which will ruin the qualifying lap of everybody behind,
23:30and they're having horrible problems, aren't they,
23:32down to the first she came.
23:33Yeah, that was John Bennett defending from Intrapovozak,
23:37I think it was, right at the back of the queue is Solov.
23:41So if this was qualifying,
23:43you're hoping that no one else goes off ahead
23:45and brings out a yellow flag.
23:47Absolutely.
23:48Even a bit of gravel on the racetrack,
23:51the areas for that are the exit of the Roger Chicane,
23:53the exit of the Lesmos, particularly the second one,
23:56are the areas where gravel gets thrown up on the racetrack,
24:00and we so often see sessions interrupted here because of that gravel.
24:05You've got Bennett,
24:07who's been picked up for failing to follow the race director's instructions.
24:11That'll be down at the Roger Chicane, where they're quite specific.
24:15But Gertha, fastest in the middle sector of his personal best time.
24:21Let's see if he can improve as he makes his way to the line.
24:23Yep, Dino Viganovic going along well, too.
24:26And Oli Gertha goes quickest, and look at this.
24:29Oh, Dino Viganovic thought he was getting a good toe,
24:32but he's going to back out and go again next time.
24:35And you can just see the cars coming by now.
24:38Really no road to use there.
24:40Tear-offs all over the racetrack,
24:42where drivers have been queuing and effectively thought,
24:45this is the moment where I'm going to take a tear-off off.
24:46And so I've littered the track with them on the apex of the Parabolica there.
24:52Purple middle sector for Alex Dunn makes his way across the line
24:56in the middle of the melee.
24:57And someone will get a lap in, and that's the problem, isn't it?
25:01Because you know that there will be somebody in the session
25:05who is able to deliver the lap with the perfect toe.
25:08But that means everybody has to try.
25:11And that's how you end up with a queue down to the final sector.
25:14Looks like a better lap again for a camera
25:16who's rescued the early mistake to put himself in P9.
25:20He's got a lovely clear bit of racetrack.
25:22And this is the other solution, which is don't get involved in the game
25:26and just go out there and set the lap.
25:29And so often, Chris, we've seen a driver just put in a lap all on their own
25:36and deliver pole position.
25:38Yeah, absolutely.
25:39And I think this is just before we went on board,
25:41so that's what he was aiming to do.
25:42But then found the exit of the circuit.
25:45Not for the first time in the session either.
25:49I think it was a red bull ring, wasn't it, this year,
25:52where Noel Leon went out alone in the middle of qualifying.
25:56Everybody else went toe hunting.
25:58Noel Leon went out alone in the middle of qualifying.
25:59Set positive.
26:00Yeah.
26:01So you're going to wonder if anybody's going to try that strategy.
26:06It's Miata who's straight down at the first chicane.
26:10And exactly that kind of error puts out a momentary yellow flag,
26:15which can then ruin the qualifying lap of anybody who's behind it.
26:22The waiting at the beginning of the session, by the way,
26:26will be for fuel load, I would have thought.
26:28It's an extremely high fuel demand here, very high flat-out time.
26:31So if you want to set representative qualifying simulation laps,
26:38effectively, you don't want to put yourself in a position at the start of the session
26:41where you have to carry so much fuel to go flat-out round and round Monza
26:44for 45 minutes that actually you're carrying it when you need to set a decent lap.
26:49So that's why they're all waiting.
26:51It can make a big difference as well.
26:54Just that little bit of fuel in terms of how the car performs.
26:58As we see Oli Gertha now heading through the Lesmo section,
27:02immediate gravel meeting you.
27:04It's very old school, isn't it, in terms of that.
27:06And looking good on the exit of Lesmo 2.
27:10And now the run to Ascari begins.
27:12It is grubby out there, isn't it?
27:14Really grubby through the middle of the Lesmos.
27:18And you can see the cars really moving around,
27:22graining sometimes a problem as well here in Monza,
27:24the tarmac not biting into the surface of the tyre.
27:27You can grain the left rear through the exit of Parabolica
27:31and through the exit of the Lesmos.
27:34Oli Gertha not improved through the middle sector,
27:38which is where a lot of the time is.
27:40Most of the time, though,
27:41around Monza really in the final sector.
27:43That's where you see the difference being made.
27:44Ascari chicane in the exit of it to get neat and tidy.
27:48Gertha thinks better of that one.
27:49He's going to come in for a balance adjust.
27:51And Joshua Dirksen will have picked up a toe in the first sector,
27:55which is why he...
27:57Oh, Colton Hertha.
27:58Yeah, Colton Hertha is off on the second Lesmo.
28:02And that is big damage to the car.
28:03Red flag immediately out.
28:06And Colton Hertha bringing out the red flags there
28:10with a crash through the second Lesmo.
28:13Huge damage to the rear of that car.
28:15But that's a real shame for the American.
28:17It's been 10 years since he's been here racing around Monza
28:21back in Euroformula Open in 2016.
28:24And that's one of the things,
28:26the challenges for the American driver this year
28:28has been getting used to all these circuits again
28:31or learning them for the first time.
28:33And that's going to set him back quite a bit.
28:37That's going to be a big job for Hitek
28:38to get that fixed for Quali.
28:41Left front looks all right.
28:42Yeah.
28:44But the rest, unfortunately,
28:46has made contact with something.
28:49And we'll see what's happened.
28:51I wonder if he's got on the curb on the outside
28:54and spun inwards here,
28:56which tends to be the instant that they have.
29:00There we go.
29:01Bit like that.
29:04Just...
29:04Yeah.
29:05A little bit wide through the middle.
29:07The curb will pick up the rear tyres
29:09and by the time you actually get
29:13control of the car again,
29:14you are facing the alternate direction.
29:18Yeah.
29:19And it looked like someone had done something similar
29:21without the spin just before that.
29:23It was pretty dusty up there, wasn't it?
29:25Yeah.
29:25You can see the marks on the curb.
29:28And, yeah, I'm just trying to stay in it
29:32in a year where Colton Herter is seeking results, isn't it?
29:35He's trying to find a way to get the pace out of the car,
29:40hunting in practice for where he needs to be.
29:45And I think it's fair to say,
29:48at this point in the year,
29:50it's incredibly tough, this championship.
29:52We know how tough it is.
29:53This is not the year that Colton Herter wanted
29:55in Formula 2, is it?
29:56No.
29:57He's had one top ten result in qualifying,
30:00which came at Barcelona.
30:01And then it was a mistake there that lost him
30:03a potential podium finish.
30:06And I think it's been an element of that.
30:08You've got 45 minutes of practice.
30:10There's not a lot of time at all.
30:12When you go into qualifying,
30:13if you're not in that top ten,
30:15it's a very uphill battle for the remainder of the weekend.
30:18And the results just haven't come for Colton Herter.
30:21Bar that weekend at Barcelona,
30:23it's been an incredibly difficult season.
30:26We had that crash for him
30:27in the opening practice session of the season.
30:30And he really has just struggled for results.
30:33But so have the high-tech team in general.
30:36They've struggled with Reto Me Meata's role,
30:38who comes in with experience.
30:40And that is the thing, isn't it?
30:41If you've not got the performance underneath you,
30:45you're always going to be searching.
30:47You're always going to be trying to find
30:48that extra little bit of pace.
30:49And if it isn't in the car,
30:51then this is the kind of thing that happens.
30:54A bit of frustration added to maybe pushing
30:58a little bit too hard at the beginning of free practice.
31:01But, yeah, it's a shame for Colton Herter.
31:04He'll be back for qualifying, no doubt.
31:06Absolutely, Will.
31:07It's been a good season, though, for Noel Leon.
31:08An emotional victory for him.
31:10Budapest, let's hear what he had to say about it.
31:14Yeah, it was a lot of emotional,
31:16especially because I was coming for a very tough couple of weekends.
31:20Just things that were not going on my way.
31:22And I felt like we really deserved that win,
31:26especially because all the hard work we did.
31:28We never give up.
31:29We always keep pushing for the win,
31:31even though the things were not going on my way.
31:33And, yeah, I knew that at some point it would turn around
31:37and it would be a win.
31:38So I was very happy.
31:40I didn't realise until I was on the interview that I got the win.
31:45So in that moment really reached me the emotions
31:47and, yeah, it went out.
31:49So really, really happy with that one.
31:51And, yeah, I hope to repeat again.
31:55He came off the back of a really difficult weekend at Spa there
31:59where he bump-started the car, remember,
32:02in qualifying at the top of Radeon.
32:06Came into the pits and retired the car during the sprint race
32:10after trying an alternative strategy
32:12and then was disqualified from the feature race as well.
32:15So it was an incredibly tough weekend.
32:17I think an element of relief to get that result in
32:20before the summer break, and we talked about it earlier.
32:22A good season in Formula 2 can go a long way for you in your career.
32:26Yeah, it's something you can point out
32:27when you're trying to do whatever it is you're doing next.
32:31You know, everybody knows that it's a strong field of drivers.
32:35Everybody knows how tough it is to compete here.
32:39And so for, you know, at least the next few years of your career,
32:44whenever you sit around the table and the question comes,
32:48you know, have you got the pace?
32:49Have you got the ability?
32:50You can go, I won races in a Formula 2 car.
32:53And it carries a lot of weight, whether in Formula E,
32:57the World Endurance Championship,
32:58or indeed trying to make your way through to Formula 1.
33:02Oliver Oakes with the metaphorical arm around the shoulder, I'm sure.
33:10Yeah.
33:13I think it's going to be difficult for the high-tech team this season.
33:18Their results just haven't been coming in from the drivers so far,
33:21but they'll be back for qualifying, of course.
33:24Let's hear next from Alex Dunn, the Irishman.
33:28P4 in the Championship.
33:3059 points back, still a way to go in this season.
33:33Let's hear what you have to say coming into the weekend.
33:37I'm feeling really good.
33:38I had a really nice break.
33:41Spent a lot of time with family and friends.
33:44Played a lot of golf, so a different kind of driving.
33:47But, yeah, you know, I really enjoy it.
33:49I think it was time well spent.
33:51I think it was a much-needed break as well after kind of a difficult run.
33:54So I think just kind of relax, disconnect, and enjoy the sun was really, really nice.
34:01Alex Dunn on the course over the summer.
34:05The drivers have been keeping themselves busy, haven't they?
34:07I've seen some of them out in gearbox carts as well.
34:10Something the drivers, they can't stay away from the racetrack sometimes,
34:14getting out there to stay fit.
34:16But what can a good break do for you as a driver?
34:19I'd like to talk for longer so I can think of another golf time.
34:22Oh, yeah.
34:23There's only one, isn't there, unfortunately?
34:25There's only one.
34:26Yeah, different kind of driving.
34:28Different kind of driving.
34:29You like that one?
34:30I did.
34:30I loved that one.
34:31Brilliant.
34:31That was brilliant.
34:32Peak practice content.
34:33Ten minutes to go, everyone.
34:36Colton Hurta, unfortunately, with the incident.
34:39Here's a driver we've not seen too much of today.
34:42Sebastian Montoya sits 15th in the championship.
34:49And I'm sure Juan Pablo Montoya will be
34:52around the rear of that machine somewhere.
34:55The driver, who, for a long period of F1's history,
34:58held the fastest lap ever around this circuit by average speed.
35:06So, good advice there, then.
35:08Yeah.
35:09Yeah, just do the fastest average speed ever and you'll be fine.
35:13He's had a difficult run, though, hasn't he, Sebastian Montoya?
35:16He had that podium at Red Bull Ring and then was just caught up in a series of incidents,
35:21which often weren't his fault, and hasn't really got going since then.
35:25It started there, didn't it, at Red Bull Ring, with the incident up towards turn three.
35:30Yeah.
35:31And off the back of that, things cascaded into having a few of those incidents,
35:35despite having, A, pretty good pace, and, B, having been in the battle for the win of the sprint race,
35:43the day before that, and the momentum has just not been going Sebastian Montoya's way through this phase.
35:49But this will be a circuit that he will enjoy and will know well.
35:53Looks like there might be a little bit of fluid down on the circuit there they might have to be
35:57concerned with.
35:58Look again at that incident for Hertha, and the gravel won't help either.
36:03There's a disparity between the grip of the two rear tyres, often as much to blame as the contact with
36:12the kerb there.
36:13And he's just got a little wide, hasn't he, and made his way to the inside wall.
36:18Of all the corners, it seems this is the one that it's easiest to get wrong.
36:22We've seen it throughout the practice session so far, drivers just running a touch wide.
36:28You know that you've got that run down to Ascari with a DRS zone, and then another one following that
36:34as well.
36:34It's one of the most critical corners on the circuit.
36:37Yeah, all of the exits are critical, but you're quite correct.
36:41The runs here in Monza are deceptively long.
36:44Even the run, for example, from the exit of the Roja chicane to the first Lesmo,
36:51is actually a reasonably long straight by other circuits, you know, by other circuits.
36:58But just because you're flat out for so long here, you don't grasp in Monza just how long some of
37:03these drags are.
37:06So, yeah, getting on the throttle as my team, incredibly important.
37:11And you're lulled into a false sense of security by the inward camber, by the banking in Lesmo 1,
37:19which then goes away, and there's a bit of a dip on the apex.
37:23It's so easy to have a bit of a swapper on the way in, a little bit of oversteer, get
37:28wide,
37:29then have to get on the throttle anyway.
37:32So you see drivers getting out of it.
37:33But I think it's indicative of the season that Hurt is having,
37:37that he felt the need to try and stay in the throttle and finish that lap.
37:42A bit of frustration, perhaps.
37:45He wants to see the lap turn up on the timing screen.
37:48He wants proof that he's there or close enough to the pace.
37:52And that's where you end up with that kind of incident,
37:54because you're searching in free practice for time that might not be there in the car.
38:01I think that's a very good point.
38:02Laurence van Hoopen, we saw there.
38:04Good to see him back in the podium positions last time out.
38:08He'd gone through a dreadful run of form and luck, really,
38:12over the two rounds before at Silverstone and Spa.
38:15Had a couple of big incidents, but came back.
38:18Two top five finishes, including the third place as well.
38:21And you can see his spirits very high again,
38:25and the confidence will be back with him.
38:27Well, here we have a look at the Invicta Racing team.
38:30Let's see what team manager James Robinson had to say about their summer break coming into the weekend.
38:39It was nice to have a bit of downtime between Budapest and coming here.
38:43We don't have an enforced shutdown like in F1, so we are predominantly still at the workshop.
38:48Some people had a bit of time off, which I think is well-deserved and certainly needed.
38:54But actually, it was a good opportunity for us to get our hands on the cars and strip them back
38:58and rebuild them,
38:59because once the cars go to Melbourne, we don't really get them back at the workshop again until after Budapest.
39:04So it's good to have a bit of time to regroup and also take some time to look back at
39:09the season and plan for these last few races.
39:14These seasons do move very quickly, don't they, for the teams and drivers.
39:17A lot of travelling around, and he's completely right there.
39:20It's when you get that break that you have a real chance to debrief properly.
39:24It's a huge difference working from effectively a storage crate, which is, I mean, it looks very well set up,
39:32and it is very well set up, the Formula 2 paddock.
39:35But all of this stuff goes into a defined amount of storage and then arrives at the next event.
39:43They're all allowed it at the same time, and then it moves around the world like that.
39:47To actually get the car back at the workshop, take it all off and have a quiet look around it,
39:52so beneficial when you're dealing with the fine margins.
39:56A look there at the old banking, Chris.
39:58Yeah, absolutely fantastic, isn't it? I've loved the drone shots.
40:02Have you walked up to the old banking?
40:03I actually haven't, all my visits, so it's something I need to change.
40:08Hard work, hard work.
40:09Period of the, period of the circuit's history where it was a figure of eight.
40:13You did the banking, and then you did the road circuit, and then you did the banking again.
40:19Unbelievable to think that that used to be.
40:22Formula 1 racetrack.
40:24So they sound like you're talking from experience, then?
40:26Oh, no, I've not.
40:28I'm not quite that old.
40:30It has recently been my birthday, but no, I've not been around the old banking in a car.
40:38I don't think you can now.
40:40No, I don't think so.
40:41I'm sure somebody on one of my social media accounts will tell me if you can.
40:47Just go up and get your post for social media.
40:49Exactly that.
40:50Stand there, you know, with your legs looking like it's banked, and then carry on with your day.
40:58Good amount of crowding.
41:00Absolutely.
41:00In what's going to be a very warm weekend, 28 degrees of air temperature already.
41:05It's 10.40 local time.
41:10Absolutely.
41:11And it'll be good before we get to the end of this session, Alex, to get you more thoughts on
41:15this legacy program Lando Norris has launched as well.
41:19He's going to be fully funding it and helping driver, drivers come through the ranks that might not otherwise have
41:28the opportunity to do so.
41:29One of the things he did mention in his interview as well was how important it is to have people
41:33around you.
41:34And that's very true at the likes of Formula 2 and Formula 3 as well, isn't it?
41:38You've got to have a bit of advice, haven't you?
41:40To direct.
41:42Throwing money at the problem is one thing.
41:45Having a bit of advice to direct your career in whichever way that it would be best served.
41:54But I think what we can say is respect for, you know, putting his hand in his own pocket and
42:00saying, yeah, I'm going to support some drivers through to Formula 1.
42:05And I'm really looking forward to it.
42:06I'm looking forward to who gets chosen, who gets the drop.
42:10I'm looking forward to the criteria by which that's done.
42:14And watching those drivers emerge because there's definitely something to be said for a driver that's picked by another driver
42:25as a potential talent, especially one that's active currently.
42:30You know, Lando knows day in, day out what's required to be a Formula 1 driver and to be a
42:37winning one.
42:37And so actually, who better place to say, I think this driver has it, I think this driver doesn't.
42:44So it's impressive and I'm looking forward to watching it play out.
42:49It's a dedication to the sport.
42:50It's going to put even more eyes on the likes of Formula 2 all the way down to F4 as
42:56well.
42:56And I'm sure will inspire some drivers to even get started as well and try and become one day one
43:04of the driver Lando Norris chooses as we're getting very much towards the end of the session.
43:11Now, it's been a bit of a fix to the barrier, hasn't it, and getting everything cleared off the circuit.
43:15So, Alex done there with the helmet additions across the front.
43:22The bib across the front of the helmet is to prevent lift.
43:26That's the most effective device to prevent the helmet lifting off your head, which it sometimes does due to the
43:34buffeting in the early days of your single-seater career.
43:37Before you've got such technologies, you'd even get bruises underneath your chin from the chin strap as your helmet lifts.
43:45And then the rear fin that sits on the back is more of a buffet control.
43:51So you can see the bib on the front and then the buffet control on the back of Varoni's helmet
43:58there, which stops your helmet moving side to side.
44:04And each of the different helmet brands has a different type.
44:10And often you'll see the drivers there with the seals across the top of the visor.
44:15That is to stop, normally, to stop rain running in should it become wet.
44:23But also it's just good practice to do.
44:27Those don't come with them.
44:28They're added by either the Vita-Tex or the driver themselves.
44:33Nice stuff.
44:34Very nice insight into what we're seeing from the drivers there.
44:38Visors are double-glazed these days, which prevents mist build-up inside.
44:43And then the tear-offs that you can see are vinyl.
44:48You normally get about ten of them to a set.
44:53And that's what you'll see coming off the visor.
44:56Work in terms of dust.
44:58Do not remove any rain whatsoever because the water gets between the tear-offs.
45:05Nice stuff.
45:05Well, it would be the checkered flag.
45:08And a nice way to close out the session.
45:11And there's the podium they all want to walk out on, isn't it?
45:14What a podium it is.
45:15What a podium it is here over the crowd.
45:19Formula 2 drivers don't get quite the circuit invasion that the Grand Prix winners do.
45:26But still, that is one of the best podiums of the year.
45:32And, Chris, to talk tech a second, a bit of free practice time lost there for a lot of drivers
45:41who, you know, I'm looking at drivers like Boyer.
45:45I'm looking at drivers like Cabrini Mini into the Session P14 that would have liked to get a few more
45:50laps in.
45:50So they'll be considering that a shame.
45:52Yeah, they really will.
45:53Alex Dunn, though, quickest at the end from Oli Gerber.
45:57And a very good session from Nico Verone.
45:59As well, it's been a few years since he raced here.
46:02And that wasn't in a single-seater car last time.
46:05He'll be very happy with that one.
46:08But that concludes practice.
46:10Qualifying will be later at 2.55.
46:13Local drivers.
46:14As the drivers now head out to go around to the support paddock.
46:19Let's talk you through the results at the end of the 45-minute practice session.
46:24Alex Dunn going quickest by just under two tenths from Oli Gerber.
46:27Nico Verone in P3.
46:29Our championship leader, Solov, fourth.
46:31Then Roman Belinsky, Joshua Dirksen, Martinius Stenshawn in P7.
46:36Then Leon Kamara in Shapoobazak.
46:38Top ten we reverse in qualifying for the sprint race.
46:41So that is where you need to be.
46:43Dino Beganovic in the 11th.
46:44Then Miata Miney who was on pole last time.
46:47Mini home race for him in 14th.
46:50Then Van Hooppen.
46:50Vita Poudy, Bennett, Hertha who brought out the red flag.
46:53Villa Gomez next.
46:55Then Boyer, Kian Shields and Sebastian Montoya rounding out the field.
46:59Montoya not getting many laps in in that session.
47:03The fewest of anyone out there on the circuit.
47:06But that is all for practice now.
47:09Next we go qualifying at 2.55.
47:12Local time to set the grid for the sprint race tomorrow.
47:16And then the feature race on Grand Prix Sunday.
47:19Make sure you join us for that qualifying for now.
47:22From Monza, it's goodbye.
47:26We'll be right back.
47:26You're welcome to the Grand Theft Temple as you can see us.
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