Early F2 contact denies Louis at Monza

Louis Delétraz was denied the chance to build on his early promise at the latest round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Italy this weekend after his charge was wrecked by a Feature Race retirement.

The Swiss driver made an emotional return to racing after the tragic events at Spa-Francorchamps a week earlier. Carrying a commemorative sticker on his car to remember his late friend Anthoine Hubert and another to offer support to his hospitalised F2 colleague, Juan Manuel Correa, Louis took the start of the Feature Race on Saturday afternoon.

However, after making a good start, he was cruelly taken out of the reckoning at the start of the second lap, robbing him of the chance to score points and secure a strong grid slot for Sunday’s Sprint Race.

“I made a great start and had made up a few places on the first lap. I was passing King at Turn One when he tried to cross back across the line to get a better position on Ghiotto who he was fighting with. He didn’t see me and took my front left with him,” ADSS-supported Louis explained. “I was really angry because it was a costly non-finish for me.”

Starting Sunday’s Sprint Race from P16, the penultimate place on the grid, meant Louis had a lot of work to do if was to salvage anything from round ten of the season. But he rose to the occasion and scythed his way through the field to secure P8 and a welcome championship point at the chequered flag.

“I managed my tyres well and passed a lot of cars. Going from last into the points was a good outcome,” he reflected. “But it’s frustrating knowing things could have been even better if I’d had the chance to start higher.”

Louis now has two weeks to put his Monza disappointment behind him before he travels to Sochi, Russia for the penultimate F2 round of the season.

RACE RESULTS