Monaco GP: China’s Zhou Guanyu stays top of F2 rankings after tough Monte Carlo meet
- The 21-year-old leaves Monte Carlo still at the top of the standings but Saturday races see 26-point lead cut
- UNI-Virtuosi driver takes 16-point buffer into Baku Grand Prix next month
China’s Zhou Guanyu maintained his lead at the top of the Formula 2 standings after Saturday’s final two races of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Zhou won Friday’s first sprint race after this season’s reverse grid rules saw him swap P10 in qualifying for pole in the opening race of the weekend’s three-race event.
That extended the 21-year-old’s lead at the top of the driver’s standings to 26 points with two races of the weekend to go.
Saturday saw him move back to P10 on the grid for the second sprint race and while it did not exactly go to plan as Zhou finished outside the points in 15th and the last car to finish, there was still positive news in his quest for the F2 driver’s championship.
It came at the expense of Hitech rookie Liam Lawson, who was in second place in the driver’s standings after the first sprint race. Lawson won the second sprint race on the track before the victory was chalked off for a “technical non-conformity”. The win was handed to Carlin’s Dan Ticktum.
With Lawson stripped of the win, Zhou is now the only driver to have won two races this season – the first Monaco sprint and the feature race at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in March.