China F1 hope Zhou Guanyu slips back in Formula 2 title race despite two podiums in Monza
- Australian rookie Oscar Piastri extends driver’s championship lead to 15 points with three race meets left
- Chinese driver, who has been linked to the vacant Alfa Romeo Formula 1 seat, records two second-place finishes in Italy
Chinese Formula 1 hope Zhou Guanyu saw Formula 2 leader Oscar Piastri extend his lead at the top of the driver’s championship despite two podium finishes in three races at the Italian Grand Prix.
Zhou, who has been linked with the vacant F1 drivers seat at Alfa Romeo next season, finished second in two of the three races at the Monza circuit over the weekend.
The Shanghai-born racer remains second in the standings with 134 points, now 15 behind the Australian rookie who held on to pole position on Sunday.
Prema-driver Piastra extended his lead from five points going into the weekend thanks to victory in Sunday’s feature race, his first of the season, after holding off the challenge of Zhou in second.
Zhou had started third on the grid but got the better of Indian driver Jehan Daruvala to try to repeat his performance in Silverstone last time out, where he overtook Piastri who had started on pole.