Alessio Deledda was permitted to start Monaco’s Formula 2 races due to mechanical issues, according to the FIA, having initially failed to qualify.
Deledda finished outside of the 107 per cent cut-off during both practice and qualifying in Formula 2 around the streets of Monaco.
His qualifying effort was at 107.8 per cent of Robert Shwartzman’s Group B-leading pace, which itself was adrift of Theo Pourchaire’s pole lap, achieved in Group A, under Formula 2’s split format.
Stewards nonetheless granted Deledda permission to start the races though did not provide a reason as to why.
Deledda has been a backmarker throughout his career, finishing 34th in last year’s Formula 3 championship, failing to break into the top 20 at any race.
At Formula 2’s Bahrain opener Deledda qualified last though did so at 103.76 per cent of Guanyu Zhou’s pole-sitting time.
Formula 1 Race Director and FIA Safety Delegate Michael Masi confirmed that HWA had displayed to the stewards that Deledda’s car “had been having mechanical issues throughout the weekend.”
It was also outlined that stewards looked at Deledda’s participation at the Bahrain season-opener and that “he had fulfilled all of the criteria [in Bahrain] and on that basis they allowed him to start at the back of the grid.”
Deledda was lapped in all three races in Monaco but stayed out of trouble to record three successive finishes, peaking with a career-best 12th in the damp Sprint Race 2.
