Luke Browning took pole position in a chaotic Formula 2 qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, surviving three red flags to start on the front row for Sunday’s Feature Race.
Despite sitting fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, Browning had yet to take a pole position in F2.
Monza, therefore, marked a first for the Briton, as well as a prime opportunity to take vital points in his championship campaign.
Current F2 championship leader, Leanoardo Fornaroli, ended the session in ninth, suffering an issue in his Invicta that ended his session early.
Maini took an early lead
With the battle for a tow underway around the Temple of Speed, the grid sat in the pit lane waiting for the first car to pull the trigger.
Alex Dunne’s Rodin was the first one to head out on track, which led the rest of the field to follow suit.
As the 22 F2 cars made their way around the track, finding an area of track with space ahead was vital for drivers.
Dunne set the benchmark for the field, crossing the line with a time of 1:33.554s.
Richard Verschoor knocked Dunne from the top spot with a 1.33.175, but it was short-lived as each driver crossing the line went faster.
Kush Maini came out on top of the initial laps with a time of 1:32.735s.
Nightmare for Italian drivers
A red flag was waved as home hero Gabriele Minì slowed by the side of the track. The Italian vacated his PREMA car, likely losing his best lap time due to causing the red flag.
Cian Shields’ AIX also stopped, just outside of the pit lane entry. A second driver was unable to continue in the F2 qualifying session.
The session restarted with 16 minutes remaining for the 20 remaining drivers.
The grid filed back onto track, but it didn’t last long for Arvid Lindblad, who returned to the pits after a single lap around Monza. Campos looked over the car and sent the Red Bull Junior back out.
The day turned to disaster for Italian drivers as Leonardo Fornaroli pulled onto the apex of Parabolica. Fornaroli sat ninth but would not have any more running in the session as he climbed out of his Invicta.
The session resumed with enough time for the drivers to complete two push laps. However, Richard Verschoor brought the session to an end as he spun in his final flying lap.
With the session brought to an early end, Luke Browning took his first F2 pole position, starting alongside Richard Vershcoor.
However, Verschoor was under investigation for causing the red flag, the penalty for which was losing his best lap time. If Verschoor’s lap time were deleted, Kush Maini would start on the front row.
Sami Meguetounif took tenth overall, which put him on pole for the Sprint Race on Saturday.
READ MORE – Leonardo Fornaroli heads Invicta 1-2 in Hungary with Feature Race victory
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