Noel Leon led from pole in the Formula 2 Monaco Sprint Race, keeping a level head and leading the field to claim victory around the iconic circuit.
The Campos driver has had a strong start to the season, moving into second in the championship with his result in the Sprint Race. Taking victory around a track as special as Monaco in your rookie season is an impressive feat, and Leon admitted he was ‘very happy’ with the result.
“I’m very happy to get my second win.” He told the media, including Motorsport Week, “It took a bit long to get the first one, but finally, as I say, the first one is always very, very difficult to get, and as soon as you get it, it’s a bit easier, and things go your way to help you to go further with the race win.
“So yeah, pretty happy to have the Monaco win in my pocket and yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.”
The race was surprisingly calm for F2, with no Safety Car interventions; it was all about staying calm and keeping the car out of the imposing walls characteristic of the principality.
Looking to Turn 1
Monaco’s Turn 1 is arguably the most important in the season. With overtaking incredibly difficult due to the narrow roads, getting a good start in the opening lap can be the difference between victory and missing out on the podium.
Leon spoke about his approach to the race, “The main thing was to get a good start. I know Roman was going to attack me at the beginning. So the first two laps were important to create the gap and build the temperature in the tyres nicely.
“It was very warm, so degradation was a bit, and yeah, after that I, to be honest, didn’t want to risk it for a fastest lap and just stay on a pace, and the whole race went like that, and the car felt pretty good.
“At the end, I was a bit worried about the lapped cars because I started to catch them, but luckily, everybody got away, and I have the race win.”
A climb through the field
With the Feature Race returning everyone to their original qualifying orders, Neol Leon will start Sunday’s race in tenth, which puts his best chance of moving through the grid in the pit stops.
Leon joked to Motorsport Week and other media that he’d be dreaming of a good pit stop.
“I need to, I don’t know, go at night and dream that I have a very good pit stop, and when I go out, they have a mess or something on the pit stop. So I can go further after my pit stop.
“I don’t know, strategy will be key if tomorrow we want to go further. It will be important to be with open eyes, save a little bit of tyres and push it when we need it to undercut or overcut whatever we need to do.
“We’ll discuss with the team, and we’ll see tomorrow.”
With a pit stop strategy comes tactics for making the tyres last and managing degradation. The Campos driver admitted that he doesn’t have many comments on the potential tyre strategy as the sprint race was ‘consistent’.
“I stayed at a consistent pace the whole race, so I didn’t push any axles, or I didn’t need to manage so much, or I didn’t have many comments,” Leon said.
Looking for Sunday success
So far this season, Leon’s best results have all come in the Sprint Races on Saturday. This weekend, he told the media he felt strong throughout the practice sessions, but he missed out in qualifying, which didn’t go his way.
“I’ve been very strong on Saturdays. I also feel like we’ve been strong all days, just things didn’t go our way yesterday. Obviously, we want to improve qualifying, improve Sundays, make a podium, but sometimes things don’t go your way.
“Yesterday, three times I was coming for pole, and I got traffic, I got a red flag, and in the last one I needed to push more than I wanted, and I broke the wall. It cost me the pole, so yeah, I hope things are getting better.
“At some point, the pole is gonna get us in a better position for Sunday, of course, but yeah, we’ll try to improve.”
Leon is no stranger to street circuits, competing in the Macau Grand Prix for the last two years. In 2024, he made the podium. Macau is often likened to Monaco because it also features the tight, unforgiving walls prevalent in Monte-Carlo.
Strength around streets
The Campos driver recognised his strength around street tracks.
“I’ve always been strong since karting in street circuits, so I really love it.” He said, “I think as a driver you can do a lot of things to go faster, and you don’t depend a lot on the car.
“I’ve been pretty strong. Monaco has always been pretty close with me for a podium, and now the first and goal is with the race win, so I’m pretty happy with that. The win in Canada helped me and gave me more confidence, and obviously this one as well, so I think we are in good momentum.
“We need to stay focused, and we’ll try to go further tomorrow to score many points.”
Leon has shown he has the pace around Monaco, and it will be up to him and Campos to capitalise on pit-stop chaos tomorrow.
READ MORE: Noel Leon takes victory in Monaco F2 Sprint for Campos
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