Zane Maloney finished second in today’s Feature Race in Italy after a safety car opened the door for championship rival Gabriel Bortoleto to steal the win, reports Damian Hall.
The Bajan driver, fresh from securing his first F2 pole position on Friday, lined up ready to take on the challenges of the 30-lap race, but after an incident on lap 7 a safety car was called, which, in turn, neutralized the race.
Maloney, who was leading at the time, followed by Isack Hadjar, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli dove into the pits for their mandatory pit stops. As they emerged, a yellow flag at turn 1 signalled a safety car deployment, the second of the day.
With the field now neutralized, and all drivers lapping at a reduced speed, Invicta Racing’s Bortoleto and Trident’s Richard Verschoor, who had stayed out longer, took advantage of the situation to pit and re-join the race ahead of Maloney.
Both Bortoleto and Verschoor had started the race buried at the back of the field, 22nd and 19th position respectively, making their advancement all the more surprising.
This shake up left the Barbadian in a challenging position, now chasing the two eventual front-runners while five other drivers, including Bortoleto’s teammate Kush Maini, were still ahead and had not yet pitted.
By lap 12, 20-year-old Maloney showcased his racing prowess, overtaking Verschoor out of Ascari and setting his sights on Bortoleto. The following laps saw intense battles throughout the field, with Bortoleto making a DRS pass to move into second, while Maloney climbed back to fourth after a daring move on DAMS Lucas Oil’s Juan Manuel Correa.
As the race neared its conclusion, the action intensified. On lap 15, a three-wide battle into Turn 1 involving Victor Martins, Correa, and Oliver Bearman resulted in contact, with Correa’s front wing suffering damage.
On lap 17, Bortoleto took the lead from his teammate Maini at the Roggia Chicane. Maloney, still in fourth, continued to push hard, but with Maini and MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe yet to pit, the race’s outcome remained uncertain.
On the following lap, Maloney attempted a move on Goethe at the same chicane but had to abort to the run off area, conceding the position temporarily before overtaking and moving into third.
On the penultimate lap, Maini finally pitted, reshuffling the order once more. As the race concluded, Maloney’s efforts earned him a strong second-place finish, securing valuable points.
Trident’s Richard Verschoor completed the podium in third.
After the race Maloney posted on his Instagram: “We did everything we needed to…just unlucky with the safety car timing. Great weekend anyway and leaving Monza knowing the job we did as a team. Thanks everyone for the support!!”
‘The Boy From Barbados’ now sits third in the championship standings with 135 points, trailing Bortoleto, who has 154.5. Bortoleto earned an additional half-point due to a tie for the final points position during Saturday’s [August 31] sprint race. He is just 10.5 points behind the current championship leader, Hadjar, who remains at 165 points after finishing 11th without scoring.
Maloney proudly stood on the podium for the seventh time this season, continuing to build momentum as the F2 season heads to Baku for Round 12 from September 13-15.
(The Voice)
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