The Monaco weekend lived up to its reputation, proving to be a lottery from start to finish. Lindblad, who survived Sunday’s first-lap pile-up, crossed the line in third place on both days, but post-race penalties relegated him to fifth and eighth positions. Still, it was a double points finish for the Briton. Martí, struck by misfortune, was forced to retire from both races
The 2025 FIA Formula 2 visit to Monaco will go down as one of the most chaotic in the championship’s history. Almost anything could happen—and it did. Luck was not on Campos Racing’s side, nor that of its drivers. Despite this, Arvid Lindblad leaves the Principality with valuable points that could prove vital in the championship fight. Remarkably, the Briton could have reached the podium, but a post-race penalty denied him the opportunity. For Pepe Martí, it was a weekend to forget, as the Spaniard retired from both races.
On Thursday, in the sole free practice session used to adapt to the challenging street circuit, Lindblad posted the seventh fastest time with a 1m22.873s after 24 laps. Martí set a 1m24.127s. On Friday, the split qualifying session—divided into odd and even-numbered cars—saw Lindblad take to the track first in Group A. He was in contention for pole throughout, initially setting a reference time of 1m22.083s. Soon, he broke the 1m22s barrier with a 1m21.714s lap, then improved again to 1m21.543s, temporarily placing him third. The second session was disrupted by a red flag that broke the rhythm and strategy. Martí was fifth with a 1m22.454s and improving on his final flying lap when a yellow flag in the third sector ruined his attempt. While some drivers completed their laps, Martí was forced to settle for a start from the eighth row of the grid.
Saturday’s sprint race was scheduled for 30 laps under track temperatures exceeding 40°C. Lindblad started fifth on the reverse grid. At lights out, Luke Browning made a poor getaway, allowing Lindblad to move up to fourth and even pressure Jak Crawford on the opening lap. At Mirabeau, the Campos Racing driver passed the American but made light contact, resulting in a ten-second penalty from race control. Lindblad’s strategy then became clear: leave a gap to Kush Maini and Gabriele Minì to mount a late-race charge. However, a Safety Car period from lap 11 to 14 thwarted his plan. At the restart, Lindblad resumed his pursuit. Meanwhile, Martí—running 13th—was forced to retire on lap 17 due to technical issues. Unfazed, Lindblad remained in third and built a ten-second buffer to Minì by lap 22 before launching an attack, easily pulling away from Browning. He pushed with qualifying-like pace to minimize the time loss from his penalty, but his momentum stalled when he caught Minì. Although he crossed the line in third, the penalty dropped him to eighth.
On Sunday, new hopes arose for Campos Racing in the 42-lap feature race. At the start, chaos ensued in the Sainte Devote braking zone when Victor Martins and Alex Dunne collided. Lindblad, following Leonardo Fornaroli, narrowly avoided the mess. Martí, among nearly ten cars involved and with a damaged car, was forced to retire then and there. A red flag was inevitable. After nearly an hour clearing the track, the race resumed behind the Safety Car, now with a 30-minute time limit and the grid reordered excluding the retired cars. Lindblad, now third behind Fornaroli and Sebastián Montoya, stayed close to the leaders, while Crawford ran further back. The race would hinge on pit stops. On lap 14, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to an incident, meaning no mandatory pit stops could be made. Just after Lindblad and the other frontrunners passed the pit entry, the Safety Car was deployed—allowing Crawford to pit and jump from fourth to first. Lindblad, Fornaroli, and Montoya pitted the following lap. Campos Racing executed a flawless stop, allowing Lindblad to leapfrog Montoya. Moments later, red flags flew again, bringing the race to an end. However, Lindblad was handed a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him from third to fifth.
After Monaco, Lindblad and Martí sit sixth and seventh in the drivers’ standings with 51 and 41 points, respectively. In the teams’ standings, Campos Racing is second with 92 points.
The sixth round of the season takes place in just a few days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the home race for both Campos Racing and Martí. It will be the third race weekend in a row—an excellent opportunity to return to the podium.
Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 2):
Pepe Martí (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 2): "Unfortunately, it was a really bad weekend in Monaco. I came in confident, as I love this track, but things went wrong from qualifying. A lock-up in turn one on my third push lap, then a yellow flag from a spin ahead meant I lost my last lap. I think we could’ve done much better. Then on Saturday we had a gearbox issue that forced us to retire halfway, just when we were making progress and the pace looked good. On Sunday I had a great start and felt confident with the car. We’d made good improvements. Sadly, there was a pile-up in turn one. I was one of eight drivers who didn’t make it through. The FIA said my car couldn’t restart, even though I only had minor front wing damage. A shame as two of the three cars they allowed back actually scored points. It felt unfair, but we move on. Now it’s Barcelona, which is my home race. I’m super excited and confident we can bounce back and fight for strong points, maybe even some silverware. I'm ready."
