F2 Monaco: Hauger takes maiden win after Hughes stalls on grid

Having suffered a difficult start to his rookie season, 2021 FIA Formula 3 champion finally clinched his first win of the year in a Prema 1-2.

With Hughes failing to get off the line in his Van Amersfoort Racing-run car, Hauger made it past and held fast until the chequered flag, having built up a five-second lead over Daruvala, while Marcus Armstrong took third for Hitech Grand Prix.

Despite Hughes' stall on the grid parking him in the path of the rest of the pack, the remaining 20 cars made it past without any major incident.

While the drivers starting second through fourth on the grid remained in grid order, back in the pack 2021 Monaco feature race winner Theo Pourchaire passed Jack Doohan for sixth on the run to Mirabeau.

The safety car was deployed on lap 10 after MP Motorsport's Clement Novalak ended up in the barrier at the exit of La Rascasse following contact with Ayumu Iwasa. The DAMS driver, who had qualified second on Saturday but was docked his time for improving under a yellow flag, received a 10-second penalty for the incident.

Racing resumed on lap 14, and though Enzo Fittipaldi looked keen to pass Armstrong for third, the Charouz Racing System driver was forced to stay behind, fending off challenges from Armstrong's team-mate Juri Vips in fifth.

By lap 23, Hauger had built a five-second lead to Daruvala, having taken several fastest laps in clear air. But he was pipped to the bonus point by Virtuosi driver Doohan, who set a 1m22.832s on the final lap to finish in seventh.

Jehan Daruvala, Prema Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Liam Lawson, who was stripped of pole for tomorrow's race because of the same yellow flag violation as Iwasa, took eighth, as Roy Nissany (DAMS) and Carlin's Logan Sargeant