Monaco is unlike anywhere else on the 2026 Formula 2 calendar. It is the shortest and slowest track of the season yet also one of the most demanding, requiring bravery, precision, and often a pinch of luck to succeed. A year after experiencing wildly contrasting weekends at the 3.337-kilometre street track, Alex Dunne and Sebastián Montoya spoke with Feeder Series about what makes managing a weekend at the Principality so uniquely difficult.

By August Bamford 

A race at Monaco is as much about survival as it is about speed, with safety cars and interruptions a regular feature around the circuit’s tight confines. Recent F2 feature races in Monaco have repeatedly demonstrated this, with both Jak Crawford in 2025 and Zak O’Sullivan in 2024 benefitting from fortunate timing of safety car interventions to secure victory.

Around a circuit where overtaking opportunities are scarce and track position can dictate the outcome of the weekend, qualifying is even more critical to success. It is a lesson that both Montoya and Dunne have taken into this weekend. 

“I think the biggest thing we’ve talked about, both me and Alex, is just qualifying, making sure that in qualifying you can put yourself in the right position for the rest of the weekend,” Montoya continued. “Once you do that, everything changes. The best example of that is 2024 when Zak [O’Sullivan] won. No one expected that and I think that’s the beauty of Monaco. It can go your way, but it also can go the other way. I’m excited for it because it’s a challenge you don’t really get at other circuits. Having earned a podium last year, I really want to repeat that.”

Last year’s Monaco round provided two very different stories that, together, capture the essence of what makes this circuit so unique. Rodin Motorsport’s Dunne and Prema Racing’s Montoya each experienced the consequences of Monaco’s unforgiving nature in opposite ways. 

For Dunne, Monaco represented one of the most challenging moments of his junior career. He had started the weekend excellently, securing his first F2 pole position ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins, but his feature race unravelled almost immediately. A slow getaway saw him lose the lead before the opening turn at Sainte-Dévote, and in an attempt to reclaim the position entering the corner, he locked up and made contact with Martins, sending himself and the Frenchman into the barriers and triggering a multi-car incident that brought seven drivers’ races to an early end. 

The stewards deemed the Irishman wholly responsible for the collision, handing down a 10-place grid penalty for the following round in Barcelona along with three penalty points on his licence. In the aftermath, Dunne also faced an immediate wave of online abuse, and when speaking about the messages in a press conference six days later, he became visibly emotional. A week and a half after the incident, the FIA, F1, F2 and F3 issued a general statement through their ‘United Against Online Abuse’ campaign condemning harassment towards drivers and teams. 

Monaco, therefore, has a unique ability to amplify every mistake, every success and every decision made under intense pressure. A year on, however, Dunne’s focus is firmly on the future rather than the past.

“I’m going to approach the weekend as I do any other,” Dunne said. “Last year, qualifying was very strong. To put it on pole was amazing, and if we can do the same again, that will be ideal. But ultimately, if we can qualify in the top five and bring home some points, that’s all that really matters to us.”

Last year’s Monaco event told a very different story for Sebastián Montoya. Just as he had done at the previous round at Imola, he stalled during the formation lap, forcing him to relinquish his starting position of fifth and begin the race from the pit lane. What initially looked like a setback ultimately proved to be a blessing in disguise, as he avoided the multi-car collision at Sainte Dévote and rejoined the race in clear air once the race stabilised.

After the race’s second virtual safety car period, initiated to facilitate the removal of Joshua Dürksen’s car, Montoya was promoted to third. He was later shuffled back to fourth after Arvid Lindblad jumped him with a quicker pit stop, but a post-race five-second penalty for Lindblad promoted Montoya back to third. With that, he secured his maiden F2 podium alongside race winner Jak Crawford and second-placed Leonardo Fornaroli.

In Monaco, drives are rarely straightforward. Yet both drivers’ ordeals underlined how Monaco can take something away from one driver and unexpectedly give something to another. Reflecting on that race a year later, Montoya knows he and his fellow drivers have to approach Monaco differently from almost any other circuit on the calendar.

“It’s not over till it’s over,” Montoya said. “I think that’s the biggest thing I learned. If you look back to previous years, it’s always been like that. Even Jak [Crawford] said it in his press conference last year. That win for him was amazing, but for him, he just felt lucky. It was one of those things. That’s kind of how it goes not only in Monaco but in F2. The level is so high that you just need to do what you can and maximise what you can, and that’s it. 

“[The car] doesn’t have to be the quickest, but if you’re willing to push the limit, push yourself, and push the car to what it can do, then that can make the difference between starting on the front row and starting fourth or fifth. And the difference between [the] front row and fourth or fifth is that you can get on the podium really easily.”

The field will be split into two groups for qualifying to manage the traffic on the narrow streets, a format that brings its own challenges. Finishing one position lower in your group translates to starting an entire row further back on the combined grid. With just a 16-minute window to set a representative lap and no mid-session return to the pits like in conventional qualifying sessions, drivers have even less opportunity to deliver when it matters.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency