BAKU, Azerbaijan – Barbadian Formula 2 driver Zane Maloney failed to make any headway in his quest for the drivers’ title when a collision resulted in him finishing in 15th position in the feature race here Sunday.
Zane MaloneyIn what was a forgettable weekend for the 20-year-old Maloney, who placed 10th in Saturday’s sprint race, a collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli resulted in him finishing to the back of the field and failing to pick up much needed points.
Richard Verschoor claimed his first win of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season for Trident, with Victor Martins second and Antonelli third.
However, Gabriel Bortoleto finished fourth to move ahead in the drivers’ championship.
With two rounds remaining in the season, Bortoleto currently leads with 168.5 points, Isack Hadjar is in second position with 165 points, with Maloney third on 135 points and Paul Aron a close fourth with 133 points.
Starting from fourth on the grid, Maloney was in a promising position to collect crucial points, until a sequence of unfortunate events quickly derailed his efforts.
Early on, he was running comfortably in fourth place, gaining on the frontrunners as the first round of pit stops began.
Verschoor, Antonelli, and Martins all dived into the pits, with Martins suffering a slow stop, which allowed Verschoor and Antonelli to leap ahead.
Maloney stayed out for one more lap, and when he eventually pitted, a swift stop brought him back out ahead of Antonelli.
Unfortunately, with cold tyres, Maloney found himself defending hard, leading to a crucial mistake.
Heading into Turn 3, he locked up, clashing with Antonelli, who was attempting an overtake on the outside. The collision sent Maloney into the barriers, dropping him to the back of the field.
Though he managed to continue, his chances of scoring essential points were severely diminished.
Adding to Maloney’s misfortune was the already shortened race time due to chaos at the start.
Due to the shortened race distance, reduced points were awarded under Chapter 6.5 of the Sporting Regulations. With the race distance falling between 50 per cent and 75 per cent of the scheduled laps, points were distributed according to column 3 of the regulation table.
This points reduction may have been a small consolation for Maloney, as previous championship leader Hadjar failed to score, and Bortoleto only collected 10 points, extending his lead by just 3.5 points.
The penultimate round takes place in Lusail from November 29 to 31, where Maloney will look to regain ground.
