Van Amersfoort Racing takes points finishes with Fittipaldi and Villagómez in Monza

01/09/2024

The 2024 Formula 2 season kicked back into gear at Monza after the summer break. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Fittipaldi and Rafael Villagómez were eager to leave their mark at the iconic "Temple of Speed." The weekend saw both moments of promise and hard luck.

The Sprint Race on Saturday started with high hopes as Enzo lined up on pole. Despite a strong start, the race turned into a tough battle. Unfortunately, Enzo wasn’t able to keep the pace, slipping down to P7 by the finish. It was a frustrating result for both Enzo and the team.

Sunday's Feature Race brought a brighter moment for Rafael. Starting from the back, Rafael capitalized on a well-timed pit stop during a Safety Car period to climb through the field. He finished in P8, earning valuable points and proving his resilience after a tough start to the season.

Enzo had a tougher outing in the Feature Race. An early pit stop just before the Safety Car was deployed pushed him to the back of the grid. However, Enzo showed great determination, battling back to secure a P10 finish. Though it wasn’t the result he hoped for, his fighting spirit was clear.

Monza was a weekend of ups and downs for Van Amersfoort Racing. While the results didn’t fully capture the team’s potential, the strong moments from both Enzo and Rafa suggest that VAR is ready to tackle the coming races. The team is focused on making the necessary tweaks to come back stronger in Baku.

Enzo Fittipaldi, VAR Formula 2 driver: “The race weekend in Monza is finished. I think, in general, we’ve made a good step forward with pace. We qualified in the top 10. For the sprint race, we started on pole. Unfortunately, we didn't have the pace to stay at the front and we ended up falling back to P7. We were able to take a very good step forward on the setup for the feature race. I feel like we've had a very good pace on the mediums. Unfortunately, I had boxed one lap just before the safety car. So that really ruined our race. Because I think we could have finished in the top three if we had boxed when the safety car came out. I think we did a good recovery from after the safety car. We were basically in 19th and we fought our way back to the points. So, strong case on Sunday. Looking forward to the next race weekend!”

Rafael Villagómez, VAR Formula 2 driver: “Overall, happy with the weekend. It’s always nice to come back after the summer break. Friday and Saturday, we struggled a little bit, but the team did a great job of turning things around and they gave us a good car for Sunday. Now it’s time to prepare for Baku, new track for me, so I’m looking forward to it!”