Hedley injured his wrist in the sprint race, so he missed the feature race today, and Ramos started from the pit lane, meaning only 28 drivers lined up on the starting grid.
As expected with this many cars, several went wide in Turn 1, including Boya, who couldn’t get in front of Bilinski because of it. Nonetheless, he held onto his third position, so the top four remained unchanged after the start, while Tsolov was already starting to crush the competition.
Del Pino had to pit as early as lap 2 after picking up damage on the first lap. The damage proved to be extensive, as cameras showed him climbing out of the car and only returning five laps down on the rest of the field. Marinangeli was pointed out as the culprit by race control, who noted a collision between the two. They also noted the contact between Leon and Tramnitz, with the latter mentioned being squeezed almost into the wall.
On lap 7, a short yellow flag appeared, although no replays indicated the cause. Tsolov dictated the pace after a slightly weaker start off the grid. Bilinski only managed to get within DRS range by lap 9 and then quickly fell out of that time frame again. Meanwhile, Tsolov was clearly set to crush the feature race competition in Monaco.
Xie had to pit on lap 12 due to a slow puncture on the front left tyre, losing not just positions but also valuable time. Benavides was told to maintain his strong pace and catch Sharp ahead, but he also came under investigation for gaining an advantage and was soon awarded a 10-second time penalty.
Ho was the first driver to lightly brush the wall, but continued with no apparent damage. Lacorte was asked to pit and retire the car on lap 16 — proving once again that, in Monaco, the back of the grid often provides more entertainment than the front.
Tsolov began to stretch his lead, eventually gaining a comfortable seven-second gap over Bilinski in P2, who had Boya and Voisin close behind in his mirrors.
Leon brought out yellow flags on lap 18, quickly followed by a full-course Safety Car after crashing into the wall — another strike for Prema. Wurz wanted to use the Safety Car window to pit due to possible puncture. The team initially told him to stay out, but after the race restarted, they reversed the call. He didn’t pit immediately, continuing with visible damage before eventually going into the wall.
If that wasn’t enough, Badoer crashed with big help from Marinangeli before the tunnel section, prompting another Safety Car. Badoer also received a five-second time penalty for a track limits violation, although that no longer mattered.
As usual, marshals in Monaco worked tirelessly, clearing the track quickly enough to allow four more laps of racing. However, the green flag only lasted a few seconds before another yellow was brought out — this time for Camara, who lost a wheel. He managed to reach the pits and lamented on the radio that he didn’t know how it had happened. Not even the cameras caught the moment, and the wheel appeared undamaged, pointing to a potential mechanical failure for the championship leader.
On the final lap, Marinangeli was handed a 10-second penalty for causing the earlier collision with Badoer — and another yellow flag flew just as Tsolov crossed the finish line in the first place, solidifying that he crushed the feature race competition in Monaco.
Tsolov’s win was dominant, finishing seven seconds ahead of Bilinski and Boya in second and third. Voisin — who brushed the wall on the last lap — and Tramnitz completed the top five.