British racing star John Bennett produced his best FIA Formula 2 Championship weekend to date at Monza, charging to a sensational second podium finish of the 2026 campaign before fighting through from tenth on the grid to fourth in race two.
On the 5th and 6th September, the Salisbury-based hard charger entered the 10th round of his second full Formula 2 season in fine form, with a number of impressive recent performances including a maiden victory earlier in the summer in Austria and a pair of top-10 finishes last time out in Hungary.
The Trident driver began strongly at the famous 'Temple of Speed' - Monza - with promising pace throughout free practice. That meant the former GB3 vice champion was optimistic heading into qualifying, and a best effort of 1m32.038s was enough to put him tenth fastest during a closely-fought session.
Photo Supplied by the Dutch Photo Agency
That was a crucial result, as the top ten reversal for Saturday's sprint race put him on pole position. Under sunny skies, the Briton made a rapid getaway and broke clear at the front of the field, building a lead of almost three seconds before a safety car interruption threatened to ruin all of his hard work.
He maintained the lead after the restart despite the slipstreaming advantages of Monza's long and fast straights not suited to the driver out front, as shown when Joshua Durksen towed his way past the #25 car on the main straight.
Bennett tactically sat tight in the leader's slipstream up until the 17th lap of 21, hopeful of a late attack to regain the lead. A second safety car period halted that plan though, with Bennett bringing the race to a close in second place for his second podium finish of the year.
Sunday hosted the longer 30-lap feature race, with Bennett starting from 10th place on the grid. He went on the attack right from the off and climbed to ninth spot, before giving chase to the lead train up until mandatory pitstops cycled through.
Bennett was one of those to pit earlier as the lead pack split, and he got the jump on several rivals in the process. A quick pass on Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak moved him into a net fifth place when the safety car emerged.
On the restart, Bennett kept the pressure on, and he climbed one more place by using the DRS to scythe past Alex Dunne and clinch fourth place by the chequered flag. The combined 20-point weekend haul was the best of his FIA Formula 2 Championship career to date, moving him up the championship standings to 13th with four rounds to go.
Photo Supplied by the Dutch Photo Agency
John Bennett: "It's been a really good weekend for us as a team. It's definitely one of our best in terms of consistency and the pace we had throughout the races was what we have been working towards this season. It's really come together now, and the results are showing that.
"The Invicta cars were maybe a bit too quick for us on this occasion, but we were able to keep them honest, and to come away with another trophy is a good feeling. We can be confident going into the final phase of the season."
Bennett is instantly back in action this weekend at a brand new venue for everyone within the Formula 1 paddock, taking to the streets of Madrid on the new Madring circuit.
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