News Summary
- Dino Beganovic took pole at Madring with a 1:44.331, beating Alex Dunne by 0.230s.
- Rafael Câmara recovered late to qualify third, while championship leader Nikola Tsolov finished fifth.
- Crashes for Kush Maini, Nico Varrone and John Bennett triggered red flags, while Colton Herta hit the wall after the chequered flag.
Dino Beganovic kept his car away from Madring’s walls to claim Formula 2 pole position in a chaotic first qualifying session at the new Madrid circuit on Friday.
The DAMS driver set a 1:44.331 on his final attempt, beating Alex Dunne by 0.230s. Rafael Câmara found significant time on his last run to climb to third, 0.522s off pole, while championship leader Nikola Tsolov qualified fifth.
That leaves Câmara well placed to attack Tsolov in Sunday’s Feature Race. The Brazilian arrived in Madrid only 11 points behind the Campos driver after closing the gap at Monza.
The session was repeatedly interrupted by incidents as the F2 field discovered the limits of Madring over a single qualifying lap.
Kush Maini triggered the first red flag almost immediately. The ART driver lost control on the exit of Turn 15 and hit the wall while beginning his first flying lap. Sebastián Montoya had already made contact with the barriers moments earlier, damaging the right-rear suspension of his Prema.
After the restart, Tsolov established an early benchmark of 1:46.328 ahead of Dunne and Roman Bilinski. The running did not last long, however, as Nico Varrone crashed at Turn 20 and caused another stoppage.
With 17 minutes remaining, Dunne lowered the benchmark to 1:45.416 despite locking his front-left tyre at Turn 1. Câmara also struggled at the same section, missing his braking point and cutting the chicane.
Beganovic then emerged as the driver to beat. The Swede initially went fastest with a 1:45.182 before the field returned to the pits for fresh tyres.
Beganovic delivers when qualifying resumes
Beganovic found another major improvement on his second set, producing a 1:44.578 that put him 0.838s clear of Dunne.
Câmara and Tsolov were also improving when John Bennett crashed and brought out the third red flag with around five minutes remaining.
The stoppage created one final shootout for pole.
Beganovic immediately took advantage, improving to 1:44.331. Dunne responded with a 1:44.561 but remained 0.230s behind, while Câmara jumped from the midfield to third with a 1:44.853.
Martinius Stenshorne qualified fourth, with Tsolov fifth. Bilinski, Laurens van Hoepen, Noel León, Ritomo Miyata and Emerson Fittipaldi Jr. completed the top ten.
Fittipaldi’s tenth place also gives him reverse-grid pole for Saturday’s Sprint.
Mesmo com o cronômetro zerado, ainda houve tempo para mais um acidente. Colton Herta, que aparecia em 12º e estava em busca de melhorar a marca, perdeu o controle do carro na curva 19 e bateu no muro.
There was one final incident after the clock had expired. Colton Herta, running 12th and attempting to improve, lost control at Turn 19 and hit the wall.
Formula 2 returns on Saturday for the Sprint, before Beganovic starts Sunday’s Feature Race from pole.
F2 2026 Spanish GP qualifying results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D. BEGANOVIC | DAMS | 1:44.331 | — |
| 2 | A. DUNNE | Rodin | 1:44.561 | +0.230s |
| 3 | R. CÂMARA | Invicta | 1:44.853 | +0.522s |
| 4 | M. STENSHORNE | Rodin | 1:44.938 | +0.607s |
| 5 | N. TSOLOV | Campos | 1:44.938 | +0.607s |
| 6 | R. BILINSKI | DAMS | 1:44.996 | +0.665s |
| 7 | L. VAN HOEPEN | Trident | 1:45.018 | +0.687s |
| 8 | N. LEÓN | Campos | 1:45.155 | +0.824s |
| 9 | R. MIYATA | Hitech | 1:45.267 | +0.936s |
| 10 | E. FITTIPALDI | AIX | 1:45.392 | +1.061s |
| 11 | R. VILLAGÓMEZ | Van Amersfoort | 1:45.570 | +1.239s |
| 12 | C. HERTA | Hitech | 1:45.659 | +1.328s |
| 13 | M. BOYA | Prema | 1:45.697 | +1.366s |
| 14 | G. MINÌ | MP | 1:45.706 | +1.375s |
| 15 | O. GOETHE | MP | 1:45.951 | +1.620s |
| 16 | J. BENNETT | Trident | 1:46.305 | +1.974s |
| 17 | J. DÜRKSEN | Invicta | 1:46.483 | +2.152s |
| 18 | C. SHIELDS | AIX | 1:47.222 | +2.891s |
| 19 | N. VARRONE | Van Amersfoort | 1:58.309 | +13.978s |
| 20 | K. MAINI | ART | 2:11.436 | +27.105s |
| 21 | S. MONTOYA | Prema | 2:14.210 | +29.879s |
| 22 | T. INTHRAPHUVASAK | ART | — | — |
FAQ
Who took pole in F2 qualifying in Madrid?
Dino Beganovic took pole for the 2026 Formula 2 Feature Race at Madring with a 1:44.331, beating Alex Dunne by 0.230s.
Who starts on pole for the F2 Sprint in Madrid?
Emerson Fittipaldi Jr. qualified tenth and therefore starts Saturday’s Sprint from pole under F2’s reverse-grid format.
Where did F2 title rivals Rafael Câmara and Nikola Tsolov qualify?
Câmara qualified third, while championship leader Tsolov finished fifth. Câmara entered the Madrid weekend 11 points behind Tsolov in the standings.
