Beganovic: “An excitement you don’t really get” on racing around Spa
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 19 hours ago
- 9 min read
Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Formula 2 heads to Spa-Francorchamps for its ninth round of 14 in 2025. With F2 set to race at the Belgian venue on a rotational basis from 2026, both Dino Beganovic and Leonardo Fornaroli expressed their emotions on racing at the historic Belgian venue, while reflecting on their rookie F2 campaigns.
Earlier this year, Formula One extended its contract with the Belgian Grand Prix, albeit until 2031 on a rotational basis. This means F1, along with feeder series F2 and F3, will head to the Ardennes in 2026 and 2027, before returning to the calendar in 2029 and 2031, alternating with other European venues.
The seven-kilometre venue has seen tragedy, ecstasy, as well as heart-stopping moments in the past. Kimi Antonelli’s sensational overtake at Eau Rouge in the wet in 2024 certainly springs to mind, and Jack Doohan’s pair of victories at the venue make him the only repeat F2 winner at the venue.
Yet, the twin tragedies of Anthoine Hubert in F2 back in 2019, and Dilano van ‘t Hoff during the FRECA round in 2023, still linger long in the minds of drivers every year, when the paddock visits Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian round. As Hitech’s Dino Beganovic puts it, it’s always an ‘emotional rollercoaster’.
“Every year, coming to Spa (Francorchamps), it's a special feeling. During the track walk, it's a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions, obviously passing by, or walking by next to Anthoine (Hubert) and Dilano's (van ‘t Hoff) tragic accident a couple of years ago. It’s always a strange feeling in the stomach (coming back here after that), but always thinking about them,” the Swede expressed.
But amidst the tragedy emerges a circuit every driver dreams of conquering, and in Hitech racer’s words, “A very special feeling.’ Beganovic already knows what it’s like to tame the mighty Ardennes, having won the F3 sprint in 2024, and in his title-winning FRECA season in 2022.
“Driving the track is a very special feeling, an excitement that you don't really get on many tracks on the calendar,” Beganovic said. “So, it's a track I really enjoy driving, and I've had the privilege of driving here since regional, and also won races in every F3 and Formula Regional (FRECA).”
“Spa is, I would say, a very similar characteristic to Imola, Monza, and even a bit like Silverstone. A track with a lot of history, the legend behind the track, and driving on these kinds of tracks gives a very special feeling for me as a driver,” the Hitech racer expressed.
Replying to DIVEBOMB’s question about Spa-Francorchamps becoming a rotational round, Beganovic said, "It would be a shame, I think, because every year coming to Spa, it's a special feeling.”
Fornaroli too voiced his love for the circuit, highlighting the changeable weather in the dense Ardennes forest, a factor set to play a part in this weekend’s proceedings too.
“It's always very exciting to race here. I love the track; it's one of my favourites. Also, you know, the weather, which is never sure, can make things very exciting.”
The Invicta man also expressed his sadness to see the circuit roll back to a rotational round, albeit maintaining a realistic tone in support of those preparing the race calendars, backing their decisions.
“Yet, it's a little bit sad, but I'm not the one who makes the calendar. So, whoever is behind (the scenes) knows what the right choice is,” he concluded.
Fornaroli and Beganovic will be two of the 12 drivers set to tackle the Spa-Francorchamps venue in F2 cars for the first time, and will be looking to see how the experience is enhanced with the extra power available at their disposal.
Fornaroli reflects on maiden F2 win and 2025 campaign
Three weeks ago, Fornaroli took his first F2 win around Silverstone, in what was an action-packed sprint. The Italian moved past Kush Maini on Lap 1 of the sprint, never looking back until the chequered flag.
It was also Fornaroli’s first win in over four years, his last coming during the 2021 Italian F4 season, back when the Invicta man was just starting out in single-seaters. The victory appeared to lift an invisible weight off Fornaroli’s shoulders heading into the subsequent three-week break and delivered a much-needed confidence boost heading into Spa this weekend.
“Yes, it was a literal relief,” Fornaroli mentioned. “Finally, I managed to win my first race in F2. It was very nice. I was very happy about that race. But yes, it gives me a bit more confidence because I know I have the potential to win. But still, it was a sprint race, so it gives me more motivation to try to take something bigger,” the Italian mentioned.
The weekend in Silverstone hadn’t gone strongly up until then for the reigning F3 champion, with only tenth in qualifying on Friday.
“It was a very difficult Friday for me. I mean, I never struggled that much in a qualifying session,” Fornaroli said, speaking of how his Silverstone weekend unfolded.
“But it's okay, sometimes, you can have a little bit of a negative day. Still, we were tenth, so inside the top ten, the weekend is never over. Then I also had a chance to start first on Saturday and take my first win, but, yeah, I'm feeling very confident for this weekend. I hope I will go back to fight for the top position in qualifying, and yeah, I'm confident we can do that,” Fornaroli mentioned, hungry to fight for the top honours in Belgium this weekend.
When asked if he envisioned sitting in the top four of the standings at the beginning of the season, Fornaroli mentioned he hadn’t kept heightened expectations for his maiden F2 campaign.
“I didn't have many expectations going through this season because everything was new,” Fornaroli mentioned.
Having raced for Iron Lynx in Italian F4 and Trident through his FRECA and F3 campaigns, Invicta Racing marked the first instance of Fornaroli driving for a non-Italian name, as he would point out.
“It’s also my first time working with a British team. I have always raced with Italian teams, so I didn't know what to expect. So I'm happy now that we are fighting for the top position in the championship. I'm happy about how we started and how the first phase went, but there's always something to improve, and I will try to do that in the next races.”
Fornaroli currently sits fourth in the standings, 18 points behind championship leader Verschoor, heading into the pair of Belgian races. When asked about his approach heading into the upcoming weekends, the Invicta racer spoke about driving at his optimum and getting the basics spot on.
“The goal is always to finish the season as good as you can. We're in the top four now, still close to P1. There are still six rounds to go. As I saw last year (in 2024), a lot can change until the last second, and I will just try to focus on myself to give my best every round. Drive as good as I can, do the basics right, achieve good results and always score points in every race,” Fornaroli concluded.
All eyes will certainly be on the Italian, now with a race victory under his belt, to see how this newfound confidence spurs him on into the final six weekends of the 2025 F2 season.
Rookies recollect their best learnings from F2 in 2025
While both Fornaroli and Beganovic have raced around the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps earlier in their junior careers, this will be the first time both drivers take to the track in Formula 2 cars.
Both drivers are also currently taking part in their rookie F2 campaigns for Hitech and Invicta Racing, respectively. As such, the step up from F3 to F2 has been a notable one for both.
When asked by DIVEBOMB about their biggest learnings from the step up the motorsport ladder, Fornaroli mentioned the added facet of pitting during the race, and the subsequently longer feature races that took longer to get used to.
“The part where I learned more is the strategy and all the race management,” the Italian mentioned. “Compared to F3 in qualifying, the car does not change much, and then the systems remain the same. But then, doing the pit stop in the F2 (Feature) race, and the longer races, a lot more can change.
“I struggled a bit learning that in the first part of the season. I also made some little mistakes that cost us some points,” Fornaroli said.
The beautiful part of any F2 season is witnessing the rookie drivers eventually make the step-up, applying their learnings from the first half of the season to improve their performances, a metamorphosis Fornaroli is experiencing at this point in the season.
“I'm improving on it (F2 season). I'm starting to understand more about how everything behaves, and the best decisions to be taken. So, I will try to help the team also with the experience I got in these races, and yes, see what we can do.
“I think in general, in Formula 2, there is a lot to be learned. We see drivers doing this championship for quite many years,” Fornaroli expressed.
Beganovic also agreed with his counterpart, mentioning the importance of positioning his car well on the track to avoid getting caught up in incidents and forced to retire from the races.
“I think there is plenty for me to learn still, but for sure what Leo (Fornaroli) said about strategy, it's good if you are able to think about the strategy while driving in the picture race.
“Trying to put yourself in the right spot at the right time, it's small stuff that makes a big difference, (especially) in laps, out laps, where you can make a difference in the race and fighting for position. So this has been the main learning, and I think still the main one to focus on,” the Ferrari junior mentioned.
With more than half the season under their belt, do not be surprised if you see the likes of Fornaroli, Beganovic, Alex Dunne, and fellow rookies mixing it up at the sharp end of the field, banking on their learnings to deliver impactful drives and shore up their championship fights.
Beganovic “doing everything he can” to understand and turn around F2 campaign
It hasn’t quite been the dream start to F2 for Beganovic, the Hitech man left down in tenth, while teammate Luke Browning sits further up in fifth in the standings for the British outfit. The Williams junior has scored 98 points in 2025, as compared to Beganovic’s 43.
Despite a maiden pole position in familiar territory in Imola and podiums in Bahrain and Imola, Beganovic hasn’t yet hit top gear in 2025. His fourth-place result of fourth marked only the third time the Swede has finished in the top four all season.
Beganovic puts it down to plenty of learning, coupled with performance struggles plaguing his progress across the season. Qualifying down in 18th in Monaco meant two races at the rear of the field, while 21st in qualifying in Austria left him on the backfoot, with plenty to do on race day.
“I think this year has been, well, it's been difficult,” Beganovic expressed. “For different reasons, we had quite a lot of issues in the first part of the year, and then struggled a bit with performance in Monaco and Spielberg. But there was a good response in Silverstone, and I think we are learning all the time, me and the team.
“We've had weekends that have been very strong, then weekends that have been, let's say,
penalised by issues and so on, some of them we can control, some of them not. So, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster, but it has been disappointing.
“It's not been really clicking so far this year. I'm doing my best to try to turn it around to where I want to be. In all the categories I've been before, and after jumping in the (F2) car in the end of last year, that's where I want to be, fighting at the top. So, we're doing everything we can to try to understand and improve all the time in all areas to get there,” Beganovic concluded.
The Swede expressed his gratitude to Ferrari for providing opportunities to take part in FP1 sessions, most notably when Beganovic piloted the SF-25 in Bahrain and Spain.
“The receipt I can get from that is the trust I have from the team, but also Ferrari, that they are putting me in one of their cars in F1. So, no, I'm happy,” he mentioned.
An immensely talented racer, Beganovic will be itching to make his mark felt in the final six weekends of F2 in 2025, and reiterate his Ferrari junior status across the paddock.
