Beganovic takes opening F2 pole of 2026 in stop-start Melbourne qualifying
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Written by Vyas Ponnuri
DAMS racer Dino Beganovic picked up from where he left off in Formula 2 in 2025, taking the first F2 pole position of the year in Australia, in a session of interruptions with a series of last-gasp surprises, ahead of Rodin Motorsport's duo of Martinius Stenshorne and Alex Dunne.
Beganovic snatched pole right at the death, setting an excellent lap time of 1:28.695 with mere seconds to go on the clock, jumping ahead of Dunne and Stenshorne by 0.216 seconds.
Campos Racing would round out the top five, with Noel León outqualifying Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov on debut. Invicta Racing's Rafael Câmara managed to secure sixth on the grid, ahead of ART Grand Prix's Kush Maini.
MP Motorsport's Ollie Goethe put the team in orange up in the top 10, with eighth on the grid, ahead of Câmara's teammate Joshua Dürksen and Maini's teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak on reverse grid pole for the Saturday sprint.
AS IT UNFOLDED - The first F2 qualifying of the season
MP Motorsport's Gabriele Minì kicked off the latest F2 season down under by topping the sole Free Practice session, ahead of Campos Racing's Noel León and reigning F3 champion Rafael Câmara.
With an equal sprinkling of rookies and returning drivers, the first qualifying of the year promised plenty of surprises. However, the start of qualifying was delayed ever so slightly.
The wait wouldn't be long, though, as drivers took to the track to set their first laps, and determine the grid for the weekend's races.
Drivers opted to do a faster lap after their preparation laps in the 30-minute session, with Dino Beganovic initially setting the fastest lap. Just as the drivers were getting into rhythm, qualifying would be interrupted. The session was red flagged after PREMA Racing's Mari Boya crashed into the barrier off the exit of Turn 12.
The Aston Martin junior experienced a moment of oversteer heading into the fast right-hander, veering into the gravel before clattering the barriers. This would leave him at the rear of the grid for both races down under.
León's teammate Nikola Tsolov took over the top spot before the interruption, ahead of Rodin's Martinius Stenshorne and Câmara.
Green flag running would resume at 15:15 local time (04:15 GMT), just under 10 minutes on from Boya's excursion off the track. The biggest gains came from ART Grand Prix, with both drivers Kush Maini and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak lifting themselves up into sixth and seventh respectively.
Drivers finally returned to the pits to change tyres, and begin the crucial final set of flying laps on new tyres, in a bid to set the grid for the first race weekend of the year.
With just under nine minutes left in the session, the red flag would be flown for the second time, with Minì being the latest driver to stop on track on the run down to Turn 11. Drivers would once again return to the pits, with no driver able to start a fast lap. The Italian was noted for causing a red flag, losing his best lap time of the session.
As the clock ticked down on the session's overall timer, drivers were itching for a speedy resumption. However, the green flag would fly with only three minutes left in the session. It would be only one flying lap for all drivers to get up the grid, and a frantic dash for the line.
Dunne was the first driver to start his final flying lap, ahead of teammate Stenshorne, as the times began to tumble. However, Beganovic proved quick enough, taking his second F2 pole and first for new team DAMS in 2026.
PREMA Racing would eventually finish well outside the top 10, with Sebastián Montoya finding a bout of oversteer in the final sector that limited him to 15th, while Van Amersfoort Racing's Rafael Villagómez would encounter plenty of traffic as he started his final flying lap.
All in all, a topsy-turvy qualifying down under, and here is the grid order after the session!
Rafael Câmara
Sebastián Montoya
Gabriele Minì
Joshua Dürksen
Rafael Villagómez
Noel León
Nicolás Varrone
Classification - Qualifying at Albert Park
Dino Beganovic (DAMS)
Martinius Stenshorne (Rodin Motorsport)
Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport)
Noel León (Campos Racing)
Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing)
Rafael Câmara (Invicta Racing)
Kush Maini (ART Grand Prix)
Ollie Goethe (MP Motorsport)
Joshua Dürksen (Invicta Racing)
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (ART Grand Prix)
Laurens van Hoepen (Trident)
Roman Bilinski (DAMS)
Ritomo Miyata (Hitech TGR)
Colton Herta (Hitech TGR)
Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing)
Rafael Villagómez (Van Amersfoort Racing)
John Bennett (Trident)
Emerson Fittipaldi Jr (AIX Racing)
Nicolás Varrone (Van Amersfoort Racing)
Cian Shields (AIX Racing)
Gabriele Minì (MP Motorsport)
Mari Boya (PREMA Racing) - No time
