Câmara takes Barcelona F2 pole as Dunne recovers from early qualifying setback
- Vyas Ponnuri
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
Rafael Câmara emerged on top after an exciting F2 qualifying session in Barcelona on Friday. He took pole position by 0.135 seconds from Joshua Dürksen, with Alex Dunne rounding out the top three after an early lap time deletion in the session.
Championship leader Gabriele Minì finished the session in fourth, ahead of VAR's Rafael Villagómez , who rounded out the qualifying hour with his best result in fifth. Nikola Tsolov finished sixth, ahead of Nico Varrone in seventh, with Colton Herta, Kush Maini and Noel León rounding out the top 10 in F2 qualifying at Barcelona. León will start on reverse grid pole for the sprint race once again.
An exciting session of racing, and here's how it all unfolded.
AS IT UNFOLDED - F2 Qualifying in Barcelona
A routine and uninterrupted free practice session saw nine different constructors occupy the top 10, as Trident's Laurens van Hoepen led the charts ahead of qualifying.
With several drivers returning to familiar shores after a series of new tracks, qualifying in Barcelona would definitely prove to be exciting. Add to the intrigue - The last four Barcelona poles have been taken by full-time rookies, and it was all to play for around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
With the track temperature roasting at 50 degrees Celsius around a high tyre-wear circuit such as Barcelona, drivers would definitely find it a challenge to keep the tyres in good nick around one flying lap.
Van Amersfoort Racing's Nico Varrone was the first to emerge from the pits, followed by Cian Shields and ART's Kush Maini - Who was in the top three after qualifying in 2025.
Some drivers came into the pits after two prep laps, while others such as Gabriele Minì, Dunne and Varrone set off on their first flying laps. While the VAR man set the first quick lap at a 1:26.025, his lap would first be beaten by Minì and later Dunne.
However, a surprise emerged seven minutes into the session, as Hitech's Colton Herta set the quickest time, a 1:25.387, 54 milliseconds ahead of Invicta's Joshua Dürksen and teammate Ritomo Miyata - a smile on their face after tough fortunes in qualifying in 2026.
Dunne would have his lap deleted for track limits at the fast right-hander of Turn 13, as he prepared for a second stab at the circuit. However, these times would remain less representative, given several drivers were yet to set a first flying lap, even 12 minutes into the session.
Emerson Fittipaldi Jr was the 10th driver to set his flying lap, sitting on the brink of the top 10, as the likes of Tsolov and Câmara began their first laps of the session.
The Bulgarian driver set the new quick lap time, a 1:25.222, with Kush Maini slotting in second, 42 milliseconds off. However, all eyes were on Câmara, with the Invicta man being the first to slot into the 1:24s. His lap time of 1:24.810 sat over four tenths to the good from Tsolov's Campos.
At the halfway mark, the order stood as follows: Câmara ahead of Tsolov and Maini, with Herta and Dürksen rounding out the top five. Elsewhere, Trident were looking comfortable once again, with Laurens van Hoepen sitting seventh and teammate John Bennett 11th, as they looked to recover from a tough Monaco weekend.
With 10 minutes to go in the session, Dunne was the only driver yet to set a lap time, and faced a tough ask in order to keep his top four record in 2026 intact.
The drivers ventured out onto the circuit for their final flying laps with eight minutes to go on the clock, looking to set the grid for the Barcelona weekend. Could anyone dislodge Câmara from pole? It would remain to be seen.
Villagómez was the first to go on a flying lap on his second set of tyres, lifting himself up to second. However, the timing screens lit up, as Dunne lifted himself up to second, before being usurped by Dürksen's Invicta.
van Hoepen sat 71 milliseconds behind as he completed two sectors of the track, but the red flag was called out for Miyata's Hitech spinning off at the final corner, as he attempted to push on to the line on his fast lap.
Several drivers had found a lap time, with the likes of Minì, Varrone and Noel León lifting themselves into the top 10 before the interruption.
With three minutes and 41 seconds to go, drivers were eager to set their fast laps, with the likes of Goethe and Dino Beganovic heading out to set their fast laps. For the latter, it would prove crucial for him to get a solid lap in, given his position in the standings. Beganovic's teammate Roman Bilinski too emerged on circuit.
Herta and Stenshorne, who has qualified in the top five at every weekend in 2026, too emerged on the track, in a bid to improve on their times.
By taking pole, Câmara became the fifth consecutive rookie to take an F2 pole in Barcelona. Here's how it all stacked up after 30 minutes of high speed flying laps!
Classification - F2 Qualifying in Barcelona
Rafael Câmara (Invicta Racing)
Joshua Dürksen (Invicta Racing)
Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport)
Gabriele Minì (MP Motorsport)
Rafael Villagómez (Van Amersfoort Racing)
Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing)
Nicolás Varrone (Van Amersfoort Racing)
Colton Herta (Hitech TGR)
Kush Maini (ART Grand Prix)
Noel León (Campos Racing)
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (ART Grand Prix)
Dino Beganovic (DAMS)
Ritomo Miyata (Hitech TGR)
Laurens van Hoepen (Trident)
Ollie Goethe (MP Motorsport)
Martinius Stenshorne (Rodin Motorsport)
Roman Bilinski (DAMS)
Emerson Fittipaldi Jr (AIX Racing)
John Bennett (Trident)
Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing)
Mari Boya (PREMA Racing)
Cian Shields (AIX Racing)
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