Dino Beganovic takes pole after a red-flagged qualifying at Madrid

Credit: Formula 2 via X

After two red flags and numerous crashes, DAMS’ Dino Beganovic took pole position by a mere 0.2 seconds. Alex Dunne finished second, followed by Rafael Câmara in third. 

An eventful session saw only eighteen drivers reach the chequered flag. 

How it happened

After a heavy crash in practice, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak was unable to participate in qualifying. 

Enzo Fittipaldi set the first fastest time of the session at 2:10.288. Others soon beat that, with a new best time of 1:58.309 set by Nicolás Varrone.

Kush Maini spun into the wall at Turn 15, triggering the first red flag of qualifying. Sebastián Montoya’s session ended at the same time after the rear of his car was damaged.

Once the session resumed, championship leader Nikola Tsolov set the fastest lap time, only 0.002 seconds ahead of Dunne. The session was red-flagged shortly after when Varrone crashed in Turn 20. 

PREMA attempted to fix Montoya’s car, but he was forced to end his session early with 13 minutes to go. 

Times continued to improve, with Beganovic beating Dunne by just two-tenths of a second. Shortly after, John Bennett hit the wall at the exit of Turn 11, forcing the session into another pause for a red flag.

With less than five minutes left, almost every driver was on the track to try to improve their lap times. Beganovic set the fastest Sector 1 and Second 2, giving him provisional pole. Dunne was just 0.230 seconds behind after having the fastest Sector 3. 

As the chequered flag waved, Colton Herta hit the wall at Turn 19, ending the session. 

Beganovic could not be beaten and earned his second pole position of the season. He was followed closely by Dunne and Câmara. 

Classification - F2 Qualifying in Madrid

1. Dino Beganovic (DAMS)

2. Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport)

3. Rafael Câmara (Invicta Racing)

4. Martinius Stenshorne (Rodin Motorsport)

5. Nikola Tsolov (Campos Racing)

6. Roman Bilinski (DAMS)

7. Laurens van Hoepen (Trident)

8. Noel León (Campos Racing)

9. Ritomo Miyata (Hitech TGR)

10. Emerson Fittipaldi Jr (AIX Racing)

11. Rafael Villagómez (Van Amersfoort Racing)

12. Colton Herta (Hitech TGR)

13. Mari Boya (PREMA Racing)

14. Gabriele Minì (MP Motorsport)

15. Ollie Goethe (MP Motorsport)

16. John Bennett (Trident)

17. Joshua Dürksen (Invicta Racing)

18. Cian Shields (AIX Racing)

19. Nicolás Varrone (Van Amersfoort Racing)

20. Kush Maini (ART Grand Prix)

21. Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing)

22. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (ART Grand Prix)