Fornaroli becomes first multiple F2 pole-sitter of 2025 in Austria qualifying

Vyas Ponnuri
Jun 27
4 min read

Updated: Jul 7

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

Leonardo Fornaroli and Invicta Racing became the first repeat pole-sitters in the 2025 Formula 2 season, grabbing pole by the slender margin of 14 milliseconds to Victor Martins, with Richard Verschoor in third only 0.024 seconds off the Italian's pole time.

Fornaroli becomes F2's first repeat pole-sitter of 2025 | Credit: Formula 2 via X

Fornaroli and Invicta, who concluded the previous triple header with a weekend to forget with no points, turned up to Austria with a statement showing in the half-hour session. Both Fornaroli and Roman Staněk looked speedy all through, with the former looking in control all the way through.

Behind the top three, Gabriele Minì took a strong fourth for PREMA Racing, ahead of Amaury Cordeel in the Rodin Motorsport, who took his best starting position of the year in fifth.

Staněk wound up sixth, ahead of Cordeel's teammate Alex Dunne, who recovered from a difficult first half of qualifying to net seventh on the road.

AIX Racing's Joshua Dürksen was another driver who continued his good qualifying form at the circuit, in eighth, ahead of Pepe Martí's Campos Racing in ninth, while John Bennett made it eight teams in the top ten, slotting into reverse grid pole for the Saturday sprint.

It was a session of big hitters falling by the wayside, as Martí's teammate Arvid Lindblad, Jak Crawford and Luke Browning, all in the top five of the standings, wound up outside the top ten, all starting out of position for the weekend's pair of races.

AS IT UNFOLDED

Martins once again missed out on pole, by the barest of margins | Credit: Formula 2 via X

The drivers took to the Red Bull Ring in full flow, ready to set the grid for the weekend in Austria. The biggest challenge would be to keep the tyres fresh for the medium and high speed corners in the second and third sectors, while maintaining pace in the first sector.

The gravel beds right on the peripheries of turns 9 and 10 caught several drivers out on their first flying laps. Cian Shields was the first to find the gravel on the exit of turn 9, while the likes of Arvid Lindblad and Max Esterson toured the run-off on the exit of turn 10. Sebastián Montoya too had a moment of oversteer into the final corner, despite sitting up in the top 10.

The pace-setters after the end of 15 minutes included Invicta Racing's Leonardo Fornaroli, ahead of AIX Racing's Joshua Dürksen, while Victor Martins, a strong qualifier all through 2025, sat third.

Major surprises on the first runs saw Van Amersfoort Racing's John Bennett up in 13th, a positive turn of form for the Dutch team. Elsewhere, the two drivers who took to Free Practice 1 for McLaren and Ferrari in the F1 weekend, Alex Dunne sat down in 18th, while Dino Beganovic was just behind in 19th.

Other surprises included the DAMS duo of Jak Crawford and Kush Maini sitting outside the top ten after the first runs. The form guide had certainly been flipped on its heads after 15 minutes of running, as the clock ticked down.

With just over 10 minutes to go, drivers took to the track for their final set of laps in the 30-minute qualifying session. Track evolution saw the times drop, with drivers setting personal best and purple sectors all along.

As the likes of Browning and Crawford rose to the top, Minì became the first driver to trouble the time sheets, going to the top. His joy lasted for all of a few seconds, as Verschoor and Martins then topped his benchmark, the latter setting a 1:15.243.

However, with just over three minutes to go, there was enough time for drivers to spring another run. As Verschoor set off on his final lap, his second on the current set of tyres, he experienced much lower grip levels.

Down by just under two tenths of a second after two sectors, Verschoor had a slide into the gravel trap just outside turn 9, scampering over the corner and losing his lap time. The resultant dust and gravel certainly cost Minì a shot at a better time, the PREMA man winding up short.

Fornaroli, meanwhile, had once again set the track alight with two purple sectors, as he sat over two tenths of a second to the good on the rest. Despite a personal best in the final sector, he just pipped Martins to the line by 0.014 seconds, leaving the Frenchman despondent once again, as he would just miss out by the slimmest of margins.

Further back, Crawford came across a slow Lindblad on the racing line into turn 7, the DAMS man forced to veer off track to avoid the Campos on the entry into the corner. This cost him a fast lap time, consigning him to 15th on the grid for both races.

Fornaroli, meanwhile, can rejoice the success of starting on pole for Sunday's feature race, while the likes of Crawford, Browning and Lindblad will all be looking to make up for their poor qualifying sessions, starting out of position for both races.

It certainly sets up an interesting narrative for the weekend's races ahead.