How Campos’ gamble in qualifying helped Noel León score maiden F2 pole in Austria

Credit: Formula 2 via X

“On my side, I was always trying to go for pole,” Campos racer Noel León responded. 

León had just taken a stellar maiden pole position in Austria, pulling off a strategy few would look to pursue in Formula 2 qualifying. Going out at the halfway mark of the session, with the racetrack all to himself, León would set a lap time that was over half a second quicker than Rafael Câmara’s benchmark at the time. 

Drivers don’t often play their hand early during the course of a 30-minute F2 qualifying session. The track is more often at its best in the final minutes of the session, as the entire grid chases the ultimate lap time on much lower fuel loads. 

It’s why even León’s teammate Nikola Tsolov opted to take the conventional route to a qualifying session and set his lap time towards the end. “I think it is a bit of a risk doing what he (León) did,” the Bulgarian would say, reflecting on the session after finishing third. 

But the odds were different for León on the day. The setting was different. The Mexican driver has been searching for a first pole position in Formula 2 all season. Scratch that, his first pole since a title-winning Euroformula Open season back in 2023. 

As such, it was easy to understand that there was a lot more on the line for the Campos man. León has more often ended up on reverse grid pole for the sprint than the conventional front row of the grid in 2026, a feat he has been looking to overturn heading into Austria. 

“Building up the weekend wasn’t great,” León would say, speaking to the media after qualifying. “That's why I was in the top three all the time for the Saturdays. Now the team did an amazing job. I put a lot together, and I'm able to start on the front row on Sunday,” he would conclude. 

León’s performance on Friday in Austria wasn’t just a one-off; the Mexican driver has qualified in the top 10 in every race weekend bar one in 2026. 

More often than not, his pace has matched fellow rookie Tsolov, who has been tipped as one of the championship contenders in 2026. The Bulgarian even referred to him as ‘probably the teammate I've been pushed by the most in my career’. Strong words indeed, from one of the best in the business.  

León, like every driver, aims to make it count on Fridays. More often than not, he has experienced a sharp learning curve, unable to put his Campos package to the best effect during qualifying sessions. 

In fact, Austria marks only the second time León has qualified ahead of his teammate in 2026, after the season opener in Melbourne.

In F2, qualifying higher up the order reaps greater rewards in the race. For León to take pole and overcome his qualifying duck, he would have had to do something different to the others around him. 

The short Red Bull Ring layout presented the best opportunity. As every driver looked to pull into the pits after the 15-minute mark, León, who had already swapped for a fresh set of the super soft tyres, would be the only one out on track. 

In some ways, this would play right into his hands in his quest to go for pole. Several drivers had encountered slower cars during their qualifying laps, with the likes of Alex Dunne and Câmara being among the drivers at the receiving end. 

Setting off on what would be his only attempt at pole on the new set of tyres, León quickly set a first sector time of 18.9 seconds. A purple sector. 

He would continue this remarkable pace into the middle sector, setting a 33.2-second time through the winding corners. Once again, a purple sector, the session-best at the time. 

However, like all great pole position laps, it’s the last sector that truly makes the difference. And on this day, several drivers had found themselves tripping over in this part of the track. 

Hitech’s Colton Herta had run wide into Turn 9, skating over the gravel trap at the edge of the track, while the likes of Nico Varrone and Sebastián Montoya got themselves crossed up into the tricky, quick right-handers of Turns 9 and 10, under pressure to find the crucial lap time. This has also been the scene of drivers finding traffic in the form of slower cars positioning themselves to start a new flying lap. 

But none of this would be an issue for the flying Mexican, who would punch in a speedy final sector of 23.3 seconds. This would stay the quickest of any driver throughout the final 12 minutes of the session. 

The Campos man had done his work, going well into the 1:15s and setting a benchmark for the rest to chase. However, there is no moment when you can truly consider your lap time safe in a short, fast-paced 30-minute session. 

“We knew that we had the pace, you know, so we trusted in ourselves, and we delivered,” León would reiterate, speaking on his final flying lap. 

However, there is only so much you can do once you are back in the pit lane. And it was a nervous wait for the Campos man, who would see several established qualifiers attempt to surpass his lap time. 

One by one, they would all come across, though, failing to make it past. Dunne, Tsolov, Câmara, and championship leader Gabriele Minì, all would fall short of the magical figure of a 1:15.544. The Irishman would come the closest, stopping the clocks 0.129 seconds away. 

Even with a minute to go for the session to end, there were celebrations rampant in the Campos garage, as the timing screens stopped lighting up with personal best sectors, and each driver’s lap faded away in the Austrian heat. You often don’t see F2 teams celebrate until well after the chequered flag flies, given how closely contested F2 qualifying sessions can become.

Nevertheless, the prevailing tense atmosphere for over 10 minutes had finally given way to ecstasy, as the Spanish team finally celebrated a first pole position of the season. And it would be for good reason. It would only mark their third pole in all of Formula 2, the other two coming courtesy of Isack Hadjar in 2024 and Arvid Lindblad at Barcelona in 2025. 

On a day of firsts, there would be one for León too: The first Mexican driver to take pole in the championship. However, his aims go much further than being the quickest on the Friday. 

“To be honest, we want to fight for the championship and we want to win races. That pressure is on from day one,” he remarks, looking at the first success on a long path ahead.