How F3's graduates fared in their first F2 qualifying at Jeddah

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

Formula 2's qualifying session saw plenty of drivers take to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in full flow for the first time, pushing their cars close to the barriers, searching for the perfect lap.

Fornaroli was pleased with P3 in his first qualifying session at Jeddah | Credit: Formula 2 via X

With Formula 3 not being a feature on the Jeddah itinerary ever since the circuit hosted top flight motorsport, F3's 2024 graduates only had one practice sessions to get to grips with the high speed, 27-turn Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

As evidenced across motorsport series, finding the ideal lap around Jeddah requires a strong level of commitment. Drivers often flirt with the extremities of the racetrack, attempting to get as close to the barriers to gain as much time.

Van Amersfoort Racing's John Bennett moved up from GB3 to Formula 2, skipping F3 along the way. 2025 is Bennett's first full season in F2, marking his first outing around Jeddah's twists and turns.

The Briton's crash at turn 17 was a prime example of a driver finding the wall, in a bid to find the perfect lap to elevate him up the order for the race weekend.

Bennett's crash brought his session to an end, while he also lost his fastest lap | Credit: Formula 2 via X

Taking more kerb than required, Bennett took a wider racing line into the left-hander. With little to no room for drivers into this corner, the VAR driver tapped the wall with his right rear, spinning him around, before coming to a halt on the racing line.

In the end, the GB3 graduate couldn't see out qualifying, leaving him down in last position for both the sprint and the feature race at Jeddah.

The danger of such a session-ending crash loomed when the full grid of 22 drivers took to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for qualifying. With no room for error around Jeddah's blind corners, the risk of an incident always remained high.

But barring Bennett, the full-time rookies threaded the needle around the high speed corners of Jeddah, making it through without incident. F3 graduates will be starting Sunday's feature race from the second and third rows on the grid.

Invicta Racing's Leonardo Fornaroli fared the best among rookies, pulling out a stellar lap at the end to claim third on the grid. He will start just ahead of the ever consistent Luke Browning, who held the top spot for a considerable time period during the 30-minute qualifying session.

Arvid Lindblad qualified an excellent fifth for Sunday's race | Credit: Formula 2

Campos' Arvid Lindblad was another impressive qualifier at Jeddah, taking fifth on the grid after being atop the charts after the first two runs from the grid. Alex Dunne settled for sixth for Rodin Motorsport.

Further back, Gabriele Minì will start eighth on Sunday, but will benefit from the reversed grid order for the sprint on Saturday, starting third on the sprint grid.

Ollie Goethe and Dino Beganovic will start 11th and 13th for both races, having been competitive throughout qualifying. The likes of Sami Meguetounif, Sebastián Montoya and Max Esterson book end the veterans towards the rear of the grid, starting in 15th, 17th and 19th respectively.

AIX Racing's Cian Shields occupies the final row on the grid alongside Bennett, in their maiden Jeddah appearances.

Fornaroli (R) qualified third behind Martins (L) and Crawford (Centre) | Credit: Formula 2

Speaking to DIVEBOMB post-qualifying, Fornaroli mentioned how getting into the rhythm and being at one in the circuit is the biggest challenge standing in the way of rookies at the venue.

"It was difficult to get in the rhythm, because this is a fast circuit. In the first laps of FP (Free Practice), we were struggling a bit," Fornaroli expressed.

The Italian's fastest lap in qualifying fetched him third on the grid for Sunday. A final hail mary attempt on used soft tyres failed to yield a stronger lap time, leaving the reigning F3 champion to settle for the second row.

The first sector comprises a series of left-right sequence of corners. These series of turns can catch out even the best of the best, and remain a challenge for even multiple world champions to thread the needle as such.

Fornaroli's found himself two tenths slower than pole-sitter Jak Crawford in the first sector, doing a time of 38.0 seconds as opposed to the American's 37.8 seconds. In a session of fine margins, with the top three separated by a mere 0.092 seconds, this proved the point of difference in deciding pole position.

"Going into qualifying, I had quite a few points to adjust. And also during qualifying, I wasn't 100% at the limit in the first sector. On the last lap, I lost a bit too much in sector 1," Fornaroli explained, dissecting his time loss on the final laps.

Third is still an excellent starting position for Sunday's race, as Fornaroli targets a third podium in three weekends in 2025.

"As I said before, the simulator was great help. I am happy to finish P3 in my first qualifying here," he expressed.

When asked what it really took to race around Jeddah, Fornaroli voiced out on the contrasting feeling of pushing to get closer to the barriers, to gain more time on his opponents.

"To go fast, you have to be really close to the walls and risk everything," Fornaroli said. "There is almost zero room for error with the walls. You have to tell yourself to push more and more when your brain is saying, the wall is getting closer, be careful," the Invicta racer expressed, with a smile on his face.

As Fornaroli expressed, street circuits are the epitome of risk and reward in motorsport. The more risk you take by getting ever closer to the walls, the greater is your reward.

The championship leader will start from eighth on the reversed sprint grid on Saturday, with MP Motorsport's Richard Verschoor on reverse grid pole for the 20-lap sprint. Do make sure to tune in for the Saturday sprint, to see how Fornaroli and the F3 graduates tackle their first race around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.