Gran Premio Emilia-Romagna – Qualifying: Beganovic takes his first F2 pole at Imola

Dino Beganovic delivered the perfect lap at the ideal moment to clinch his first pole position in Formula 2 during the qualifying session of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. The Swedish driver for the Hitech TGR team clocked a time of 1:27.418, narrowly beating Sebastián Montoya (PREMA Racing) and Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) in a session marked by an early conclusion due to an accident.

A thousandth battle for the pole.

The session began with Arvid Lindblad in the provisional lead, before Victor Martins and Alexander Dunne quickly took the advantage. The Irishman from Rodin Motorsport continued his momentum after his strong performances in free practice, but Lindblad responded with a time 0.012 seconds faster to temporarily reclaim first place.

It was ultimately Victor Martins who took his ART Grand Prix to the top of the standings with a time of 1:27.424. After a brief pit stop, the drivers returned to the track for their final attempts as conditions gradually improved.

Sebastián Montoya briefly took the lead for PREMA Racing, but his time was immediately beaten by Beganovic by just 0.003 seconds. The Swedish driver completed his decisive lap just before the red flags were waved following Kush Maini’s off-track excursion, who had lost control of his DAMS Lucas Oil single-seater in the Tamburello corner.

The interruption of the session did not allow the other competitors to make a final attempt, freezing the standings with Beganovic in pole position, followed by Montoya and Martins, the top three separated by just 0.006 seconds.

Leonardo Fornaroli completed the fourth fastest time, while Alexander Dunne ranked fifth. Arvid Lindblad and Luke Browning finished sixth and seventh respectively, followed by Oliver Goethe in eighth position. Initially classified ninth, Kush Maini had his best time deleted for causing the red flag, which dropped him back to 13th place. His teammate Jak Crawford inherited the ninth position, while Ritomo Miyata completed the top 10, thereby securing pole position for the next day’s sprint race.

Furthermore, we note the underperformance of the championship leader Richard Verschoor, who could do no better than the 19th time.

Top 3 impressions after qualifying

At the end of the session, the top three shared their impressions during the official press conference.

Beganovic: « Achieving this here is very special »

For Dino Beganovic, this first pole in F2 has a special flavor. The Hitech TGR driver considers Imola his home Grand Prix since he resides in Maranello, not far from the circuit. Sporting the Ferrari colors, he expressed his joy in feeling the support of the tifosi. “Achieving this here is very special, especially after a difficult start to the season in Bahrain and Jeddah,” the Swede confided. The most stressful moment of his session? The end of his timed lap as he already saw the accident on the screens. “I saw it on the big screen and was simply praying that the red flag wouldn’t come out before I finished my lap,” he said, recalling “flashbacks from Monaco last year” in F3 where a similar incident involving Luke Browning cost him a better spot on the grid.

Montoya: Three thousandths off pole

Sebastián Montoya, second by just three thousandths, described an interesting session. The PREMA Racing driver explained that he made adjustments between his two attempts after a disappointing first stint. Despite some mistakes in his fast lap, particularly in the second sector, he expressed satisfaction with his performance on this particularly demanding circuit. It’s an old-school circuit, so if you go a bit over the limit, you go off track, he explained. The Colombian also highlighted the progress made by his team since the start of the season, noting constant improvement from Bahrain to Jeddah, and then to Imola. Returning to Europe on circuits that the team knows better seems to have boosted the rookie’s confidence.

Martins: So close, once again

Victor Martins, third for ART Grand Prix, did not hide his frustration at missing the pole again by a few thousandths. “It’s always frustrating because it was 28 thousandths in Jeddah, and now six thousandths,” lamented the Frenchman, who had dominated the first part of qualifying with a three-tenths lead over his pursuers. Despite this new disappointment, Martins maintains a positive attitude and highlights his ability to fight for the pole in every qualifying session this season. For the weekend races, he mentioned the importance of strategy, especially with softer compounds than in 2024, and his desire to maximize the points of the weekend while being cautious in his overtakes.

The sprint race will take place at 2:15 PM today, followed by the main race on Sunday. With the three contenders separated by less than one hundredth, the race in Imola promises to be very competitive.

Qualification ranking