Qualifying F2: Paul Aron’s disappointment against a pole-sitting Isack Hadjar at Silverstone
Today's qualifications almost ended after the first few laps. Despite rain forecasted midway through the session, the drivers ultimately raced on a dry track. Following tire changes and track incidents, Isack Hadjar finally secured the pole position.
Silverstone ranks as the eighth destination on the Formula 2 calendar this weekend. After a challenging qualifying session, Isack Hadjar will start in pole position for Sunday’s race.
As a reminder, the Friday qualifications are valid for both the Saturday sprint and the main race on Sunday, but with a slight subtlety. The sprint race applies the rule of inverted grid for the top 10 times. Instead of the French driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start from pole position tomorrow.
Agitated qualifications
After a wet morning for the free practice sessions, the track was finally dry for the qualifying rounds, even though showers were still forecasted. The early laps were therefore crucial for the drivers, providing conditions more conducive to achieving a better time.
During the early laps, Ollie Bearman briefly held the pole position for several minutes, but as the tires warmed up with the track, Kush Maini quickly caught up with him.
Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman then chose to return to the pits, quickly followed by the others. Everyone switched to new tires, while Paul Aaron was in provisional pole position for this first part. When it was time to leave, Rafael Villagomez was still in the pits for what seemed to be an issue with the engine cover. He was still able to get back on track.
The tire change strategy has paid off. With the track continuing to warm up, Hauger, Hadjar, and Collapinto quickly caught up with Aron’s time. Paul Aron hoped to make up for lost time but ultimately caused a yellow flag in sector 1. The Estonian slipped on the curbs and spun out, quickly dropping out of the top 10. Kimi Antonelli, on the other hand, had several exits during the race.
Although Aron tried to climb back up, Zak O’Sullivan took 5th place, pushing him out of the top 10. Removing Zak O’Sullivan’s time was not enough to regain his position. French driver Isack Hadjar secured pole position, followed by his compatriot Victor Martins and Dennis Hauger. Ollie Bearman, future Haas driver, meanwhile claimed 5th place.
Results of the Formula 2 qualifying sessions at Silverstone
| Driver | Équipe | Times | Écart | Lap | |
| 1 | I. Hadjar | Campos Racing | 1:39.368 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | V. Martins | Art Grand Prix | 1:39.619 | +0.2 | 13 |
| 3 | D. Hauger | MP Motorsport | 1:39.688 | +0.3 | 12 |
| 4 | F. Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 1:39.711 | +0.3 | 12 |
| 5 | O. Bearman | Prema | 1:39.726 | +0.3 | 13 |
| 6 | G. Bortoleto | Invicta Racing | 1:39:801 | +0.4 | 14 |
| 7 | J. Crawford | DAMS Lucas Oil | 1:39.826 | +0.4 | 13 |
| 8 | K. Maini | Invicta Racing | 1:39.856 | +0.4 | 12 |
| 9 | Z. Maloney | Rodin Motorsport | 1:40.001 | +0.6 | 14 |
| 10 | A. Antonelli | Prema | 1:40.169 | +0.8 | 13 |
| 11 | R. Miyata | Rodin Motorsport | 1:40.176 | +0.8 | 14 |
| 12 | P. Aron | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:40.181 | +0.8 | 12 |
| 13 | R. Verschoor | Trident | 1:40.287 | +0.9 | 13 |
| 14 | Z.O’Sullivan | Art Grand Prix | 1:40.437 | +1.0 | 13 |
| 15 | J. Correa | DAMS Lucas Oil | 1:40.487 | +1.1 | 12 |
| 16 | J. Durksen | AIX Racing | 1:40.531 | +1.1 | 12 |
| 17 | R. Villagomez | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:40.599 | +1.2 | 13 |
| 18 | A. Cordeel | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:40.613 | +1.2 | 12 |
| 19 | J. Marti | Campos Racing | 1:40.692 | +1.3 | 13 |
| 20 | E. Fittipaldi | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:40.705 | +1.3 | 13 |
| 21 | T. Barnard | AIX Racing | 1:40.726 | +1.3 | 12 |
| 22 | R. Stanek | Trident | 1:41.625 | +2.2 | 13 |
