Beganovic confident his F2 performances are stronger than the results suggest

Beganovic sees performance beneath the points deficit

Dino Beganovic believes he is driving at the highest level of his career so far, even though a sequence of reliability setbacks has left his Formula 2 championship campaign short of its potential.

The DAMS Lucas Oil driver has endured a season of sharp contrasts. He took pole position in Melbourne and added podiums in the Miami and Monte Carlo Feature Races, but retired while fighting for victory in Melbourne and Montreal. A difficult Spielberg weekend, where he scored no points, compounded the damage.

Beganovic returned to the front before the summer break, claiming podium finishes in the Spa-Francorchamps and Budapest Sprint Races. He currently sits seventh in the standings on 79 points, 88 behind championship leader Nikola Tsolov.

“Things started very well this year,” Beganovic said. *“Taking pole in Melbourne but then it was not the result we deserved with the DNF. Then we had a good podium in Miami, coming back into the fight.

“In Montreal we were in a very strong position in the Feature in P2 before another issue. So we started the year very well and also the podium in Monaco helped. But without those DNFs we would be looking in a much better spot.”

He described Austria as the team’s toughest weekend so far, acknowledging that DAMS lacked pace throughout the event.

Maximising a car capable of winning

The missed opportunities remain a source of frustration, but Beganovic says the pace shown in Melbourne and Montreal also reinforced his belief that he and the team can fight at the front when everything aligns.

“I was not stressed in Melbourne or Montreal that we didn't really get the points,” he explained. “I was calm knowing the performance was there.”

He feels his own progress has been more consistent than the results indicate. Drawing on his experience from the previous season and two years in Formula 3, the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member says he has become smarter in battles and more complete in managing a race weekend. Qualifying, however, has not matched that development.

Ferrari outings rebuilding confidence

Beganovic has also continued his Ferrari duties through testing and Free Practice 1 appearances, where he has learned from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. He drove Hamilton’s car for the first time in Barcelona after previously using Leclerc’s car in two FP1 sessions.

The experience has helped restore confidence after a difficult run of results. Beganovic highlighted his performance in Austria, where he felt confident on the medium tyre and close to Hamilton.

“Everything is possible and I'm there for a reason,” he said.

With the championship gap growing, Beganovic is refusing to focus on the title calculation. His priority for the remainder of the season is clear: take each weekend separately and maximise what he and the DAMS car can deliver.