Dino Beganovic takes F2 Madrid pole after chaotic qualifying
Dino Beganovic emerged from a chaotic Formula 2 qualifying session in Madrid with pole position, beating Alex Dunne by 0.230 seconds. Rafael Câmara completed the top three for Invicta Racing as two red flags and a series of heavy crashes limited the field to just 18 classified finishers.
The result gives Beganovic his second pole position of the season and underlines the value of producing a clean, competitive lap in a session repeatedly interrupted by incidents. The result also follows an eventful practice session, which was halted by a heavy crash involving Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak. A full report on the earlier F2 Madrid practice disruption provides further context to the difficult start to the weekend.
Crashes shape the qualifying order
Inthraphuvasak was unable to take part in qualifying after his practice crash. Enzo Fittipaldi set the initial benchmark at 2:10.288 before Nicolás Varrone lowered the leading time to 1:58.309.
The first major interruption came when Kush Maini spun into the wall at Turn 15. Sebastián Montoya was also forced to stop after sustaining rear-end damage, bringing out the first red flag of the session.
When qualifying resumed, championship leader Nikola Tsolov briefly moved to the top of the timing screens, edging Dunne by just 0.002 seconds. That advantage lasted only briefly before Varrone crashed at Turn 20, triggering another red flag.
PREMA worked to repair Montoya’s car, but the damage could not be addressed in time for him to return, leaving the driver’s session over with 13 minutes remaining. Beganovic then moved ahead of Dunne by two-tenths, establishing the benchmark that would eventually prove decisive.
Late improvement decides the front row
John Bennett’s impact with the wall at the exit of Turn 11 caused a further pause. With fewer than five minutes remaining, almost the entire field returned to the track in a final attempt to improve.
Beganovic delivered the key performance in the closing minutes, setting the fastest times in Sectors 1 and 2 to secure provisional pole. Dunne responded with the fastest Sector 3 and finished only 0.230 seconds behind. As the chequered flag fell, Colton Herta hit the wall at Turn 19, but Beganovic’s time remained unbeaten.
Beganovic will start ahead of Dunne and Câmara, with Martinius Stenshorne and Tsolov completing the top five. Roman Bilinski, Laurens van Hoepen, Noel León, Ritomo Miyata and Emerson Fittipaldi Jr round out the top ten.
Simone Scanu
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.