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Friday's Formula 2 qualifying session in Montreal delivered far more than just lap times. A post-session judicial flurry saw four drivers penalised across two separate categories of offence — grid drops for impeding and lap time deletions for causing red flags — reshaping the grid ahead of both the Sprint and Feature Race.
The session itself had already been a dramatic one, with Laurens van Hoepen seizing maiden F2 pole with final-lap heroics. But the fallout from the stewards' room proved equally significant for several drivers further down the order.
In a remarkable turn, both Rafael Câmara and Alexander Dunne were found guilty of impeding — each receiving identical three-place grid penalties for both the Sprint and Feature Race, as per Article 31.6 of the Formula 2 Sporting Regulations.
Câmara, driving for Invicta Racing (Car 1), was alleged to have unnecessarily impeded Car 15, Alexander Dunne of Rodin Motorsport, during the session. Following a post-session hearing — in which both drivers and their respective team representatives were heard, and available video evidence was examined — the stewards determined that Câmara had indeed impeded Dunne and acted accordingly.
In a twist of irony, Dunne himself then faced the same charge. The Rodin Motorsport driver (Car 15) was found to have unnecessarily impeded Car 23, Rafael Villagómez. The stewards applied the same process: a full post-qualifying hearing involving both parties and a review of video evidence, leading to an identical verdict — a three-place grid penalty for both the Sprint and Feature Race.
If the impeding penalties were ironic in their symmetry, the lap time deletions carried a heavier sting, particularly given the knock-on effect red flags have on qualifying sessions at this level.
Oliver Goethe (Car 10, MP Motorsport) struck the barrier at Turn 4 and stopped, triggering a red flag. As the sole cause of the stoppage, Goethe was found to have breached Article 33.5 of the FIA Formula 2 Sporting Regulations. The stewards heard from the driver and an MP Motorsport team representative before examining the available video evidence, ultimately concluding there were no external contributing factors. His fastest lap time was deleted as a result, dropping him from P19 to P21 in the final classification.
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (Car 17) suffered an almost identical fate. The Thai driver also hit the barrier at Turn 4, causing a separate red flag stoppage. He too was found to be the sole cause, with no outside factors identified. After the same stewards' process — video review and a hearing with driver and team representative — Inthraphuvasak's fastest time was deleted, dropping him from P15 to P20.
In both cases, the timing of the red flags was particularly costly for the wider field: several drivers were forced to abandon active push laps, adding to the disruption an already frenetic session had produced.
The breadth of the penalties underlines just how chaotic Friday's qualifying proved to be at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Four drivers penalised, two red flags caused by barrier contact at the same corner, and a grid reshuffled before the Sprint has even begun. For those involved, the damage extends well beyond a single session — the three-place penalties for Câmara and Dunne apply across both races, while the classification drops for Goethe and Inthraphuvasak leave them with significant ground to make up in the races ahead.
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.