Rafa Câmara seals Formula 2 Spa pole in thrilling final-lap shootout

Credit: Formula 2 via X

Câmara edges Inthraphuvasak in changing conditions

The result came after a tense one-lap shootout, with the circuit drying following intermittent rain and drivers fighting for position in the final queue. Câmara’s Invicta teammate Joshua Dürksen finished seventh, while Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne maintained his run of top-three qualifying results in 2026 with third place.

Noel León was classified 10th but remained under investigation for being deemed the sole cause of a red flag. If he retains his quickest lap, the Campos Racing driver is expected to start Saturday’s reverse-grid sprint from pole.

The result follows Tsolov’s strong pace in practice, which had raised the possibility of the championship leader carrying that form into qualifying. As noted in our report on Tsolov topping Spa practice, the supersoft tyre was expected to be difficult to manage across the seven-kilometre lap.

Red flags reshape the session

Rain had already affected Formula 3 qualifying earlier in the day, leaving teams to make a quick tyre decision. Despite spits of rain, all drivers elected to run supersofts. Câmara’s engineer later reported that the worst of the rain had passed and that the track should be dry within five to 10 minutes.

The first interruption came when León clipped the kerb at Raidillon, spun and briefly stopped on track. Once running resumed, Dunne established the early benchmark with a 1:57.124, putting himself 0.265 seconds ahead of Tsolov and ahead of his 2025 pole time at the venue.

The decisive phase was delayed again when Laurens van Hoepen’s Trident stopped on the main straight after the Bus Stop chicane, prompting the second red flag with three minutes and 25 seconds remaining. When the session restarted, drivers rushed to the line to begin their final laps.

Slipstreaming helped several drivers gain time in the opening sector. León and Tsolov briefly moved to the top before Câmara delivered a 1:56.306 to take pole. Dunne could only recover to third, while Gabriele Minì endured one of the biggest reversals, falling to 17th after running inside the top seven earlier in the session.