Rafael Câmara beats Dunne to Silverstone pole with decisive final lap
Rafael Câmara delivered when it mattered at Silverstone, taking his third Aramco Pole Position Award of the season with a sharp final-lap strike that denied Alexander Dunne top spot.
Câmara lands the decisive blow
The Invicta Racing driver produced a 1:39.690 on his final lap of the session, moving clear of Rodin Motorsportâs Dunne by 0.201s. It was a commanding margin in a tightly packed qualifying hour, particularly given how close the battle was immediately behind.
Dunne secured second, while ART Grand Prixâs Kush Maini completed the top three, just 0.001s behind the Rodin driver. The result underlined how fine the margins were at the front, even as Câmaraâs final effort gave him a clean advantage over the rest of the field.
The performance also continued a strong recent qualifying run for Câmara, who has now taken three pole positions in the last four rounds. For wider context on the Silverstone weekend and the key contenders, read our Formula 2 Silverstone Round 7 preview.
Early pace shifts before the final runs
Roman Bilinski was the first driver to establish the benchmark for DAMS Lucas Oil, posting a 1:41.123. Nikola Tsolov then moved into second, only 0.041s adrift, before ART Grand Prix began to assert itself.
Maini went quickest with a 1:40.764, while teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak climbed to third. Nico Varrone briefly jumped to second, only to be displaced by Van Amersfoort Racing teammate Rafael VillagĂłmez, who sat 0.187s away from Mainiâs leading time.
Dunne then made his first major statement. After losing an earlier lap for exceeding track limits, the Irishman responded with a 1:40.536 to take provisional P1 on the first set of Soft tyres.
Soft-tyre reset decides the order
After a short spell in the pitlane, the field returned on fresh Soft tyres and the timing screens rapidly changed. Câmara found the lap the others could not match, while Dunne crossed the line soon after but had to settle for second.
Maini was among the drivers who pitted after just one lap on the second tyre set, while others stayed out in search of improvement. None could dislodge Câmara, leaving Invicta on pole ahead of Rodin and ART.
Bilinski finished fourth ahead of Tsolov, with Inthraphuvasak sixth. Joshua Duerksen took seventh, followed by VillagĂłmez, Ritomo Miyata and championship leader Gabriele MinĂŹ.
MinĂŹ is set to start Saturdayâs Sprint Race from reverse-grid pole, with lights out scheduled for 13:45 local time.
Simone Scanu
Heâs 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.