Van Hoepen seizes maiden F2 pole with final-lap heroics in Montreal

Van Hoepen Delivers When It Matters Most

Laurens van Hoepen earned his maiden Aramco Pole Position Award in Formula 2 qualifying at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, producing his best lap at precisely the right moment to stop the clock at 1:21.422 and hand TRIDENT a front-row lockout. Behind him, Rafael Câmara recovered from a mid-session brush with the wall to secure P2, while Alexander Dunne completed the top three.

A Session of Lead Changes and Interruptions

Early running set a competitive tone. Ritomo Miyata was first to post a meaningful time, but was swiftly displaced as Joshua Duerksen went quickest with a 1:22.914. Gabriele Minì then assumed control on his first flying attempt — a 1:22.615 putting him 0.2 seconds clear of the field. Câmara was closing in immediately, trimming that gap to just 0.005 seconds as he threaded through to P2.

Red Flags Disrupt the Final Push

With drivers returning to the pitlane for fresh Supersoft tyres and the final 12 minutes of running imminent, the session was abruptly halted. Oliver Goethe tapped the outside wall at Turn 4, suffering session-ending suspension damage and triggering the first red flag.

Once the session resumed with eight minutes remaining, a second stoppage followed almost immediately. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak hit the wall at the same corner — Turn 4 proving a consistent hazard throughout qualifying. Inthraphuvasak was out of the car and uninjured, though his ART Grand Prix machine required recovery.

A Breathless Finale

With the session back underway, the timesheets were turned on their head in rapid succession. Noel León briefly held the fastest time, only for teammate Tsolov to reclaim P1 with a 1:21.789. Stenshorne then usurped the Bulgarian — a 1:21.744 putting the Norwegian at the summit with just over a minute to go. Dunne followed with a final improvement, posting a 1:21.709 to take provisional pole.

With the clock winding down, championship leader Tsolov found improvement on his final attempt but could not dislodge Dunne. Câmara, however, did — and so did van Hoepen, who saved his very best for last to claim pole position for the first time in his Formula 2 career.

The final classification saw Dunne third ahead of Tsolov in fourth and Stenshorne in fifth. Duerksen finished sixth with John Bennett in seventh, León in eighth, and Villagómez and Minì rounding out the top ten.

As was highlighted in our Formula 2 Round 3 preview for Montreal, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was expected to produce exactly this kind of unpredictable, scrappy, high-stakes qualifying — and it delivered in full.

The Montreal Sprint Race is scheduled to get underway at 14:10 local time on Saturday afternoon.