DAMS Lucas Oil’s Dino Beganovic claimed his first pole position of the season after delivering an impressive final-lap effort during Qualifying at the 2026 F2 Australian GP. After finishing 5th in Free Practice, Beganovic showed strong pace from the very start of the weekend. The Swede began his season on a strong note, building on the momentum he found towards the end of his rookie campaign after struggling through much of the early stages of the season.
During the post-Qualifying Press Conference, Beganovic spoke to Pit Debrief and other media outlets as he reflected on the session, saying: “I mean, it’s great to be here and take the first pole of the year. Like you say, it was a matter of being in the right position in the end, getting the tyres in and going for the lap. We were lucky enough to be quite in front in the pit lane to avoid, let’s say, the mess in the back.”
“But yeah, I’m very happy with the lap, with the qualifying in general, with the FP this morning. I think the car has been very nice to drive the whole weekend and I want to thank DAMS also for the hard work as well.”
Settling in well with DAMS
The F2 Australian GP marks a new chapter for Beganovic, who returns to the team he made his F2 debut with in 2024. The 22 year-old places his trust in DAMS and believes they can achieve strong results together this year.
He said: “Yeah, I mean, like in [20]24, when I did the two races with them, it feels like we have a very good connection. And I’m very happy with the team and what they are giving me. A very warm welcome and they are working really, really hard. And I appreciate that very much and I think this year we can achieve very good things together.”
Heading into Sunday’s Feature Race, Beganovic explained that the Sprint Race will be key for gathering experience and knowledge ahead of the main race. Starting 10th on the reverse grid tomorrow, the 22 year-old aims to fight through the field and potentially claim his first points of the season.
“Well, always in the sprint is about gathering the experience for the next race. But obviously we want to move forward as well. Try to get the first couple of points of the year already tomorrow. But yeah, I think we have a good car, as I said, this weekend. In general, we also have a good race car.”
“So I’m looking forward to try it out tomorrow, starting off. And then we will see what we learn tomorrow for applying it for Sunday.”
Beganovic: “I worked with the team very well” during off-season
The 22 year-old admitted that starting the year on a strong note is a boost to his confidence, especially after a challenging 2025 campaign. He added that working closely with DAMS over the off-season in the simulator and aligning their goals have been positive, making the start to 2026 thoroughly enjoyable.
“Well, it definitely helps to start the year like this. Especially after a tricky last year, I would say. It was not where I wanted to be in general, especially mid-year. But towards the end of the season, it was already better.”
“And coming in this year with DAMS has been very enjoyable. I worked with the team very well during the off-season in the simulator. But also just making sure they are aligned on what I would like from a car and what they want from a driver. So for this kind of stuff, it’s definitely been positive. And I’ve enjoyed very much working with them.”
Approach to 2026 season remains the same
Despite his experience, Beganovic isn’t changing his approach to race weekends as he heads into his second F2 campaign. When asked whether he plans to approach race weekend differently this year, the Swede replied: “Not really. I will approach it the same way as last year. Obviously last year evolved in a different way than I wanted. But the approach stayed the same.”
“Like everybody is saying, to win a championship you need to be consistently up there. It’s great to start the year like this and take a pole and so on. But the big picture is much more important, and it’s the championship. So we will always try to be up there and that will be also the approach for the season.”
The pressures of the final flying lap
Reminiscent of his first F2 pole position, Beganovic delivered when it truly mattered, securing another well-deserved pole position in a session that saw interruptions. When asked how he handles the pressure, the Swede said he thrives under it, though he acknowledged that not every driver is the same.
He said: “I think in general I enjoy the pressure. It brings out the good of me. Some people are like that, some people are the other way. I’ve been able to deal with pressure in a positive way. It kind of helps me, as well as working a lot mentally, to prepare for qualifying session, but also race weekend.”
Being able to perform under pressure, Beganovic notes, has been one of his greatest strengths throughout his career.
“Visualising that perfect lap and to put together in the end, that’s all that matters. It’s something I’ve enjoyed my whole career. It’s you and the car in the end, one lap that counts. I’ve always had that as a strong thing. I’m happy to have that as a strong thing for myself.”
Adapting to the stop-and-go nature of F2 sessions
Like today’s Qualifying session, which saw two red flags, Beganovic was asked how drivers are able to quickly adapt and refocus amid so many interruptions. He echoed the thoughts of Martinius Stenshorne, who finished 2nd in Qualifying, saying: “It’s F2 and F3, that’s how it is. And like Martinius said, it’s about resetting before going again. Just taking all the points that you have to do on that lap and how you have to think in the scenarios and not really being affected by what has happened or what is going on before that very important lap.”
“So it’s about resetting and just coming back to your mindset or your way of thinking when you want to do that perfect lap.”
