Câmara and Dunne penalised after impeding incidents in F2 Qualifying at the 2026 Canadian GP; Goethe and Inthraphuvasak lose lap times

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Laurens van Hoepen secured pole position after a dramatic F2 Qualifying session at the 2026 Canadian GP, while several post-session penalties reshaped the grid for both the Sprint and Feature Races.

The TRIDENT driver produced a best lap of 1:21.422 to finish at the top of the timesheets. However, the story quickly shifted away from pure pace as the Stewards investigated multiple incidents involving impeding and red flags. Consequently, several drivers lost positions after the session concluded, creating major changes throughout the field.

Câmara receives three-place grid penalty for both the Sprint and Feature Races after impeding Dunne in F2 Qualifying; Dunne also penalised after separate incident with Villagómez

Despite qualifying second in F2 Qualifying at the 2026 Canadian GP, only 0.267 seconds behind Laurens van Hoepen, Rafael Câmara will not start Sunday’s Feature Race from the front row. Following a post-Qualifying investigation, the Brazilian driver received a three-place grid penalty for impeding.

The Stewards investigated an incident involving Câmara and Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne during Qualifying. After reviewing video evidence and hearing from both drivers and team representatives, officials ruled that Câmara had unnecessarily impeded Dunne. As a result, the Stewards applied a three-place grid drop for both the Sprint and Feature Races under Article 31.6 of the FIA Formula 2 Sporting Regulations.

Meanwhile, Dunne also faced punishment for a separate impeding incident involving Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagómez. The Rodin Motorsport driver qualified third with a lap time of 1:21.709. However, he too will start further back on the grid after the Stewards concluded that he had unnecessarily blocked Villagómez during the Qualifying session. Following another post-session hearing, officials imposed an identical three-place grid penalty for both races.

Therefore, both Câmara and Dunne lost valuable track position heading into the Montreal weekend despite qualifying near the front.

Goethe and Inthraphuvasak drop in Qualifying classification after red flag incidents

Further drama unfolded after Oliver Goethe lost his fastest Qualifying lap following a crash at Turn 4.

The MP Motorsport driver hit the barrier and triggered a red flag, forcing several competitors to abandon their push laps. The Stewards ruled that Goethe caused the stoppage without any external contributing factors. Consequently, officials deleted his fastest lap time for breaching Article 33.5 of the FIA F2 Sporting Regulations.

The penalty dropped Goethe from 19th to 21st in the final classification, further damaging his prospects for the weekend.

Meanwhile, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak received the same sanction after causing another red flag at Turn 4. The ART Grand Prix driver hit the barriers during the session, which again interrupted Qualifying and compromised laps for several rivals. After reviewing the evidence, the Stewards determined that no outside factors contributed to the incident. Therefore, they deleted Inthraphuvasak’s fastest lap time.

As a result, the Thai driver fell from 15th to 20th in the revised classification.

Revised Qualifying order and grid penalties shapes F2 weekend at the 2026 Canadian GP

Although van Hoepen retained pole position, the penalties dramatically altered the competitive picture behind him. Nikola Tsolov, Martinius Stenshorne and Joshua Dürksen now stand to benefit from the grid reshuffle, while several penalised drivers face difficult recovery drives in both races.

Furthermore, the revised order adds another layer of unpredictability to a Montreal weekend already filled with incidents and Steward investigations.

With overtaking opportunities available around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, teams and drivers will now focus on damage limitation as they prepare for the Sprint Race and Feature Race battles ahead.