Heading into the 2026 F2 Spa-Francorchamps round, Roman Bilinski hopes to build on his recent momentum with DAMS Lucas Oil after securing five consecutive points-scoring results.
His most recent success came at Silverstone, where the DAMS driver qualified P4 before finishing both races P7 and P8, respectively. Speaking during a virtual media session attended by Pit Debrief, Bilinski reflected on his rookie season, his progress with DAMS, and the upcoming challenges at Spa-Francorchamps.
Success at familiar circuits
Bilinski had a tough start to his rookie F2 season, only securing two points across three rounds. However, since entering the European phase of the calendar, the Pole has found his rhythm and climbed to P16 in the Drivers’ Standings with 22 points.
All of his recent five-point-scoring finishes have come at circuits Bilinski races at during his 2025 F3 campaign. From securing a point in the Barcelona Feature Race to scoring double points at Spielberg and Silverstone, Bilinski explained how his previous experience on these tracks has helped him deliver strong F2 results.
“I would say part of it is due to that, for sure. It definitely helps. But, you know, I still think the start of the season was very strong, just a lot of things didn’t exactly go our way. I had quite a few mechanical issues and I didn’t even do one round, the Miami round.
“I think part of this is also linked into it, but definitely the last few rounds have been very strong, from my side at least, and hopefully we can keep working in this direction and push both myself and the team forward,” Bilinski said, eyeing progress at the 2026 F2 Spa-Francorchamps round.
Bilinski on his strengths and weaknesses
As the 2026 F2 season has reached its halfway point, Bilinski continued by reflecting on how his season is shaping out and what he hopes to improve.
“I’d say strengths for us are mainly the races. We know we have a good race package at DAMS, and we really had to kind of work on the quali. I’d say partly my side, but also the team, and I think that has shown quite well in the last few rounds. As I said, Barcelona was on for an extremely solid lap until the red flag in the last corner, and also the last quali at Silverstone was strong,” he said.
Silverstone delivered his season-best P4 Qualifying result, outqualifying his more experienced teammate Dino Beganovic for the second time in 2026. Before Silverstone, Bilinski often found himself outside of the top ten, with the exception of Monaco, where he took P7.
Looking ahead, he continued: “I think it’s now just piecing it all together and doing this more consistently throughout the season, which the last few rounds has shown we can do. But now it’s just bringing that on to here and the next rounds.”
Transitioning from F3 to F2
Before moving up to F2, Bilinski competed in the 2025 F3 season, where he finished P11 in the standings with 65 points. For the Pole, the biggest challenge of the quick move from F3 to F2 has been the championship’s increased technical demands.
“That’s a good question. I think there’s a lot that factors in from going from Formula 3 to Formula 2.”, he noted. “And so much that I’ve learned from the start of the season. I have to be honest, I don’t want to say all of it because, of course, I wouldn’t want to give that away, especially as the last few rounds have been going well.”
“F2, I would say it’s a lot more technical and learning about that and learning how to implement that into these races, quali’s, practices, accounts for a lot. So I think this is very important.”
“But, you know, there’s a whole different weekend going from F3 to F2,” he said, before revealing that a key part of this change was learning to adapt quickly. “We’ve got the different compounds in a weekend, pit stops, etc. So learning these things and getting on top of them as soon as possible in the season is important.”
“It’s a dream to drive here”: Bilinski on the 2026 F2 Spa-Francorchamps round
The 7.004km Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps offers F2 drivers a unique challenge with its technical and high-speed sections. Discussing the specific challenges, exciting features, and what you need to get right, Bilinski shared:
“Yeah, definitely. Spa is one of those historic tracks, which I believe all the drivers love coming back to. It’s a dream to drive here. And each time you go up Eau Rouge, it’s a fantastic feeling in the cockpit of a car.”
“So, yeah, it definitely has its challenges, though. Here you’ve got a bit of everything. You’ve got high-speed corners, slow-speed chicanes, medium speed. And what’s punishing about Spa is there’s not really much run-off as well. It’s straight to gravel, which personally I quite like. It’s a bit more old-school and less of the track-limit white lines. And you get punished if you go off.”
He added: “So this is quite good and it has its own challenges with elevation change and the weather as well. You never really know what the weather is doing. For example, this weekend it keeps changing, saying it’s going to be dry and then wet. And quite honestly, I think the best thing will be when you wake up and you look outside and then you see what the weather is because it keeps changing so much.”
From Monaco milestone to teammate lessons
Looking back at his maiden F2 podium in the Monaco Sprint Race, Bilinski said: “It definitely was a fantastic feeling. Also, you know, for me it was very important to get a good result at some point in the season because especially the first few rounds were very difficult. But, you know, that’s a very good thing for myself and the team. And since then as well, we’ve just been progressing forward.”
“And to do it at a track like Monaco, you know, is a historic track where some great drivers have been on the podium and won there. So, it’s a fantastic feeling. And also to be the first Polish driver on the Formula 2 podium as well was something very cool and very special to me.”
The result also marked Bilinski’s third time outpacing his more experienced teammate. Asked by Pit Debrief how having Beganovic as a teammate has helped him so far, Bilinski shared:
“It’s massively helped because I would say there’s rookies and then there’s rookies, you know. For example, I only did one year in F3 and then straight into F2. Whereas, you know, having a driver like Dino who did multiple years in F3 and now is in his second season of F2 and a Ferrari driver as well and done many days driving the F1 car.”
“You know, having someone like that to learn from is extremely important. And even hearing the discussions, the feedback and everything like that for myself is very important to learn that. So, I’m very thankful for it. And you know, Dino and I, we get on really well. We’re able to joke around a lot. There’s a good vibe in the team. And so, to learn off him is important. And the team environment is great.”
Adapting to an uncertain 2026 F2 season finale
As the Qatar and Abu Dhabi final 2026 F2 rounds remain in the unknown due to the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict, Bilinski explained that while he hopes that everything will get resolved, Imola and Mugello would be his top replacement picks.
“Well, first of all, I hope we don’t have to have that issue,” he shared. “I hope everything there gets resolved. But, you know, as a driver, I love a track like Imola. Imola is an amazing track. Also, I’d love to go back to Mugello. I think this would be really, really cool.”
“But to be honest, I don’t really mind, you know, because at the end of the day, I’m very lucky to be doing what I’m doing. I’m driving a race car that not many people in the world get this opportunity. And I think every track has its challenges, its own difficulties. And I love this, and I think that’s why I love racing. So I don’t really mind where we go because I’m driving a Formula 2 car at the end of the day and we’re there to just perform and do our best.”
Preparing for Spa’s changing weather conditions
Beyond its challenging track features, Spa also forced drivers to adapt to constantly changing weather conditions. However, despite the possibility of rain, Bilinski explained that preparations for the 2026 F2 Spa-Francorchamps round remain unchanged.
“Honestly, from my side, from now to, let’s say, getting in the car doesn’t change so much because we are fully prepared for it. But back at the factory, you know, you’re looking over past races in the wet, learning what some drivers did well, what drivers could do better and also from my past experience being here, looking at the notes that I have. Of course, we don’t really have the simulator for the wet, but it’s more trying to have that feeling and learning from years before my video.”
“From my side, I think it will be a bit more tricky, purely because I haven’t driven this car at all in the wet,” he noted. “The Miami race, that was a Feature Race that was in the wet, I didn’t even start it. So there will be a bit more learning from my side, but I love that and I’m ready to take on that challenge.”
Maintaining consistency under pressure
Reflecting on how he has stayed consistent, even when things have not always gone his way during a race, Bilinski shared: “I would say it’s sort of a thing that happens over time. I’d say there’s more a natural way of it happening.”
“If I look back at my career back when you’re in karting and you think you’re at the Formula One World Championship for every single race, if one thing goes wrong, you can be upset, crying or whatever and now quite honestly, it’s a bit sad, but even when things go well or not so well, I’d say my emotion is very level which performance-wise I think is good and important. In terms of enjoyment, I would say it’s not ideal, but you know, it’s about keeping as level as possible and this makes the performance ideally stay as consistent as possible.”
Bilinski on Spa’s elevation changes
When asked by Pit Debrief what he believes is the misconception people have about driving at Spa, Bilinski highlighted the significant elevation changes. Spa-Francorchamps features a 102.2m elevation change between its highest and lowest points.
“I’d say for myself it’s definitely spoken about the elevation change but when you come to experience it in real life, it’s even more than you can really imagine. When you’re at turn 5 and you’re looking down and you can see turn 1 all the way on the other side of the track and you see how different the elevation is it’s absolutely crazy. And what this does to the car is also something completely crazy. You have to adapt to driving to things like this but I’d say the elevation is the biggest thing.”
