ART Grand Prix’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak achieved a career-best P2 finish during Qualifying at the 2026 F2 Spa-Francorchamps round, securing himself a front row start for Sunday’s Feature Race. Having built momentum over the past few rounds and currently enjoying a run of three consecutive points-scoring finishes, the Thai driver’s achievement marked another significant step forward for both himself and ART Grand Prix.
Speaking in the post-Qualifying press conference attended by Pit Debrief, the 20 year-old reflected on his session, expressing satisfaction with his lap and highlighting the tow he managed to secure. Although losing time in the final sector ultimately cost him the chance to fight for pole position, Inthraphuvasak was pleased with how he and the team executed a chaotic Qualifying session.
“It was a good lap overall, I had a really good tow from the car in front, but then got caught up a bit in the last sector with him being a bit too close, so I think we lost time in the last sector which prevented us from getting pole, but yeah, happy to manage a good session after a crazy session basically.”
Looking to capitalise on front row start: “Hopefully bring back a good result”
“Not so much, I think we expected it to be more wet from the beginning of the session, but going out of the box straight away, it was pretty dry already, and already the first set was full dry basically.”, Inthraphuvasak said when asked whether drivers experienced significant track evolution towards the end of the session.
“So yeah, it was not too much of a change, but having two red flags in between makes things a lot harder obviously, and I think with the supersofts this year, having a lot of deg through the lap as well played a big factor too.”
Having shown glimpses of strong race pace throughout the season, the Thai driver acknowledged the overtaking opportunities around Spa-Francorchamps. However, he hopes Saturday’s Sprint Race will provide valuable lessons ahead of the Feature Race as he looks to secure a strong result for the French outfit.
“Yeah, I mean this track is known for having good overtaking opportunities, I think I’ve had a tough season so far, nothing really gone our way last week in Silverstone, also having a bit of a tricky Feature Race.”
“So I’m looking forward to building my way tomorrow and trying to learn as much as possible for Sunday and hopefully bring back a good result.”
Managing track position during Qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps
Around the 7.004km circuit, Qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps is always defined by drivers jostling for position in search of the perfect tow. When asked how drivers and teams managed finding the optimal track position after exiting the pit lane, Inthraphuvasak explained: “Yeah, I mean it’s a track that you need a good slipstream to be able to do a good qualifying, so everyone looks for a good tow.”
“I think in the qualifying we had as well the front guy boxed, so everyone followed as well, so yeah it was a messy session overall, but I think coming from F3 last year it’s a bit easier to manage in F2, so it wasn’t all bad.”
Echoing similar sentiments of his fellow top-three finishers, Rafael Câmara and Alex Dunne, Inthraphuvasak believes the balance between risk and reward remains the same at Spa-Francorchamps as it does at any other venue.
“Yeah like the other two said, I think it’s the same for every other track. I think if you look at the gaps this year it’s been really small so you can’t really take it easy; otherwise, obviously, you won’t do a good qualifying. So I think it doesn’t change much overall.”
Inthraphuvasak: Degradation on the supersofts will be “a huge thing”
For 2026, Pirelli opted for a softer tyre allocation for this time around, bringing the supersoft compound instead of the soft tyre that featured last year. Discussing his approach to the final run following the late red flag, Inthraphuvasak revealed that he and much of the field expected the biggest gains to come on their first flying lap on the fresh rubber.
“I think with the supersofts this year coming into quali, we didn’t expect to improve on the second push. I think we all expected it to be on the first push, so with the red flag coming in and most people already doing half of their lap or more I think played a big factor.”
He continued: “I think a lot of people are improving on the just before the red flag as well so probably affected them but I think after the red flag everyone, most people, managed to improve so yeah it was about nailing the lap in the last lap.”
With most drivers acknowledging the high degradation levels of the supersoft tyres, Inthraphuvasak expects tyre management to be a key factor in determining the outcome of the Feature Race. He believes the advantage will go to the driver who can preserve their tyres the best.
“I think for me it’ll be interesting to see how the deg is on the supersoft on Sunday.”, he said. “I don’t imagine it to be great, so I think having the deg being a factor in the races is a huge thing, and I think overall it’ll be about who managed the tyres the best.”
“Let’s see how tomorrow goes. I think we can learn from tomorrow, so I’ll work with my team tonight, and hopefully we can have a good car for tomorrow.”
“Slowly getting there” with ART Grand Prix
When asked by Pit Debrief how this result reflects the momentum and confidence he has built over the past few rounds, the 20-year-old reflected on his season so far, saying: “Yeah, I think overall if you look at my overall season, it’s been a tough season. But for me, the pace has always been there in the last two rounds, qualifying inside the top six and now P2.”
“I think we’re slowly putting it all together and being up in the front, so yeah, I’m happy with how we’re moving, not only myself, but the team.“
Inthraphuvasak credited the strong relationship he has built with ART Grand Prix for helping regain confidence in the car. After pulling out of the Montreal round and a tough run of races, the Thai driver believes they are gradually turning things around.
“I think we’re working together really well; they’re giving me a lot of confidence through every session and every lap that I do in this car.”
“I had the massive setback in Montreal where I had to put up both races from the crash, so yeah, it’s been a tough start of the season but I think we’re slowly getting there now.”
Inthraphuvasak: “We’ve been working really hard […] to king of maximise everything”
He acknowledged that the team has faced a different challenge compared to previous years, but highlighted the hard work being done to maximise every opportunity.
Inthraphuvasak said: “I think like Alex [Dunne] mentioned earlier this year has not been exactly the same as last year from knowing what the team has experienced. Obviously I was not driving in F2 last year, but from what we’ve discussed and what we’ve been through this year, I think it’s not completely the same thing, so we’ve been working really hard throughout the season to kind of maximise everything.”
With ART’s experience and an additional DRS zone, Inthraphuvasak remains confident they can deliver a strong result across both races.
“ART have a very good experience through these years. They’ve been very successful so it’s a great team for me to build as a driver. I think there’s plenty of opportunities not only tomorrow but Sunday.”
“There’s three DRS zones now, so a lot of overtaking opportunities, and let’s see how our race pace is, but I think we can pull together a good result.”
Inthraphuvasak confident strong Qualifying result sets up weekend fight
“Yeah, I mean I think the approach from the last two rounds has been the same for this round. I think we were working really hard with the team to have a good pace and be consistent throughout the whole championship.”, Inthraphuvasak explained when discussing how his recent run of strong results has boosted his confidence heading into this weekend.
Starting P9 for the Sprint and on the front row on Sunday, Inthraphuvasak acknowledged that it puts him in a strong position for both races. With Spa-Francorchamps offering multiple overtaking opportunities, he is confident that a strong Qualifying result provides a solid foundation to fight for strong results this weekend.
“I think it was a good qualifying. I think you have to have a good qualifying everywhere to set up your whole weekend basically. So now being P2, I think we are in a very good position for both races. Spa being a track that, like you said, has a lot of straight lines and different opportunities as well, I think will be good in the races.”
