F2 | Qualifying | Abu Dhabi GP | Invicta Racing claims 1-3 with Staněk on pole - Motorsport

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The final Qualifying session of the 2025 FIA F2 season, at the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP, delivered relentless tension, dramatic swings in pace and numerous track-limit setbacks. In warm and windy conditions, the field fought through deleted laps, late improvements and heavy traffic, as Roman Staněk ultimately emerged on top in a fiercely contested battle for pole position.

Crawford and Dürksen take the early lead

The final Qualifying session of the 2025 F2 season began at 15:00 local time under warm yet windy conditions. Several drivers, including Jak Crawford, Luke Browning, Arvid Lindblad and Cian Shields, returned from FP1 outings with various F1 teams and immediately resumed F2 duties. Although Crawford initially topped Free Practice, he opened Qualifying by setting a 1:55.904. However, Victor Martins swiftly displaced him, and soon afterwards PREMA Racing’s Sebastián Montoya produced the first representative lap with a 1:37.972, edging teammate Gabriele Minì.

Crawford quickly responded and reclaimed the benchmark with a 1:37.633, while Joshua Dürksen slotted into second only 0.091 seconds behind. Meanwhile, Browning, Martins and Laurens Van Hoepen dropped to the bottom of the order after losing their lap times for track-limit infringements.

Mid-session battles and shifting order

With just under 20 minutes remaining, Montoya retook the top spot with a 1:37.604. Yet Crawford answered again, posting a 1:37.552. Dürksen, however, delivered the best middle sector of the session and moved into P1 with a 1:37.464. Behind him, newly crowned 2025 F2 Drivers’ Champion Leonardo Fornaroli rose to second on a 1:37.599. At the same time, Lindblad lost another lap for a track-limit violation and fell to P21, joining Van Hoepen without a lap within the 107% threshold. Moments later, Roman Staněk climbed to P5, pushing Dino Beganovic down to P6.

At the halfway point, Dürksen remained on top from Fornaroli, with Montoya third, Crawford fourth and Staněk fifth. Beganovic held P6, followed by MP Motorsport pair Oliver Goethe and Richard Verschoor in seventh and eighth, while Martins sat ninth. Martinius Stenshorne completed the top ten. Lindblad and Van Hoepen, however, remained at the bottom without representative times. As the field returned to the pits, Race Control announced that Browning and Lindblad were under investigation for impeding.

Track limits continue to affect the field

When running resumed, pressure intensified. Browning, down in P18 with an uncompetitive 1:38.754, and Lindblad, still without a lap time, headed back out on fresh tyres. Track limits continued to plague the field; Alex Dunne in P15, Campos rookie Nikola Tsolov in P17 and Browning all lost laps. Furthermore, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Ritomo Miyata also dropped to the bottom after additional deletions, leaving Inthraphuvasak without a recognised time and Miyata without a lap inside 107%.

Final stint and rapid position changes

As the final stint began, Lindblad briefly jumped to the top with a 1:37.247. Nevertheless, Goethe and Beganovic immediately bettered him, with Goethe initially taking P1 on a 1:37.040. His celebration was short-lived, though, as Race Control deleted his lap, pushing him down to P16.

Consequently, Montoya, Crawford and Staněk improved, and Staněk seized provisional pole with a 1:36.836. Crawford moved into second on a 1:37.033, ahead of Montoya on 1:37.040. Beganovic slotted into fourth, while Martins rose to fifth. Dürksen fell to seventh behind Lindblad as the times continued to shuffle.

Goethe, however, struck back with a clean lap of 1:37.096 and moved into fifth, just ahead of Fornaroli on a 1:37.129. Beganovic briefly surged up to second, yet Crawford once more improved with a 1:36.923 and pushed him back. Despite this, Staněk still held provisional pole heading into the frantic final minute.

Although Alex Dunne improved late on, he missed the top ten and settled for P11 with a 1:37.329, followed by Verschoor in P12 with a 1:37.440.

Final attempts and session conclusion

With only seconds remaining, Fornaroli, Beganovic and Browning all launched final attempts. Fornaroli, however, encountered traffic and abandoned hopes of beating his teammate. As a result, he remained third, leaving Staněk and Crawford to lock out the front row after a Qualifying session defined by tight margins and constant disruption.