ART Grand Prix’s Kush Maini claimed the Sprint Race victory at the 2026 F2 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, full report below.
On Friday, Trident’s Laurens van Hoepen led the way in Free Practice, setting the pace ahead of Qualifying later that afternoon. However, it was Invicta Racing’s day, as Rafael Câmara stormed to pole position in a dominant display, while teammate Joshua Dürksen completed a front-row lockout, with Alex Dunne finishing just behind the duo.
Unfortunately for the Paraguayan driver, he was handed a five-place grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement and will start both races further down the field. However, for Sprint Saturday, Noel León will start on the front row once again alongside Kush Maini, who starts in P2.
Time for the F2 Sprint Race at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP!
As the lights went out, it was a timely launch off the line for Maini, who immediately found himself in the lead as the pack headed down to Turn 1. Similarly, Nikola Tsolov had found his way past Colton Herta, who got a slow launch, as he attempted a move around the outside of his teammate León. However, further down the field, drivers were all jostling for positions.
Having received a five-place grid penalty, Dürksen’s day continued to go downhill as the Paraguayan driver found himself in the gravel, dropping all the way down the field. Meanwhile, Maini had the race under control and started to build a gap out in front.
Attempting a move around the outside, Gabriele Minì made his way past Herta. However, with DRS open, Tsolov made a move around the outside of León and pulled ahead of the Mexican as they headed down to Turn 1. After his incident with Dürksen, Martinius Stenshorne was handed a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision
León struggles for pace
Having started on the front row, León struggled for pace. Around the outside, Minì made his way past the Mexican driver to claim P3. Soon enough, Herta closed in on the Campos driver and looked set to be the next driver to overtake León. On Lap 9, many drivers started to receive warnings for track limit violations.
Having built a 4.8 second gap out in front, Maini appeared to struggle with tyre degradation, as Tsolov managed to reduce that gap down to 3.3 seconds in two laps. On a redemption drive, Dürksen was looking to make progress back up the field.
Further down the field, the battle for the final points-scoring positions intensified. Câmara, who was desperate to attempt a move on Rafael Villagómez, remained helpless as Dino Beganovic continued to trail behind. A DRS train started to form behind the Van Amersfoort Racing driver.
After struggling during the early stages of the race, Herta had finally made his way past León, claiming P4 on track. Meanwhile, the fight between Câmara and Villagómez continued. The Brazilian driver attempted a move around the outside of Turn 1 but eventually backed out of the move. However, after receiving black-and-white flags several laps earlier, Villagómez received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
More penalties for track limits
The next driver to receive a five-second time penalty was Bilinski. Several laps later, the DAMS Lucas Oil driver received another five-second time penalty for track limits. However, as five laps of the race remained, Villagómez continued to plummet down the field. Heading down to Turn 1, Sebastian Montoya found himself in a side-by-side battle with Nicolás Varrone.
Meanwhile, out in front, the battle for the final spots on the podium intensified. With DRS open, Minì made his way past Tsolov for a provisional P2 finish. Chasing Minì down, Herta started to close in on the Italian driver. Forced to defend, a decisive and bold lunge down the inside of Tsolov saw the American reclaim P3. Having lost a front-wing end plate, Tsolov led a three-way battle for P4.
Unfortunately for Herta, the American locked up heading down to Turn 5, running into the gravel trap on the last lap. A maiden podium for Herta slipped out of his hands. However, out in front, a controlled race from lights-to-flag saw Maini claim ART Grand Prix’s first podium and win of the season.
