With Round 5 of the 2026 F2 Championship underway, home hero Mari Boya remains optimistic ahead of Barcelona. While it has been a tough season for PREMA Racing, the Spaniard hopes for redemption on home soil.
Speaking about racing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend, Boya said: “I’m 100% convinced that it’s the best week of the year. I’m doing the thing that I love the most, which is racing. I’m together with my friends and family, so it’s the perfect plan to have. It’s a track that I really like, I have a good experience and memories, so I’m super excited for this week.”
Putting everything together to make the difference
Before the Free Practice session, Boya emphasised the importance of driving a clean lap. As the F2 drivers are fairly familiar with the Barcelona track, it makes for an enjoyable session. Still, gaining the necessary data and information in Free Practice remains crucial.
“Everyone knows the track pretty well, so putting a clean lap together in here is crucial. We know how aggressive the surface of the track is, and being super smooth, especially in Sector 1 in order to have tyres for the rest of the lap and Sector 3, could make a big difference.
“I will try to put all this together to make the difference. It’s more about having a clean track, and we know that qualifying is all about the last push. We go only for one push, so we have more than time enough to make our laps, so it’s more about putting it together in this last final push.
“One thing that will change is having better pace arriving to the track, especially starting Free Practice, arriving into qualifying, changing a lot of things on the car, the time is pretty limited.”
As the Free Practice session concluded, Boya finished in P15. However, as always, the gaps in the F2 field are immensely narrow, and everything can change in the blink of an eye.
Boya takes positives into Barcelona
As 2026 marks Boya’s first season in F2, the rookie is still learning. So far, the Spaniard has claimed 10 points and sits 20th in the Drivers’ Standings. This weekend, he hopes to secure more points for himself and the team. The PREMA driver is confident that, if they find the right rhythm, they can fight their way through the field.
“It’s pretty difficult to find yourself a good rhythm as a driver, and also the confidence with the car. I think in Barcelona, with all the test points, it could be a bit easier.”, Boya said.
“There are positive things to take, and we have to go on that. F2 is pretty hard, especially in terms of strategy, and I’m pretty new at this, but at the moment it’s the thing that we are extracting the most.
“We are lacking just the speed and performance that we always had, but sadly at the moment it’s what we are missing and we have time to fix it.
“I would say in Monaco, we found some good conclusions in the Feature Race, so this also gives me motivation coming through my home race.”
While he is still getting used to F2 as Barcelona is only the fifth round of the championship, if everything comes together, he could be looking at a point-scoring weekend.
