PREMA Racing’s Mari Boya will start both the F2 Sprint and Feature Races at the 2026 Australian GP from the back of the grid after stewards stripped him of his lap time for causing a Red Flag during Qualifying.
During the opening ten minutes of the session, Boya lost control of his car at the exit of Turn 12 and crashed into the barrier. While the Spaniard himself was unharmed in the incident, he could not return his car to the pit lane without intervention. As a result, Race Control halted the session, disrupting running for the remaining 21 drivers.
Boya penalised after Red Flag incident in F2 Qualifying at Australian GP
Following the session, the stewards reviewed video evidence and consulted the Race Director to determine the cause of the interruption. After examining the available information, they concluded that Boya was solely responsible for the Red Flag.
Consequently, officials ruled that the PREMA driver breached Article 33.5 of the FIA Formula 2 Sporting Regulations, which governs incidents that trigger session stoppages.
Because Boya caused the Red Flag, the stewards deleted his fastest lap time from the Qualifying results. The removal of Boya’s fastest lap left him without a representative lap time within the 107% cut-off required to qualify.
While this could have seen him out of the opening weekend of the 2026 F2 season, the stewards exercised their discretion and granted him permission to participate in both the Sprint Race and the Feature Race. Despite this allowance, Boya must start both events from the back of the grid.
The decision creates a difficult start to the 2026 campaign for the PREMA Racing driver. Instead of fighting near the front of the field, Boya will now focus on recovering positions during both races in Melbourne. Furthermore, the Melbourne circuit often makes overtaking difficult, which could complicate his progress through the pack. Nevertheless, with two races scheduled for the weekend, Boya still has opportunities to regain ground and salvage points from a challenging Qualifying session.
