The sixth Qualifying session of the 2026 F2 season at the Austrian GP delivered an action-packed session, as Campos Racing’s Noel León stormed to his maiden pole position, full report below.
After a hectic and disrupted Free Practice session, Oliver Goethe topped the timings earlier today with a 1:16.978. With a tough start to his sophomore campaign so far, the MP Motorsport driver will be hoping a strong result finally comes his way this afternoon. With the field fighting close and the temperatures rising, the sixth Qualifying session of the 2026 F2 season was bound to be interesting.
Green light for Qualifying and early benchmarks
As 30 minutes ticked down, drivers headed out on track, with Alex Dunne leading the pack out of the pitlane. While no representative laps were set immediately, drivers completed several exploratory laps to bring their tyres into the right working window.
On track, the first driver across the line to set a representative lap was Dunne, who laid the benchmark with a 1:16.526. Both Campos Racing drivers were next across the line, displacing the Irishman at the top of the timings and filling the top two spots, with León leading the way with a 1:16.283.
Soon enough, Rafael Câmara’s first effort was enough to shuffle the Mexican down as the Brazilian claimed the top spot provisionally with a 1:16.052. However, as it stood, Câmara, León and Nikola Tsolov completed the top three.
León goes to the top with a well-executed lap
As the session reached its halfway mark, Câmara’s first effort remained unbeatable. Meanwhile, fresh off his FP1 outing with Ferrari, Dino Beganovic found himself well down the order, as the Swede returned to the pits after a failed first attempt.
With 21 drivers in the pits, León remained the sole driver left out on track as the Mexican driver started lighting up the timings. On an empty track, his final effort of the session saw him set three purple sectors, going to the top with a 1:15.544. Pleased with his lap, León’s well-executed lap was enough to put five tenths between himself and Câmara at the top.
León awaits his fate as drivers headed out for final runs
In the closing stages of the session, drivers headed back out on track for their final runs as the fight for pole intensified. After his final run, León returned to the pits and waited for drivers to complete their final push laps of the day.
While most of the field improved, his benchmark remained unbeatable for many. Pushing his car to the limits, Joshua Dürksen found the gravel traps at the exit of the final corner. Meanwhile, after setting an early benchmark, Dunne crossed the line with a 1:15.673, which was enough for him for a P2 finish. While Tsolov, Câmara and Minì appeared to be potential contenders for pole, León’s 1:15.544 remained unbeatable as the Mexican driver secured his maiden pole position.
