Rafael Câmara claimed pole position in a disrupted 2026 F2 Qualifying session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, leading an Invicta Racing front-row lockout ahead of teammate Joshua Dürksen. The Brazilian set the benchmark with a 1:24.810 before a late crash for Ritomo Miyata at the final corner brought out the red flag with 3:41 remaining. Although Qualifying resumed at 16:30 local time, few drivers improved in the closing minutes, leaving Câmara on top ahead of Dürksen and Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne.
Early runs set the tone in F2 Qualifying at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP
F2 Qualifying got underway at 15:55 local time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with 18 of the 22 drivers heading out for the 30-minute session. The early runners focused on building heat into their Soft tyres and brakes before pushing for representative lap times.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Nico Varrone set the first time with a 1:42.489. However, the early laps did not reflect the likely competitive order, as drivers continued to bring their tyres into the right operating window.
Soon after, Varrone improved to a 1:26.025 and briefly moved to the top. However, several rivals quickly found more pace and pushed ahead of him.
Herta leads after the opening phase
Invicta Hitech’s Colton Herta then moved to the front, while Ritomo Miyata, Joshua Dürksen, Alex Dunne, Martinius Stenshorne, Gabriele Minì, Oliver Goethe and Rafael Villagómez also improved.
However, Dunne lost a lap time for a track limits violation, which dropped him to P11 behind AIX Racing’s Cian Shields and Campos Racing’s Noel León.
After the opening 10 minutes, Herta led the timesheets with a 1:25.387. Dürksen followed in P2 with a 1:25.441, while Miyata sat third with a 1:25.442. At that stage, the order remained unsettled, especially as several drivers still needed to complete representative runs.
Tsolov and Câmara raise the pace
As the session approached its halfway point, Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov raised the benchmark with a 1:25.222. The Bulgarian moved to provisional pole ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Kush Maini.
However, Rafael Câmara quickly responded. After initially posting a 1:41.724, the Invicta Racing driver delivered a much stronger lap and surged to the top with a 1:24.810. He set the fastest times in all three sectors and went four-tenths clear of Tsolov.
With around 13 minutes remaining, most of the field returned to the pit lane for final adjustments before the decisive final runs.
Late runs spark a frantic finish in F2 Qualifying in Barcelona
With 10 minutes left, Câmara continued to lead from Tsolov, who also faced a post-session investigation for a potential pit-lane infringement. Maini held third, ahead of Herta, Dürksen, Miyata, Laurens van Hoepen, Stenshorne, Minì and Villagómez.
Meanwhile, Dunne continued to struggle with track limits. His best valid lap stood at a 1:45.163, which left him outside the 107% cut-off time of 1:30.746. Shields also lacked a representative lap, with a 1:38.507 standing as his best valid effort.
With just under seven minutes remaining, the drivers returned to the track and began a frantic final push for position. Race Control then noted Varrone for an unsafe release, adding another potential post-session concern.
Miyata crash brings out the red flag
Câmara kept his place at the top as the final attempts began. Dürksen produced a strong lap and moved into P2 with a 1:24.945, just over a tenth behind Câmara. However, he was soon noted for a potential yellow flag infringement. He was eventually referred to the stewards for a post-session investigation.
Dunne finally set a competitive lap and jumped to third with a 1:25.035. Minì climbed to fourth with a 1:25.144, while Villagómez, Tsolov and Varrone also improved inside the leading group.
However, Goethe lost his improved lap to a deletion and dropped back to P19.
Then, with 3:41 left on the clock, Miyata crashed into the barrier at the final corner and triggered a red flag. The stoppage paused the session and halted the field’s final runs.
Câmara stays clear after late restart
At 16:30 local time, F2 Qualifying resumed with 3:41 left on the clock. However, the drivers took their time returning to the track, while several leading contenders opted to remain in the pit lane.
After a difficult session, DAMS Lucas Oil’s Dino Beganovic headed back out early. Herta, who sat P8, Stenshorne in P15, Roman Bilinski in P16, Goethe in P19, and the AIX Racing pair of Shields and Enzo Fittipaldi in P21 and P22 also joined him on track.
Fittipaldi improved on his next lap, but his 1:25.664 only moved him up to P18. Meanwhile, Goethe climbed to P15 with a 1:25.535. Beganovic then ran wide, breached track limits and failed to improve.
As the chequered flag fell, Câmara remained at the top with his 1:24.810. Dürksen completed an Invicta front-row lockout for Sunday’s Feature Race, while Dunne rounded out the top three after recovering from his earlier track limits setbacks.
Câmara therefore took pole in Barcelona after a disrupted but controlled Qualifying performance, with late drama and post-session investigations still shaping the final picture.
