Alex Dunne topped the sole Free Practice session of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 (F2) British GP weekend at Silverstone. Read the full session report below.
Round 7 of the 2026 F2 season sees the championship battle continuing to intensify, with Gabriele Minì leading the Drivers’ Standings ahead of Nikola Tsolov and Rafael Câmara.
With Pirelli bringing the hard and soft tyre compounds to Silverstone, the field headed out on the harder compound to begin the 45-minute practice session.
Rodin Motorsport set the early pace
Sebastian Montoya was the first driver to top the timing screens during the F2 Free Practice session at the British GP, putting PREMA Racing on top with a 1:42.555. As the drivers completed their opening laps and brought the hard tyres up to temperature, the lap times quickly began to tumble.
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak briefly moved to the top before Alex Dunne edged ahead with a 1:43.143.
Minì had his opening representative lap deleted for exceeding track limits, but responded on his next attempt with a 1:42.865 to move to the top of the standings.
Rodin Motorsport soon asserted themselves at the front, however, with Dunne setting the fastest lap of the session so far with a 1:42.513. Teammate Martinius Stenshorne followed him into second on a 1:42.859, giving the team an early one-two as the session settled into its rhythm.
The Silverstone Circuit catching drivers out
A brief yellow flag interrupted the session after Minì made slight contact with the barriers. The championship leader was able to continue, although he appeared to be struggling with the balance of his MP Motorsport machinery. Mari Boya also had a moment, running wide before gathering his PREMA Racing car and rejoining safely.
Câmara was the next driver to move to the top of the timing screens, setting a 1:42.136. DAMS Lucas Oil’s Roman Bilinski also looked competitive around Silverstone, climbing to second with a 1:42.646.
The times continued to tumble as the session progressed, with Kush Maini, Alex Dunne and Dino Beganovic all slotting themselves between Câmara and Bilinski, each dipping into the 1:42s as the fight at the top intensified.
20 minutes left of the sole Free Practice session
Colton Herta’s session came to an early end after the Hitech TGR driver pulled off to the side of the circuit with a mechanical issue, bringing out another brief yellow flag.
TRIDENT’s John Bennett climbed to third with a 1:42.461, before Joshua Dürksen went slightly quicker to take over the position with a 1:42.398.
Nikola Tsolov was also noted for a yellow flag infringement, with the incident set to be investigated after the session.
At the front, Beganovic and Bilinski improved to second and third respectively with laps of 1:42.141 and 1:42.326. However, Dunne responded once again, reclaiming the top spot with a 1:42.065.
With just eight minutes remaining, the battle at the front was incredibly close, with the top 10 drivers covered by less than half a second.
Track limit deletions playing a role this weekend
As drivers continued to run wide around the Silverstone Circuit, several lap times were deleted for track limits. Sebastian Montoya then climbed to fourth with a 1:42.253, finishing less than two-tenths adrift of Alex Dunne’s benchmark.
With around five minutes remaining, Race Control activated a planned Virtual Safety Car test. The field reduced their pace to the required delta time, effectively bringing any final qualifying simulation runs to an end and preventing further improvements before the chequered flag.
Dunne ended the sole Free Practice session on top for Rodin Motorsport, ahead of Câmara in second and Beganovic in third, with the field now turning its attention to Friday afternoon’s all-important Qualifying session.
See the full 2026 British GP F2 Free Practice session results here.
