Formula 2 (F2) began its 2026 Monaco weekend with the only Free Practice session of the round, giving the field 45 minutes of preparation before Friday’s crucial qualifying session.
With overtaking notoriously difficult around the streets of Monte Carlo, practice carried extra importance as drivers worked to build confidence before switching from the soft tyre to the supersoft compound for qualifying.
The session started with the full field on the soft tyres, but the running did not stay uninterrupted for long.
Goethe stopped early at Turn 16
Just before drivers could complete meaningful push laps, Race Control brought out the red flag.
Oliver Goethe had pulled off at Turn 16 and climbed out of his MP Motorsport car. He did not appear to have hit the barriers, and there were no obvious tyre marks at the scene, suggesting a possible mechanical or technical issue. Marshals retrieved his car, but the stoppage cost Goethe valuable mileage in F2’s only practice session of the 2026 Monaco weekend.
Once the session resumed, Rafael Câmara moved to the top with a 1:25.756, but the times quickly began to fall as the track evolved.
Dunne and Minì trade early benchmarks
Alexander Dunne soon moved to the head of the order for Rodin Motorsport with a 1:24.445, putting himself 0.7s clear of the field.
Laurens van Hoepen then broke into the 1:23s for Trident, setting a 1:23.967 before Dunne responded with a 1:23.478.
Joshua Dürksen had a close call when he locked up but managed to keep the car out of the barriers and continue. Meanwhile, Nikola Tsolov looked comfortable around the Monaco streets and ran third behind Dunne and championship leader Gabriele Minì.
Minì then moved fastest with a 1:23.180, edging Dunne by just 0.039s. However, the Irishman hit back again, setting a 1:22.763 to become the first driver into the 1:22s.
Traffic became an increasing issue as the track improved, particularly in the final sector, where drivers struggled to find clean air.
Villagómez crash brings second red flag
The F2 2026 Monaco Free Practice session stopped for a second time when Rafael Villagómez hit the barriers at the top of Casino Square ahead of Turn 4.
Replays showed the Van Amersfoort Racing driver suffered a snap through Turn 3 and could not catch the car before making contact with the barriers. Race Control red-flagged the session again while marshals cleared the car.
When the session restarted, the field had limited time left to complete final runs and gather data before qualifying.
Late incidents add to busy final minutes
The closing stages of the 2026 F2 Free Practice session in Monaco brought more on-track drama.
Kush Maini attempted a move on Cian Shields and later came under investigation for erratic driving. There was also contact at the Fairmont Hairpin between Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Sebastián Montoya, with Inthraphuvasak making contact with the PREMA Racing driver and damaging Montoya’s front wing.
With six minutes remaining, Dunne still led the session and remained the only driver in the 1:22s. Maini then moved up to third for ART Grand Prix, 0.4s down on Dunne’s benchmark.
Minì responded with a 1:22.531 to take provisional top spot, while purple sectors continued to appear across the timing screens in the final five minutes.
Minì edged Maini in final practice order
Van Hoepen briefly went fastest before Maini delivered a 1:21.829 to take over at the front.
A late yellow flag followed when Dürksen made contact with the barriers at Sainte Dévote. Once marshals cleared the Invicta Racing car, green flags returned and drivers pushed for one final improvement.
Minì could not initially improve enough and sat second, 0.119s behind Maini, but the championship leader found more pace before the chequered flag. He set a 1:21.809 to top the session by just 0.020s.
Dunne also improved late to take third, while Dino Beganovic climbed to fourth. Van Hoepen completed the top five for Trident.
Tsolov ended sixth, ahead of Noel León, Roman Bilinski, Martinius Stenshorne and Câmara, who completed the top ten.
Final Free Practice top 10
- Gabriele Minì — 1:21.809
- Kush Maini — +0.020
- Alexander Dunne
- Dino Beganovic
- Laurens van Hoepen
- Nikola Tsolov
- Noel León
- Roman Bilinski
- Martinius Stenshorne
- Rafael Câmara
Minì therefore ended Formula 2’s only Monaco practice session fastest, but the close margins, two red flags and late incidents underlined how difficult qualifying could become on Friday.
