DAMS Lucas Oil’s Dino Beganovic conquers the MADRING to take his second pole position of the 2026 F2 season at Madrid, full report below.
Nikola Tsolov set the pace in a disrupted Free Practice at the Madring on Friday morning, while Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak’s car caught fire after hitting the barriers at Turn 19, cutting the session short. The F2 field had no prior competitive running at the new Madrid circuit. The 2026 F2 Spanish GP Qualifying session gave all 22 drivers their first real chance to string together a complete flying lap around the Madring.
Maini and Montoya bring out the first red flag
All 22 drivers headed out on soft tyres as soon as the pit lane opened. With only limited laps from practice to draw on, banking a representative time early was the priority. Track temperature sat at 52 degrees, placing tyre management into play even across a single flying lap.
Kush Maini had shown strong pace in practice but became the first driver to fall victim to the MADRING, bringing out the first red flag of the session. Further behind, Sebastian Montoya clipped the rear of his car as the Colombian driver made his way through the La Monumental section. The PREMA driver limped back towards the pits before stopping at pit entry, as the team worked to repair the damage to his suspension. The clock stopped at just under 24 minutes remaining.
Before the stoppage, only Varrone, Villagómez, Bennett, van Hoepen, and Câmara had crossed the line. None had set a fully competitive time.
Qualifying for the 2026 F2 Spanish GP resumes as Tsolov goes quickest
The field headed straight back out when the green light came on with just over 22 minutes remaining. Dunne was one of the first to set a representative time, jumping to the top before Tsolov went fastest with a 1:46.328, edging Dunne by just 0.002 seconds. The order at the top had Tsolov, Dunne, Bilinski, León, Beganovic, Câmara, van Hoepen, Stenshorne, Bennett, and Herta.
Beganovic had gone quickest through the first two sectors but lost time with a small moment in the final sector, leaving him frustrated with what could have been a quicker lap. Montoya’s PREMA team worked frantically throughout the stoppage to repair the car and remarkably got him back out on track, giving the Colombian another opportunity to set a time.
Qualifying for the F2 Spanish GP was stopped again when Varrone hit the barriers at Turn 19 through the mid-corner. He was ruled the sole cause of the second red flag. The clock stopped at 18 minutes and 47 seconds remaining.
Bennett brings out another red flag as Beganovic claims pole
The session resumed for the third time with the track rapidly improving. Dunne jumped to the top before Beganovic displaced him, setting a 1:45.182 and then improving again to a 1:44.578. He then delivered the lap of the session with a 1:44.331, going almost a second clear of the field.
The session ended when Bennett hit the barrier at Turn 13 after going quickest in the first sector. He was ruled the sole cause of the third red flag. In the chaos that followed, Herta also hit the wall while on what appeared to be a very competitive lap, ending any chance of a surprise result from the American.
However, Beganovic’s 1:44.331 remained unbeatable as the Swede claimed his second F2 pole position of the season, as Dunne and Câmara rounded out the top three despite the late drama.
