F2 | Qualifying | Qatar GP | Goethe claims maiden F2 pole - Motorsport

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Ollie Goethe went fastest in F2 qualifying at the 2025 Qatar GP, securing pole position for Sunday’s Feature Race. His MP Motorsport team-mate, Richard Verschoor, will start the Sprint Race from pole.

Formula 2’s penultimate round of 2025 opened with a lively Free Practice where championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli set the pace under the Lusail floodlights and dipped into the 1:38s. New gravel traps and the tricky Turns 8 and 9 caught out several drivers, while F3 graduates Nikola Tsolov and James Wharton stepped up to F2, intensifying the battle between the Invicta and Hitech TGR teams. With Fornaroli ahead of Beganovic and Dunne in FP, the field headed into qualifying with the pressure already high.

A busy start to the penultimate F2 Qualifying session of 2025

With a significant temperature drop of ten degrees, the first cars headed out on track on soft tyres, while Trident rookie Wharton appeared to be dealing with a technical issue. As the opening laps came in, both PREMA drivers led the pack, with MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe sliding his car between them. Their advantage did not last long, as championship leader Fornaroli put the yellow Invicta on top with a 1:37.850, followed closely by championship contender Crawford.

As the session edged on, Montoya saved his car going into Turn 13, while Beganovic spun on track. Fornaroli remained in the lead with a 1:36.996, while Joshua Dürksen had his lap time deleted for track limits. Red Bull Junior Goethe then moved up to P2, just behind Fornaroli, with a 1:37.071, while his team-mate Verschoor could only climb to sixth.

Fornaroli leads at the 30-minute mark

With 15 minutes left of F2 qualifying at the 2025 Qatar GP, the pack headed back into the pits, with Wharton still unable to set a lap. Cian Shields was the next to suffer from track limits, as his lap time was deleted. With just over ten minutes remaining, the first cars returned to the track, chasing Fornaroli’s earlier benchmark.

Meanwhile, Wharton started his first flying lap after earlier technical issues. Just as Browning began his fast lap—needing to break into the top ten to keep his championship hopes alive—Beganovic moved up to provisional pole with a 1:36.826. Fornaroli, however, had more to give, returning to first place with a 1:36.307 as he aimed to extend his championship lead even further.

Goethe on pole; two out of five title contenders out of the top 10

The championship fight remained wide open. Three of Fornaroli’s rivals were outside the top ten with only three minutes remaining. Verschoor hit back and moved up to P4. Fornaroli then went faster again, setting another purple first sector. With one minute left, Goethe jumped to provisional pole. Crawford then lost the car and abandoned his lap.

As the time expired, Crawford launched another flying lap in the hope of improving his time, but he failed to do so. That left one of the championship contenders down in P15, with Browning in P18, boosting Fornaroli’s prospects of sealing the championship this weekend from P2. Red Bull Junior Ollie Goethe claimed his first F2 pole position, just as Fornaroli failed to make his way back onto the track.