F2 | Qualifying | Spanish GP | Lindblad claims pole with dominant run - Motorsport

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Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad had an unstoppable Friday as he stormed to claim his maiden pole position during Qualifying at the F2 Spanish GP, full report and results below.

After a chaotic round at the Monaco GP, all drivers would hope to end the triple-header on a high. As Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad led the way during Free Practice, an in-form Alex Dunne followed closely behind. After their clash during the Monaco Feature Race, Dunne and ART GP’s Victor Martins collided once again whilst they entered the pits. The situation was investigated after the session and resulted in a 3-place grid penalty for Dunne in both races.

With Dunne’s 10-place grid penalty following his collision with Martins last weekend, this brings a total of a 13-place grid penalty for the Irishman tomorrow. Additionally, two penalty points were awarded to the Irishman, bringing his total to eight. Dunne must stay cautious, as reaching twelve penalty points would result in a race ban. In his championship pursuit, maximising points and staying out of any trouble will be important for Dunne moving forwards.

Green lights for Qualifying in Barcelona

30 minutes ticked down as drivers headed out their exploratory laps. In a warm and hot session, tyre management was key throughout to acing the completion of their fast laps. Across the line, Max Esterson was first to set off on a fast lap. The American’s first lap set the benchmark with a 1:26.388 for the rest of the field to chase. Up next, Dunne crossed the line with a 1:25.905 and claimed his position at the top. However, it was not long before Leonardo Fornaroli replaced Dunne at the top with a 1:25.755.

Replay showed home hero Pepe Martí dipping his tyres into the gravel, which resulted in the first lap time deletion of the session. With half the grid out on track, some remained in the pits deciding to put in late banker laps. As 20 minutes of the session remained, the track started to get busy as everyone started to head out. Again, Martí struggled to keep all four-wheels on track as he momentarily ran wide once again. Fresh off his FP1 outing with Williams, Victor Martins was next across the line to put a representative time on the board. However, it was only enough for P5 with a time of 1:26.155.

After topping FP earlier this morning, all eyes were on Lindblad as the young Briton lit up the timing sheets. With a storming middle and final sector, Lindblad shot himself to the top of the timings with a 1:25.492—putting two tenths between himself and Fornaroli. An impressive lap from Ritomo Miyata was enough to slot himself into P3 with a 1:25.816.

Final runs of Qualifying

Martí, Sami Meguetounif and Joshua Dürksen all had laps deleted due to track limits. All eyes were on them to put a representative time on the board. However, across the line, Dürksen’s lap was only enough to slot himself into P17 with a 1:26.680. After a short pause for drivers and teams to reset, they headed out on track once more for their final runs of the session.

As five minutes remained, Martí and Meguetounif were still the only drivers left without a representative lap time. Over the line, Martins’ next push lap was a 1:25.860. Although the Frenchman managed to improve his personal best, it did not look good for him as many drivers behind him were finding time. Next, the DAMS duo of Kush Maini and Jak Crawford crossed the line as their laps were enough to put them in the Top 10. Off his Sprint Race win in Monaco, Maini’s lap of a 1:25.510 was enough for P3. Subsequently, Martí executed a clean final lap that was much needed to put the Spaniard in P8 momentarily.

After a quiet session, Sebastian Montoya looked to be the driver to bring the fight to Lindblad. The Colombian driver went to the top momentarily to secure provisional pole with a time of 1:25.425. However, it was not long before an unstoppable Lindblad reclaimed his position at the top with a 1:25.180 to secure his maiden F2 pole position.

Making history in F2 once again, Lindblad now becomes the youngest ever pole-sitter in F2 history. However, all eyes will be on Fornaroli and Dürksen as they start on the front-row for the Sprint Race tomorrow.