Martinius Stenshorne secured a points finish in the 2026 F2 Miami GP Sprint Race, crossing the line in P6 for Rodin Motorsport. The Norwegian had qualified third on Friday, starting P8 on the reverse grid for the Sprint.
On the podium, however, it was Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov who took a dramatic victory. Tsolov and Laurens van Hoepen had traded the lead in a breathtaking final lap battle. However, a bold move around the outside in the closing corners handed Tsolov the win, with Alex Dunne completing the podium in P3.
Stenshorne satisfied with points haul
Speaking to Formula 2 after the F2 Miami Sprint Race, Stenshorne was broadly positive about his result. He felt a higher finishing position had been within reach, but the underlying pace he and the team showed gave him plenty of encouragement. That pace, he suggested, would count for more in Sunday’s Feature Race.
“It was a good race, started P8, finished P6, so happy with that. P5, maybe P4 was on the cards, but I didn’t really manage to do it in the end. But the pace was good, so looking forward to tomorrow,” Stenshorne stated.
DRS battle with Minì cost Stenshorne at the 2026 F2 Miami GP Sprint Race
When asked what ultimately limited his result, Stenshorne pointed to an early fight with Gabriele Minì. The pair battled over track position in the opening laps. In doing so, they dropped out of DRS range to Stenshorne’s teammate, Alex Dunne, ahead. Stenshorne felt that was the moment that decided his race.
“It’s difficult to say. Me and Gabriele [Minì] were fighting quite a lot in the beginning. We lost DRS to Alex, so I think we kind of lost our race there,” he stated.
While Stenshorne and Minì closed the gap to the cars ahead in the F2 Miami GP Sprint Race at the end, the race simply ran out of time. Reflecting on this, he was straightforward about what the team needs to focus on going forward.
“We caught up at the end, but there just was not enough time to do it. I think we just have to be consistent, try to pick up as many points as we can, and then we can be satisfied with that, so hopefully another one good tomorrow.”
Stenshorne targets Feature Race win after 2026 F2 Miami GP Sprint Race
With Sunday’s Feature Race offering a much larger points haul, Stenshorne is looking ahead. He acknowledged the Florida heat as a challenge, particularly for a driver from Norway. However, he was clear that the team would use the overnight break to address it. Starting from P3 on the grid, he left no doubt about his ambitions.
“Well, first of all, the race was really hot, to be honest. Me being from Norway, I’m not so used to the heat, but for sure we can improve maybe a few things for tomorrow and then we will be ready to go again.”
From third on the grid, Stenshorne believes victory is well within reach on Sunday.
“We will be going for the win as always. Starting P3, I think that’s within reach, so we just need to get everything right, and then see where we end up,” Stenshorne concluded.
