Martinius Stenshorne continued his impressive start to the 2026 FIA Formula 2 (F2) Championship season with another strong qualifying performance at the Miami Grand Prix weekend, as the series tackled the Miami International Autodrome for the first time.
Stenshorne secured P3 for Rodin Motorsport in the F2 Miami Qualifying session with a time of 1:39.938, meanwhile ART Grand Prix driver Kush Maini secured pole position with a 1:39.888 and Rafael Câmara slotted into P2 with 1:39.921.
During the F2 Post-Qualifying press conference, with Pit Debrief in attendance, the Norwegian praised both his team and the improvements made between Free Practice and Qualifying, which helped unlock the pace in the car to secure P3 in the Qualifying session.
“Yeah it was good. Throughout the whole Quali we had great pace, Coming from FP [Free Practice] we were a bit behind, but together with the team, we found we did some good changes, so the car was really good to drive, and yeah big thanks to them for qualifying.”
Tyre management expected to play a key role
With Miami’s high temperatures creating difficult conditions for drivers and tyres alike, Stenshorne explained that managing the super-soft compound over even a single lap was challenging in the F2 Miami GP Qualifying session.
“It’s warm. Of course, like they said [Maini and Câmara], you have to try to keep even for one lap, it’s not always so easy with a super soft compound and this heat, but I think we did well. I think the degradation will be quite high for the races so it will be quite interesting.”
Like the rest of the F2 grid, Stenshorne arrived in Miami without any prior racing experience at the circuit. He highlighted how important simulator preparation had been heading into the weekend.
“Yeah it’s like the other two say it’s always very enjoyable to go to new tracks, unlock a few so you know them for the future. The preparation has been very important coming here, a lot of simulator work so yeah it’s been, it’s been hard, but very enjoyable when you get a result like this.”
The Miami weekend marks another new challenge for Formula 2, with the category racing in North America for the first time in its history.
Confidence growing after strong qualifying form for Stenshorne
With there being discussion about the challenges of the weather for Sunday’s Feature Race and whether it could be cancelled, Stenshorne explained that he will take it as it comes, by first looking to achieve strong results in Saturday’s Sprint Race.
“Yeah, but first of all, focus is on tomorrow’s Sprint Race and then we will take what we get on Sunday. First of all looking forward to tomorrow’s race and hopefully we have a good one.”
Stenshorne also reflected positively on his progress in qualifying compared to last season, admitting it had previously been an area he wanted to improve.
“Yeah it’s a good second quali of the year, I’m really happy with that. It wasn’t always a strength last year so coming into this season and having two good qualifying, is I’m really happy about that.”
He again credited the team for helping him make that step forward. “And a big shout out also to the team for helping me achieve this.”
With Miami featuring long straights and multiple DRS zones, the Norwegian believes overtaking opportunities should be available during both races.
“The races I think it’s going to be interesting and long DRS zones and warm weather, so I think overtaking should be possible. Hopefully we have good pace and we can move forward in tomorrow’s [Sprint] race.”
Carrying momentum from Melbourne to Miami
Although Stenshorne left the season opener in Melbourne with fewer points than he felt the pace deserved, he remains encouraged by the speed shown so far in 2026.
In the Feature Race of the Melbourne GP Round, Stenshorne and team mate Alex Dunne collided, where it was deemed that Dunne was predominately responsible for the incident, taking them both out of the race after appearing strong in the points.
“Yeah for me I think also the speed was very good in Australia qualifying P2 finishing P3 on track in the sprint race, but the penalty and then also leading the feature race before a crash.”
“I think the speed was very good, so I hope also for the races now we have good pace, and hopefully we leave with a bit more than than one point this time.”
The Rodin Motorsport driver also emphasised that the overall approach has remained unchanged despite the lengthy break between rounds.
“Not much has changed to be honest the approach is the same. I’m confident that we can, we can do well.”
Following qualifying, Stenshorne admitted he was happy to once again show strong pace around a new venue.
“Yeah I feel good after qualifying. Of course Australia the speed was very good, and unfortunately the results wasn’t as good, but the pace was there. I think we showed it in both the qualifying and races, so yeah, happy that we are starting this weekend strong again and hopefully we can leave with a good amount of points.”
