The Formula 2 Championship Round 5 takes place in Barcelona, the end of the first European double-header. Rafael Câmara was the fastest overall in the Qualifying session and will take the Formula 2 pole for the Feature race on Sunday. Joshua Dürksen, who qualified second, will be investigated after the session for a yellow-flag infringement.
First stint for the pole
Gabriele Minì was the first driver to post a representative lap time, setting a 1:25.6 to briefly top the timesheets. Rodin Motorsport soon demonstrated strong pace and moved to the front, before a flurry of improvements saw several drivers challenge for provisional pole.
One of the early surprises came from Colton Herta, who climbed to the top of the order with a 1:25.387. As the track continued to evolve, lap times rapidly improved across the field.
Fifteen minutes into the session, Nikola Tsolov, the current runner-up in the championship, registered his first lap and took provisional pole. Meanwhile, Rafael Câmara started his session a bit later compared to the rest. Yet, in his first timed lap, Câmara set a 1:24.810 and claimed provisional pole.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is traditionally one of the most demanding venues for tyre performance, placing significant stress on the tyres through its long, high-speed corners. As a result, track temperatures and evolving circuit conditions are often decisive factors in qualifying, with drivers needing to extract maximum performance from the tyres within a narrow operating window.
Last run for the Formula 2 pole
With five minutes remaining, Câmara remained on provisional pole ahead of Tsolov. Herta dropped down to fourth, and only Cian Shields and Alexander Dunne hadn’t set a time yet.
Dunne’s first representative effort was deleted for exceeding track limits, but the Rodin Motorsport driver responded immediately on his next attempt, jumping up to second place and placing himself firmly in contention for pole.
Several drivers started setting their last laps as the session was red-flagged when Ritomo Miyata hit the wall. The run for the Formula 2 pole was stopped; the Invicta Racing lineup took a provisional front row with Câmara leading. Both Mari Boya and Oliver Goethe were handed track limits, and their times were deleted.
Rafael Câmara remains unbeaten
The session got restarted with less than 3 minutes on the clock. Roman Bilinski was the first driver on track; however, neither the Invicta Racing nor the Campos Racing drivers went out.
No driver was able to improve sufficiently during the closing moments, allowing Rafael Câmara to secure the Formula 2 pole position for Sunday’s Feature Race. Dürksen completed an Invicta Racing front-row lockout in second place, although the Paraguayan remained under investigation after the session for a potential yellow-flag infringement.
