Rafael Camara secured a dominant second Formula 2 pole position ahead of his rivals for a crucial Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend.
Behind the Invicta driver, it was his team-mate Joshua Durksen, proving the strong pace of the reigning F2 Constructors’ Champions. Alex Dunne, who rounded out the top three for Sunday’s feature race. A mixed top three has set the stage for an interesting race at a familiar venue.
After topping Free Practice earlier in the day, Laurens van Hoepen entered qualifying as the benchmark. The Dutchman led Roman Bilinski, fresh off the momentum of his maiden F2 podium in Monaco, while Alex Dunne completed the top three following a strong and consistent start to the 2026 campaign.
Lights out for F2 Qualifying
As qualifying got underway, Gabriele Minì was the first driver to establish a representative benchmark, posting a 1:25.652. However, the Alpine Academy driver only briefly held top spot before Alex Dunne lowered the mark to a 1:25.528.
Both drivers will benefit from prior F2 experience at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, a valuable advantage heading into the weekend. While all nine rookies on the grid have raced at the venue in junior categories, Minì and Dunne are among the few drivers with experience of the circuit in F2 machinery under race conditions. Critical experience as the weekend unfolds.
Surprisingly, the Hitech drivers, Ritomo Miyata and Colton Herta, seemed competitive in the early stages of the session. The pair topped the timing sheets early, staking their claim for a potential front row finish in Barcelona. Meanwhile, Dunne’s first representative lap was deleted as the Irishman exceeded track limits.
As the session approached the halfway mark, strategy became a key talking point. Herta and Miyata both returned to the pit lane for fresh tyres, while several teams delayed their first runs altogether. With less than 20 minutes remaining, only nine drivers had posted a flying lap time, suggesting teams were prioritising track evolution and preserving tyre life.
With 16 minutes remaining, championship contender Nikola Tsolov returned to the top of the timesheets with a 1:25.200, becoming the first driver to break into the 1:25s and briefly establishing himself as the benchmark.
However, his spotlight quickly went to Rafael Camara. The Invicta driver looked rapid throughout his entire lap, setting three consecutive purple sectors. The Brazilian delivered a rapid 1:24.810 to surge to the top of the order.
His effort placed him more than four tenths clear of the rest of the field. Emulating his pole position lap last season in his F3 championship winning year.
Last 10 minutes
10 minutes remained in the session, and drivers began to make their way back onto the circuit. Camara’s pace was the time to beat, with drivers eager to secure the best seat for the start of Sunday’s feature Race.
As the track continued to evolve, lap times improved rapidly across the field. Every driver found significant improvements on their second runs, with positions changing almost every time a car crossed the line.
Rafael Villagómez was among the first to challenge the established order, jumping to second place on the timing screens and reducing the gap to Camara’s benchmark.
However, his stay in second was short-lived. Championship leader Mini soon jumped just three hundredths of a second behind the Ferrari-backed driver in first. But it wasn’t for long, as Dunne finally set a competitive lap, without evading track limits. Slotting in just two hundredths shy of the Brazilian’s provisional pole position time.
Then it was Joshua Durksen’s turn to compete with his rivals. The Invicta driver moved just one hundredth behind his team-mate. Making an Invicta 1-2 for the provisional results.
The final minutes were abruptly interrupted when a red flag was deployed. Miyata crashed at the final corner, leaving his Hitech stranded in the barriers.
With just 3 minutes and 41 seconds remaining on the clock, the session was suspended, setting up a frantic final shootout when qualifying resumed.
Final dash for Pole Position
As the session resumed, most drivers parked in the pit lane. Only four drivers made their way onto the circuit as the lights went green at the end of the pit lane. A few other drivers made their way down the pit lane with two minutes remaining in the session.
Ollie Goethe had a lap time deleted and was down in 19th place. The German had no choice but to attempt an improvement around the circuit with the limited time he had. As the session ended, Goethe went 15th fastest, improving slightly but not enough to break into the top 10.
None of the other drivers who went out on track was able to set a competitive time, enough to beat Camara’s pole benchmark. Thus, the Brazilian was awarded his second consecutive pole position in the F2 weekends. Invicta proved they have a strong pace this weekend, as Durksen finished second, providing a front row lockout for the teams. Meanwhile, Dunne continued his strong qualifying form in 2026, rounding out the top three.
Tomorrow’s sprint race will be led by Campos’ Noel Leon, who will aim to emulate his Monaco GP Sprint victory.
READ MORE – Formula 2 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP – Qualifying Results
Discussion about this post