Rafael Camara claimed a mind-blowing first-ever Formula 2 pole position ahead of Sunday’s crucial Monaco Feature Race.
Behind Camara was Nikola Tsolov, who set the fastest time of Group B to claim a front-row start. Rounding out the top three was Alex Dunne, who narrowly finished behind a fast-charging Camara in their group qualifying session.
After a stint in North America, the series returns to Europe for the ever-important European leg of the Championship. However, the series’ welcome back takes place on one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar.
F2 will follow the same qualifying format as Formula 3 earlier in the day. The grid was divided into two groups: Group A featured drivers with even race numbers, while Group B featured drivers with odd race numbers.
Group A sets the pace early
As the drivers began their first flying laps, it was Invicta’s Rafael Camara who set the pace early in the session. The Brazilian set a 1:24.3, but it wasn’t without trouble. Camara made late contact with the wall on the final corner of the lap, damaging his car.
Alex Dunne quickly overtook the reigning Formula 3 champion, setting a blistering 1:22.247, eight tenths clear of his closest rival behind. This continues Rodin Motorsport’s strong form over the past few weeks, particularly after a double podium finish in Canada last time out.
Meanwhile, another driver who has been incredibly strong this season is Dams’ Dino Beganovic. The Ferrari-backed driver flexed his speed in the principality by topping the timing sheets with a 1:21.947. Championship leader Gabriele Mini was able to manage second, a mere thousandths behind his rival.
With less than four minutes remaining in the session, the red flag was brought out following John Bennett’s major collision with the wall at Turn 1. This ill-timed red flag ended the session for the Trident driver, and stopped many drivers’ flying laps.
But for Invicta and Camara, the red flag allowed them to fix the early issues for the car. Allowing Camara to potentially move up the order.
The session was back underway with three minutes remaining in the session. Importantly, Camara was to get back on track after his team promptly fixed his car following an early incident. Further behind him, Noel Leon hit the wall and lost parts of his car, yet managed to go faster than anyone else, claiming provisional pole position with a 1:21.595.
But he was quickly replaced by Camara, who, with only two flying laps before that, went fastest with a 1:20.923. Despite the best efforts of his rivals in his qualifying group, no one else was able to match his time. Leaving the Brazilian fastest for Group A, with Dunne and Mini rounding out the top three.
Group B chases the fast times
The other half of the grid immediately made their way onto the circuit, hoping to better the pace set by Camara early.
Kush Maini hits Lauren Van Hoepen, and the TRIDENT driver is stuck on the kerbs and out of the session. Bringing out the red flag just three minutes into the session. This marks both TRIDENT drivers out of qualifying, causing a red flag in both groups.
The session resumed with 13 minutes remaining in this part of qualifying, and no drivers had yet to set a competitive time.
Nicola Varone immediately changed that, with the Van Amersfoort driver setting Group B’s pace at a 1:23.431. However, the place was immediately taken over by last year’s F3 pole-sitter Nikola Tsolov, who went three hundredths quicker than his fellow rookie rival. The Red Bull academy driver, albeit in different machinery, had a masterclass weekend in Monaco last season. After losing the championship lead in Canada, the Bulgarian would love a repeat here on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Meanwhile, in his Monaco debut, Colton Herta sets an immense pace around the tricky circuit. The American briefly went to the top of the timing sheets following a 1:22.672 lap time. However, the experience of Maini was able to outclass his rival, moving the Indian driver to the lead almost a second clear of Herta.
After limited running yesterday, Ollie Goethe, managed to put his MP Motorsport car into P3, two tenths behind Maini’s fastest time. But with three minutes left in the session, pole was still tightly contested.
Final battle for pole in Group B
Tsolov misses out on the fastest overall time with two minutes remaining in the session by a thousandth of a second. But there was still time on the clock for one final run.
Martinius Stenshorne sets his final flying lap, topping the table briefly with a time of 1:21.274. However, once again, it was the Bulgarian driver Nikola Tsolov, who showed why he broke F3 records in his last Monaco race.
Despite the blistering pace from Tsolov, it was not enough to beat the insane finish from Invicta Racing and Camara. The Campos driver will start the race from the front row alongside his Invicta rival. Dunne, Stenshourne and Beganovic round out the top five for Sunday’s Feature Race.
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s Sprint race, Invicta and Campos have locked out the front row for both races. Durksen will start in reverse grid pole, with Leon alongside him.
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