Fourth pole position of the season for Paul Aron, who outpaced Bortoleto by over three-tenths. Surprise performance from Beganovic, while Hadjar continues to struggle.
Paul Aron’s star shines bright in the Qatar night! The Estonian Hitech driver secures an extraordinary pole position after dominating this morning’s free practice session, delivering an almost flawless performance the fastest lap on every pass across the finish line. Excellent second place for championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto, over three-tenths behind the pole-sitter but fully aware he maximized his potential.
In third place is Victor Martins, who will be joined on the second row by the true surprise of this session, Dino Beganovic. The Swedish driver, making his Formula 2 debut this weekend, overcame the challenge of missing the entire morning free practice session due to a technical issue, qualifying in fourth place thanks to an impressive lap at the end of the session.
Rounding out the top ten are Verschoor, Crawford, Maini, Goethe, Hadjar, and Bearman, who will start from pole position in tomorrow’s Sprint Race. The French Campos driver, currently second in the championship, delivered an excellent final effort after spending most of the session outside the top ten.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli ended up only eleventh, with his final lap ruined by the presence of Rafael Villagomez’s Van Amersfoort in the last sector, costing him the crucial tenths that would have placed him in the top ten. Even more challenging for Maloney, who qualified in seventeenth place in his final Formula 2 race.
F2 Qatar Qualifying: the session recap
We come to the Formula 2 qualifying session after a hectic free practice, which saw a Virtual Safety Car caused by a problem with Dino Beganovic’s DAMS car, standing in for Juan Manuel Correa, and a red flag triggered by a spin from Luke Browning’s ART car.
The fastest this morning was Paul Aron, who looked immediately comfortable on the Lusail circuit, which hosts Formula 2 for the first time after previously hosting a 2009 GP2 Asia Series event. Right behind him was the championship leader, Gabriel Bortoleto, who needs to defend his lead against Isack Hadjar, though the latter struggled during this afternoon’s Free Practice session.
The first attempt for everyone is now over: Paul Aron picks up where he left off this morning, becoming the first driver to go under 1:38, with a time of 1:37.619. Second, over four-tenths behind, is Ollie Bearman, followed by Martins and the surprising Max Esterson, making his F2 debut this weekend. Gabriel Bortoleto is fifth, while Isack Hadjar is in eleventh place.
After a cooling lap, the drivers complete their second attempt: following a close call exiting turn 13, Paul Aron improves by more than a second, setting a new fastest time of 1:36.614, still ahead of Martins and Bearman, who swapped positions. Gabriel Bortoleto is fourth, ahead of Verschoor, while Isack Hadjar moves into top ten, securing tenth place.
The drivers then complete a third attempt: Verschoor, Bortoleto, Martins, and Goethe. The championship leader, Bortoleto, narrowly beats Aron by just 28 thousandths to take the provisional pole position. Martins and Verschoor do not improve their times, while Oliver Goethe rises to eighth place after a strong performance in this morning’s free practice session. Meanwhile, there’s a big scare for John Bennett, who spins out of the final corner but manages to get going again.
New tires for everyone: Paul Aron reclaims the top spot, putting almost three and a half tenths on Bortoleto, who remains in second. Andrea Kimi Antonelli makes a strong climb to sixth, though still over a second behind the leader. Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar drops to fourteenth, currently outside the top ten and not in the running for a spot in the Sprint Race.
The timing screen lights up like a Christmas tree: Verschoor temporarily moves into first place, but Paul Aron crosses the line right after him, beating him by over six-tenths. Gabriel Bortoleto follows closely, astonishingly bringing himself within just 23 thousandths of the Hitech driver Aron.
A great response from Isack Hadjar, who, despite all the difficulties, manages to move up to sixth place. Unfortunately, Andrea Kimi Antonelli faces traffic from Villagomez in the final sector, costing him a few precious tenths.
Final attempt for everyone: Paul Aron improves by another three-tenths, securing his fourth pole position of the year. In a surprising turn, Dino Beganovic, who missed the entire free practice session, climbs to fourth place on his debut. Ollie Bearman moves up to tenth, knocking Andrea Kimi Antonelli out of the virtual pole position for tomorrow’s race. Meanwhile, Luke Browning ends his session in the gravel once again.
The appointment is set for 17:20 Italian time for what promises to be a fiery Sprint Race, with Hadjar starting from the front row and Bortoleto in fourth.
PHOTO: Formula 2.