NOEL LEÓN CLAIMS HIS FIRST EVER POLE POSITION IN FORMULA 2
Formula 2 qualifying got underway at the Red Bull Ring under very hot conditions. Temperatures were even higher than earlier in Free Practice, where Oliver Goethe had been the fastest driver for MP Motorsport.
Alexander Dunne was one of the first drivers to make an impact. Despite a big lock-up at Turn 3 on his first flying lap, he still managed to set the fastest time with a 1:16.526. His time did not stay at the top for long, however, as Campos Racing quickly moved to the front with Noel León ahead of Arvid Lindblad Tsolov in a temporary 1-2.
Rafael Câmara looked extremely fast during the first runs and was quickest in the opening sector of one lap. However, traffic in the second sector forced him to abandon the attempt, leaving him down in the order.
Gabriele Minì soon moved up to third place as the lap times continued to fall. Câmara responded on his next attempt and moved to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1:16.052.
As the session continued, some drivers returned to the pit lane for fresh tyres while others stayed out for extra laps. Dunne improved to tenth place, but Colton Herta ran wide at the penultimate corner and remained outside the top ten.
The track then went quiet as teams waited for the perfect moment to begin their final runs. At that stage, Câmara led León and Tsolov, while Minì and Rafael Villagómez completed the provisional top five.
With twelve minutes remaining, León returned to the track on fresh supersoft tyres and immediately delivered a stunning lap of 1:15.544. The Campos driver moved more than half a second clear of the field and put himself in a very strong position for pole.
The final ten minutes saw the entire field return to the circuit on fresh tyres for one last attempt. Dunne set the fastest first sector, while Goethe moved up to second place. Minì briefly became León’s closest challenger before both Tsolov and Dunne improved again to move ahead of him.
Câmara looked capable of fighting for pole after another strong start to his lap, but a difficult final sector left him only fifth at the chequered flag.
At the end of the session, nobody was able to beat León’s remarkable lap. The Campos driver secured pole position ahead of Dunne, who finished just 0.129 seconds behind, while Tsolov completed an excellent result for Campos in third place.
Championship leader Gabriele Minì finished fourth, with Câmara taking fifth place. Inthraphuvasak qualified sixth ahead of Goethe, Villagómez, Bennett and Montoya, who completed the top ten.
Sebastian Montoya will start from pole position for the Sprint Race, with John Bennett alongside him on the front row and Rafael Villagómez lining up in third after the reverse-grid shuffle.
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