RAFAEL CAMARA CLAIMS F2 POLE POSITION AT MONZA
Ferrari Driver Academy Rafael Camara delivered a flawless performance in qualifying to secure pole position for the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The Brazilian driver set a blistering 1:31.326 lap time to top the timing sheets. The result locked in a front-row sweep for Invicta Racing and provided Camara with a vital advantage in his pursuit of the Drivers’ Championship title, putting pressure on standings leader Nikola Tsolov.
The 30-minute session was filled with intense track-position battles and constant changes at the top of the leaderboard as the 22-car grid searched for crucial slipstreams. Campos Racing’s Noel León set the early pace during the initial benchmark runs, posting a time that temporarily placed him on provisional pole by just 22 milliseconds over Camara. However, Camara responded rapidly on his secondary attempt, reclaiming the top spot before the field retreated to the pit lane for fresh rubber ahead of the final runs.
In the dying moments of the session, team-mate Joshua Dürksen put together a stellar lap to join Camara at the front of the grid. Dürksen stopped the clock at 1:31.383, missing out on pole position by a mere 57 milliseconds to complete Invicta Racing’s front-row lockout. Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne staged an impressive recovery to claim third place with a 1:31.472. Dunne had compromised his early running by running wide through the gravel trap, but he rebounded sharply on his final attempt to finish just 146 milliseconds off the benchmark time.
Early pace-setter Noel León was unable to match the final improvements of the front-runners and settled for fourth place with a 1:31.581. Rodin Motorsport’s Martinius Stenshorne rounded out the top five, putting late sector improvements together to post a 1:31.675 and outpace championship leader Nikola Tsolov, who finished sixth for Campos Racing with a 1:31.736. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak placed seventh, while Hitech’s Ritomo Miyata and MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe finished eighth and ninth respectively. Trident’s John Bennett took tenth position, earning him reverse-grid pole position for Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Home favorite Gabriele Minì endured a tough session, missing out on the top ten and finishing 11th overall with a 1:32.071, roughly three-quarters of a second off the pole time. The Italian driver was followed closely by Roman Bilinski and Prema Racing’s Mari Boya, who both set identical lap times of 1:32.099.
Sebastián Montoya finished 14th, while Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagómez and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Dino Beganovic filled 15th and 16th. Further down the order, Nico Varrone, Laurens van Hoepen, Enzo Fittipaldi, Colton Herta, Kush Maini, and Cian Shields rounded out the field, with FIA stewards placing Boya under post-session investigation for impeding during heavy traffic.
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