The F2 Qualifying 2026 British GP saw Camara secure pole position. Dunne qualified in second with Maini completing the top three.
Conditions for the Formula 2 qualifying session at Silverstone were hot and breezy, with a track temperature of 44 degrees and an air temperature of 24 degrees. The strong wind added another layer of difficulty for the drivers
First sets of laps
As soon as the green flag waved, around half of the grid immediately left the pit lane to begin preparations for their first runs. Five minutes later, the entire field was out on track, although no representative lap times had yet been set as the drivers focused on building tyre temperature and finding clean space.
Gabriele Minì was the first driver to put in a proper push lap, setting a 1:41.437. His time did not stand for long, however, as Dino Beganovic soon displaced him at the top before Kush Maini emerged fastest after the first sequence of push laps with a 1:40.764
Several drivers had their early efforts deleted for exceeding track limits, including Oliver Goethe and Alexander Dunne, underlining how demanding Silverstone was in qualifying trim. Ten minutes into the session, the second runs began, and Dunne produced the fastest lap at that stage with a 1:40.536, 0.228 seconds quicker than Maini, who remained second.
With 15 minutes still remaining, many drivers returned to the pits after completing two push laps. At that point in the session, the provisional top three stood as Dunne, Maini, and Câmara.
Second sets of laps
With 12 minutes to go, all drivers returned to the track on fresh sets of soft tyres for the decisive phase of qualifying. Most completed two warm-up laps before beginning their final push efforts, trying to make sure the tyres were in the best possible operating window.
Minì was again the first to complete a representative lap on the new set. As the laps came in, the improving track conditions became obvious: one driver after another lit up the timing screens with fastest first sectors, before Nikola Tsolov briefly put together the best first and second sectors and then went purple in all three to move to the top.
Roman Bilinski then stole first place with a 1:39.967, but the order kept changing. Maini briefly went fastest before Câmara delivered a 1:39.690 to take top spot, with Dunne just 0.2 seconds slower as the session entered its final four minutes.
After his flying lap, Tsolov reported over the radio that it was the lap of his life. At that moment, the top three were Câmara, Dunne, and Maini, while several drivers prepared for one final attempt.
In the final minutes, questions remained over whether the track would improve enough for another meaningful gain. Minì, Tsolov, and Maini all headed back to the pits with three minutes remaining. For the ones still out, the expected final improvements never fully arrived.
With two minutes left, Dunne aborted his lap, and it soon became clear that several drivers had given up on improving further and were returning to the pits. By the final minute, around half the field was already back in the pit lane, bringing the session to a subdued close.
Results
That sealed the grid as it stood : Camara clinched pole position ahead of Dunne and Maini, with Bilinski in fourth and Tsolov in fifth.
Noteworthy mentions include Miyaata and Mini, who qualified 9th and 10th, placing them on the front row for the reverse sprint grid.
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Formula 2 will be back tomorrow at 1:45 pm local time for the seventh sprint race of the season.
F2 Qualifying 2026 British GP Featured image credit: Invicta Racing