Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar, having just stepped out of the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, has taken Pole in the F2 Qualifying session of the 2024 British GP. The Pole is the first of his Formula 2 career. He will start the Feature race on Sunday alongside ART’s Victor Martins, with MP’s Dennis Hauger in P3.
A costly mistake by Championship leader Paul Aron saw him lose a critical flying lap, demoting the Hitech GP driver to start in P12 for both races this weekend. A better weekend for PREMA could be on the cards, as Bearman starts P5 for the Feature and Antonelli starts on reverse grid Pole in the Sprint.
As it Happened
Isack Hadjar, Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto were back from their Formula 1 FP1 session and out on track to set the grid for the coming races. With 12 different winners in 14 races, the grid were eager to put their cars in the best positions possible in the F2 Qualifying at the 2024 British GP..
Dennis Hauger was out on track first followed by Colapinto, who was hot off his Formula 1 FP1 session. Rain was beginning to fall before the first flying laps were logged – luckily for the grid, it would not prove pivotal in the session.
Aron found himself embroiled in a fight for track position with an AIX before the racing had even started for the weekend. Drivers were eager to snag a good spot in their outlaps. Hauger was first to post a flying lap time with a 1:41.053, followed by Kush Maini 0.1s quicker. Bearman was up unto the lead next with a 1:40.918, eager to recover the remainder of his F2 season before being promoted to F1 next year. Aron slotted into P2, four hundredths off of Haas F1 Team’s 2025 recruit.
Ten minutes in, a second wave of flying laps seen Hauger move up into P1, followed by Maini. Maini was once again at the top of the times, hitting 1:40.378. The Hitech of Aron, however, was hot on his heels and straight to the top by 0.16s.
Track Limits Trouble
Further down the grid, practice session polesitter Joshua Dürksen was sitting in P10 having excelled in Qualifying so far this season. However, he fell victim to Copse Corner track limits and his lap time was deleted. He was demoted to P21, just above Pepe Martí who was another driver to lose his time to track limits at Copse. The Spaniard was demoted to P22.
The two PREMAs of Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, both sitting in the top ten by the approach of the halfway point, were forced to abort their laps and return to the pits. The F2 season has been less than ideal for the Italian outfit so far this season. At the midway point, Aron sat in P1, followed by Maini and Zak O’Sullivan. The majority of the drivers entered the pits to stick on a new set of Soft tyres.
With twelve minutes to go, cars began to return to the track. Once again, it was Hauger and Colapinto leading the pack back onto the Silverstone Circuit. Villagomez was yet to return to the track due to an issue with the Van Amersfoort car. Behind them, the grid were tussling for position on the outlaps.
Disaster for Aron
With seven minutes to go, things fell apart for Aron. The Hitech Pulse-Eight was sent spinning at Turn 1 as he began his flying lap, triggering a yellow flag. While he was able to keep the engine running and return to the pits, he was missing crucial track time.
The green flag was once again waved moments later, allowing drivers to embark on their next flying laps with six minutes to go. The Red Bull Junior of Hadjar was into P1 with a 1:39.368. Martins leapfrogged the pack but unable to put it on Pole, slotting into P2, 0.251s behind.
Antonelli, on the hunt for reverse grid pole, put it into P6 while his teammate Bearman set a P4-worthy lap. Times were tumbling across the grid now; O’Sullivan improved to P5, knocking Aron out of the reverse grid standings and down to the bottom half of the grid for both races. O’Sullivan’s lap was subsequently deleted, but Aron remained out of contention for Sprint pole.
Chequered Flag
As the chequered flag was waved on the F2 Qualifying session at the 2024 British GP, Hadjar returned to the pits in P1 having posted a 1:39.368. Martins remained in P2, two tenths behind. Hauger will start the race behind Hadjar on Sunday in P3, beside Colapinto in P4.
Antonelli will start on reverse grid pole in the Sprint beside Maloney. Behind them, Maini and Crawford will look to battle it out for more crucial Championship points.
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Photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency via Campos Racing