At the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia, Dino Beganovic clinched the first Formula 2 pole position of the season during qualifying, while Colton Herta made his championship debut under demanding conditions. The DAMS driver secured pole by executing a flawless final lap, setting a time of 1:28.695 seconds, narrowly outpacing Martinius Stenshorne by over two-tenths.
Beganovic’s Rodin Racing teammate, Alex Dunne, secured third place following an intense finish to the half-hour qualifying session, during which 20 drivers scrambled to set their best laps in a tight three-minute window. Despite facing a crash in his initial practice session, Herta managed to qualify 14th for both the sprint and feature races, demonstrating a solid performance while adapting his driving style from IndyCar to Formula 2 with the Hitech GP team.
Qualifying Session Disrupted by Crashes and Track Interruptions
The F2 qualifying format at Albert Park followed a continuous 30-minute session rather than being broken into elimination segments like Formula 1. Early lap times were competitive, but multiple red flag interruptions disrupted the rhythm. The first stoppage came ten minutes in when Mari Boya crashed heavily at Turn 12, sliding wide, skimming gravel, and impacting the barriers, causing significant damage.
“ð´ RED FLAG ð´Mari Boya hits the wall on the exit of Turn 12.#F2 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/r0cUlOwLTS”
A second red flag was triggered near the end of qualifying as Gabriele Mini, Alpine Academy driver and fastest in earlier practice, stopped his MP Motorsport car on the exit of Turn 10. The session was paused with nine minutes remaining, but with Formula 1 second practice approaching, time continued to run down while Mini’s car was cleared from the track.
Once the track reopened, all drivers rushed back for their final attempts in limited space, pushing Beganovic to claim pole position ahead of his Rodin teammates Stenshorne and Dunne. Noel Leon and Nikola Tsolov from Campos followed closely in fourth and fifth, with Tsolov having led before the last red flag.
Complete Qualifying Placements Reflect Competitive Field
The top ten was rounded out by reigning Formula 3 champion Rafael Camara in sixth for Invicta, Kush Maini of ART in seventh, and Oliver Goethe of MP Motorsport in eighth. Mercedes development driver Joshua Durksen qualified ninth, and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak secured tenth, earning pole for the reverse grid sprint race on Saturday.
Laurens Van Hoepen and Roman Bilinski completed the following positions before Hitech’s Ritomo Miyata and Colton Herta. Herta’s 14th place demonstrated a respectable effort, particularly given the shift required from his IndyCar background. Meanwhile, Sebastian Montoya faced difficulties to finish 15th, followed by Rafael Villagomez and John Bennett.
The remainder of the grid included veteran Emerson Fittipaldi, Nico Varrone, Cian Shields, Gabriele Mini, and Mari Boya. The qualifying session painted a competitive picture ahead of the opening weekend races in Melbourne.
Implications and Outlook for Herta’s F2 Campaign
Colton Herta’s debut in Formula 2 reflects a promising start despite the challenges posed by adapting to a new series and overcoming setbacks in practice. His ability to qualify well among experienced drivers highlights his potential as he continues to gain experience in F2 machinery. The strong performances by Dino Beganovic and Rodin Racing demonstrate early season form that may influence the upcoming race strategies.
With both sprint and feature races on the horizon at Albert Park, all eyes will be on how these qualifying results translate into race pace and consistency. Herta’s progress and resilience could play a significant role in his transition to the series and his quest for competitive results throughout the season.
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