Beganovic clinches inaugural pole in dramatic Melbourne qualifying

Dino Beganovic secured the first Aramco Pole Position Award of 2026, setting a 1:28.695 on his final lap to claim the top spot for DAMS Lucas Oil. The Swede’s last-gasp effort saw him beat out the Rodin Motorsport duo of Martinius Stenshorne and Alexander Dunne, who finished second and third respectively after both briefly held provisional pole in the closing moments.

The FIA Formula 2™ qualifying session was a stop-start affair, marred by two red flags. The first interruption came when Mari Boya suffered a snap at Turn 12, sending his PREMA Racing car into the barriers. Though the driver was unharmed, the session was halted while the track was cleared.

Following the restart, teams opted for fresh Pirelli rubber, but a second red flag was soon triggered when Gabriele Minì was forced to pull his MP Motorsport machine to the side of the track with a technical issue. The delays meant that when the session resumed for the final time, only three minutes remained—allowing the field just one flying lap to set their times.

Noel León secured fourth for Campos Racing, ahead of early pace-setter Nikola Tsolov in fifth. Rafael Câmara claimed sixth for Invicta Racing, followed by Kush Maini, Oliver Goethe, and Joshua Duerksen. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak rounded out the top ten.

The first race of the 2026 season, the Sprint Race, is scheduled for Saturday at 14:10 local time.