Leon storms to first F2 pole, Ferrari Junior falls short as Herta struggles in Austria

Dunne was the first to hit the track in his Rodin, with the Alpine Junior setting the early reference lap. However, the first true benchmark of the session came from León, who set the pace with a 1:16.283 for Campos Racing.

The Mexican initially led teammate Nikola Tsolov by just over a tenth, with Joshua Dürksen placing third for Invicta, also within a tenth. Championship leader Gabriele Minì soon demoted the Invicta driver as the times continued to tumble.

With just over 19 minutes remaining, Ferrari Junior Rafael Câmara surged to the top of the timesheets with a 1:16.052, over six-tenths quicker than León at that stage. But the Mexican responded emphatically, delivering a stunning 1:15.544, more than half a second clear of Camara and nearly eight-tenths faster than Tsolov.

In the closing runs, both Dunne and Tsolov improved, but neither could threaten Leon’s benchmark. Dunne’s 1:15.673 was only enough for second, while Tsolov secured third with a 1:15.730. With no one able to beat his lap, León secured his first Formula 2 pole position, becoming the first Mexican driver to achieve the feat in the category.

Championship leader Minì finished fourth, ahead of Camara in fifth. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak took sixth, followed by Oliver Goethe. Rafael Villagómez was eighth, John Bennett ninth, and Sebastián Montoya completed the top 10. Former IndyCar driver and Formula 1 hopeful Colton Herta could only manage 20th in his Trident. Leon will therefore start the Feature Race from pole, while for the Sprint Race, he will line up eighth due to the F2 reverse-grid format. Bennett and Montoya will lead the field for the 28 laps Sprint.