McLaren driver misses out on pole in first race after being crowned champion

The 21-year-old clocked a staggering 1:36.836, topping the timing sheets ahead of Jack Crawford and teammate Leonardo Fornaroli.

Joshua Duerksen led much of the early stages of qualifying, setting a lap time of 1:37.464, three-tenths faster than championship winner Fornaroli. The pair were closely followed by Sebastian Montoya, who was aiming for pole in his Prema car. However, on his final push lap, Montoya managed a quick enough time to briefly usurp the front-running duo.

The Colombian’s hopes of claiming pole for Prema were short-lived, as Invicta Racing’s Roman Stanek delivered a blistering lap of 1:36.836, almost two-tenths faster than Jack Crawford, to secure pole position.

Red Bull Racing junior Arvid Lindblad was also in contention to claim the top spot in his final F2 race, but his best effort only earned him 10th place.

Dino Beganovic for the Hitech GP team clocked the fourth fastest time. Fornaroli, who recently joined the McLaren Racing family on his final push to snatch pole, found himself just half a tenth off Stanek and had to settle for third.

The qualifying session concluded with Stanek on pole, Crawford in second, and Fornaroli in third. Beganovic finished fourth, followed closely by Montoya in fifth.

MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe claimed sixth, with Victor Martins and Duerksen completing the top eight. Red Bull junior drivers Nikola Tsolov and Lindblad rounded out the top 10.

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