F2 – Austrian Grand Prix – Qualifying: Leonardo Fornaroli snatches pole from Victor Martins by 14 thousandths
Leonardo Fornaroli took pole position in the Austrian F2 Grand Prix, beating Victor Martins by 0.014 seconds. The Italian set a time of 1:15.229 on his final lap to claim his second pole of the season, denying the Frenchman his first pole of 2025.
Leonardo Fornaroli snatched pole position from Frenchman Victor Martins in the final seconds of the F2 Austrian Grand Prix qualifying. The Italian edged out the French driver by just 0.014 seconds with a time of 1:15.229 at the Red Bull Ring, securing his second pole of the season. Richard Verschoor completes the qualifying podium, 0.024 seconds behind the poleman.
Mini starts the hostilities, Fornaroli follows.
The 30-minute session began with the mandatory super-soft tires. Luke Browning (Hitech GP) set the initial benchmark at 1:16.111 before being quickly surpassed by Sebastian Montoya and Gabriele Mini (Prema Racing). The latter temporarily took the lead while Verschoor slotted into second position.
Fornaroli then took the lead with a time of 1:15.769, relegating Martins to second place by only 0.001 seconds. Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing) was in fifth position while Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport), the championship leader, struggled to find the pace.
The Italian from Invicta Racing was one of the few drivers to improve his time during the second stint, lowering the mark to 1:15.574, nearly two-tenths ahead of Martins. Joshua Duerksen (AIX Racing) then climbed to second position, causing a new reshuffle in the standings.
At mid-session, the drivers returned to the pits to fit fresh tires before heading out for another set of fast laps. Many struggled to improve during these second attempts, making the initial laps on new rubber all the more crucial.
A head-to-head in the final moments
The last five minutes resulted in an intense battle for the pole. Dunne, who was languishing in 18th position, urgently needed improvement. Jak Crawford first climbed to third place before Mini momentarily took the lead, only to be immediately dethroned by Verschoor with a time of 1:15.253.
Fornaroli improved his time but only for second place, allowing Martins to take the provisional lead with a gain of 0.010 seconds over the Dutchman. In this shuffle of positions, Amaury Cordeel (Rodin Motorsport) slipped into fifth place.
Fornaroli’s final attack made the difference. The Italian clocked the two fastest opening sectors of the session to set a time of 1:15.229 and reclaim pole position with a margin of 0.014 seconds over Martins. Verschoor, who spun in the penultimate corner, was unable to improve and retained third place.
Dunne finally salvaged his session by climbing to seventh place, narrowly avoiding disaster. Mini finished fourth ahead of Cordeel, with Roman Stanek sixth, completing the top six. John Bennett (Van Amersfoort Racing), in tenth, will inherit the reverse pole position for Saturday’s sprint race.
It should be noted that Arvid Lindblad and Josep María Martí (Campos Racing) received three-place grid penalties for obstructing other competitors during the session.
