F2 – British Grand Prix – Qualifying: Victor Martins takes pole at Silverstone

Victor Martins struck at the right moment. The ART Grand Prix driver waited until the final minutes of the F2 qualifying for the British Grand Prix to deliver the finishing blow and secure pole position. With a time of 1:39.731, the Frenchman edged out Alex Dunne by 65 thousandths in an exciting finish at Silverstone.

Martins, a member of the Williams academy, confirms his consistency in qualifying this season with a sixth start on the front row. However, he is still in search of his first victory in 2025, despite his steadiness during Saturday sessions.

Verschoor leads the way, the times go wild.

The 30-minute session began with Sebastian Montoya (Prema Racing) setting the initial benchmark at 1:41.225. Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport), the championship leader, quickly took command with a time of 1:40.777, outpacing Luke Browning (Hitech) by more than three tenths.

Martins, who had dominated the free practice earlier in the day, then claimed the provisional pole with a time of 1:40.710. Several drivers had their times deleted for exceeding track limits, including Browning, Joshua Duerksen, Gabriele Mini, and Dino Beganovic.

The session was neutralized by a red flag after Amaury Cordeel spun at turn 18, immobilizing his car without being able to restart. This interruption left several drivers without reference times, including Max Esterson, Sami Meguetounif, Kush Maini, Mini, and Ritomo Miyata.

Crawford breaks everything, Martins responds accordingly.

At the restart with 18 minutes remaining, Alex Dunne was the first to significantly improve his position, jumping to third place less than a tenth behind Martins. His teammate Miyata had to abandon the session due to a technical problem.

Jak Crawford then caused a surprise by setting the reference time of 1:39.971, lowering the record by more than seven-tenths. Montoya slid into second position while Verschoor, who was fast in the first two sectors, made a mistake in the last section which deprived him of the provisional pole. Roman Stanek took advantage of the confusion to briefly move into second place, relegating Montoya.

But Martins hadn’t said his last word. With four minutes remaining, the Frenchman set the record straight with a 1:39.731 that regained him pole position. Crawford then found himself relegated to two tenths behind, and the hierarchy seemed established.

Dunne responded in the final moments with a remarkable lap on worn tires, missing the pole by just 0.065 seconds. His performance allowed him to take second place from Crawford, who completes the qualifying podium.

Stanek matched his best qualifying result this season with fourth place, ahead of Montoya who finished fifth. Duerksen was classified sixth, followed by Verschoor who couldn’t convert his initial pace. Beganovic and Maini will start from the grid in eighth and ninth positions.

Leonardo Fornaroli secured the tenth place, synonymous with reverse pole position for the sprint race, relegating Arvid Lindblad to the eleventh spot. The British driver, who was making his return after his first free practice sessions in Formula 1 with Red Bull, will face a challenging weekend at Silverstone.

Cordeel, responsible for the red flag, received a penalty after the session. His best time was deleted for causing the interruption, removing him from the final standings. However, the stewards granted him permission to start both races of the weekend.