F2 – Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying: Arvid Lindblad takes his first F2 pole position
Arvid Lindblad took his first Formula 2 pole position in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. At 17, he became the youngest polesitter in the series' history. He beat Sebastian Montoya by almost 0.25 seconds. Kush Maini completed the top 3.
Record of precocity in Barcelona. Arvid Lindblad clocked a time of 1:25.180 during the Formula 2 qualifying, resisting Sebastian Montoya’s late offensive to claim his first pole position. The Campos Racing driver made history by becoming the youngest polesitter in the series at only 17 years old.
Lindblad hits hard right off the track.
The 30-minute qualifying session began with a split strategy. Eleven drivers chose to stay in the pits, while the others immediately hit the track to set their initial lap times.
Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing) set the initial benchmark at 1:25.755, taking a 0.150-second lead over Alex Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) after their first fast laps. Roman Stanek, Fornaroli’s teammate, slipped into third position.
When the second half of the field joined the track after ten minutes, Lindblad immediately took the lead. The Briton, who had already dominated free practice earlier in the day, set a time of 1:25.493, more than two and a half tenths faster than Fornaroli.
Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix), returning to F2 after his participation in the Formule 1 free practice sessions, initially ranked fifth before other drivers improved their performances. Ritomo Miyata (ART Grand Prix) climbed to third place, followed by Jak Crawford (DAMS Lucas Oil) in fourth position.
Montoya threatens, Lindblad responds
The final assault began with just over five minutes remaining. Championship leader Luke Browning (Hitech) was then struggling, sitting in 14th place and needing an improvement to salvage his session.
Kush Maini (DAMS Lucas Oil) first threatened Lindblad’s pole position by getting within just 0.018 seconds. Then, Sebastian Montoya caused a sensation by temporarily dethroning the Briton with a time of 1:25.425, achieved thanks to a particularly fast first sector.
Lindblad’s response was swift. In his final lap, the Campos driver clocked the three fastest sectors of the session to set a time of 1:25.180 and reclaim pole position.
Montoya maintained second place ahead of Maini, who completes the qualifying podium. Stanek finished fourth thanks to a late improvement, ahead of Dunne.
The Irish driver, title contender, has received a three-place grid penalty for both races of the weekend after a collision with Martins during free practice in the pit lane. This sanction is added to a ten-place penalty already received for the Monaco incident.
Fornaroli, tenth in qualifying, will inherit the reverse pole position for Saturday’s sprint race.
