Formula 2 remained in North America for Round 3 of the 2026 season – swapping the Miami sun for a cooler Canada. Two Sprint weekends on the bounce is exactly what fans yearned for after a lengthy break between Australia and Miami. The racing has well and truly returned with F2’s first ever race weekend in Montréal providing all the drama – a tough act to follow in the future.
With the championship beginning to heat up, let’s take a look at the key takeaways from Formula 2 in Canada.
Formula 2 in Canada – A Safety Car-Ridden Debut
The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montréal is an iconic venue in motorsport – a firm favourite amongst both drivers and fans. Highly regarded for its speed, heavy-braking chicanes, low-downforce, and the infamous Wall of Champions. Combined with often unpredictable mixed conditions, the circuit rarely fails to deliver edge-of-your-seat racing action.
After a long wait, the time finally came for the venue to host its first ever Formula 2 event. Becoming the 21st different circuit to be raced at in the FIA F2 Championship, while Canada becomes the 18th different host nation.
With no previous race weekends held here in F2, nobody knew what to expect. However, Canada lived up to its reputation, providing twists and turns at every corner – a weekend which will be remembered for years to come for its countless number of incidents. Proceedings began with two red flags in Qualifying – a first sign of what was to come. Safety car-ridden races followed, with two in the Sprint and double this in Sunday’s Feature Race, plus, a VSC in both for good measure.
The weather made things difficult, especially in the Feature Race. Cool, rain-threatening conditions left the track surface slippery and treacherous, contributing to many incidents and mistakes made. So many disruptions and time spent under safety car restrictions resulted in the race being switched from full distance to timed.
Sprint and Feature Races
Out of the 22-car grid, 16 drivers took the chequered flag in the Sprint. The Feature Race saw this number drop to 14. 12 retirements across the weekend, with ART’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak withdrawing from Round 3 altogether on medical grounds after a heavy crash in Qualifying.
Across the two races, four different drivers stood on the podium. Whilst already marking a history-making weekend, two of these drivers also achieved huge milestones with maiden race wins and podiums.
A wide range of point scorers, combined with several lead changes and incidents, has undoubtedly made a huge case for the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve to become a regular host venue in F2. Canada’s place on the 2027 F2 calendar remains undecided. Its inclusion could become a major talking point – one fans would welcome.
A Weekend of Maiden Wins and Podiums
Formula 2 in Canada saw two drivers become race winners and podium finishers for the first time in their F2 careers.
Starting from third in the reverse grid Sprint after qualifying eighth, Campos Racing’s Noel León made Mexico proud by fighting back from a difficult start to take the race win. A late safety car allowed him to pile the pressure on Gabriele Minì. Shortly after the restart, he made his move into Turn 12 for the race lead. This is León’s maiden win in the Championship. He also writes his name into history as the first Mexican driver to claim F2 victory.
A perfectly executed weekend for Rodin’s Martinius Stenshorne, completing the double with a third place finish in the Sprint and victory in the Feature Race. Both his maiden podium and race win achieved in one weekend – a groundbreaking first weekend in Canada for the Norwegian.
Consistently placing in the top five across the weekend, he topped it off in style by taking the top step in the Feature Race from fourth on the grid. A lock-up from Roman Bilinski into Turn 10 on Lap 19 let the Rodin driver through. Stenshorne led the field to the chequered flag, not allowing multiple safety car restarts to phase him.
Fresh off the back of his maiden F2 win in the Miami Feature Race, Minì started from pole in Saturday’s Sprint after qualifying P10. Although unable to convert pole into a second consecutive win, he proved over the weekend that he is a serious title contender. Settling for the runner-up spot in the Sprint, he followed this up with a P3 in the Feature Race after a tight battle with the other Rodin of Alex Dunne.
A New Championship Leader Emerges
Minì now becomes the only driver to have finished in the points in every race held so far this season. Joshua Dürksen’s run has come to an end after failing to score in both events in Canada.
Only a point separated Nikola Tsolov from Gabriele Minì and Rafael Câmara heading into Montréal. Despite a Miami Sprint win last time out, the Bulgarian was put under pressure from second-placed Minì after his triumph in the Feature Race.
Podium points were vital for Tsolov in Canada. However, a 10-second time penalty awarded following the Feature Race for leaving the track and gaining an advantage demotes him from fourth to 12th in the final classification. After failing to score in either events, he concedes the top spot to the MP Motorsport driver.
Rodin Begin Their Charge to the Top
It was a nightmare opening two rounds of the season for Rodin Motorsport with two double DNFs. Canada’s results have restored their hopes of fighting for the Teams’ title. Perhaps the luck of the Irish followed Dunne and the team to this new track, where a miracle was waiting to happen.
Starting strong, Rodin set the pace with a 1-2 in the only practice session of the weekend. Dunne was ahead of Stenshorne, with only 0.012s separating them.
Both continued to set blistering lap times in Qualifying, showcasing similar pace to that of Free Practice. Both finished the session in the top five, setting them up for crucial points in the main events. However, Dunne was later penalised with a three-place grid drop applying to both races, as a result of an impeding incident on Rafael Villagómez.
A 1-2 in the Feature Race makes Rodin the first team to secure this feat in the 2026 season. It is the team’s most successful weekend this year by a country mile. The roles reversed from their 1-2 in Free Practice, with Stenshorne leading Dunne across the line. Stenshorne was quick all weekend and made great overtakes, and Dunne impressed by overcoming his grid drop and producing a comeback drive from sixth to finish P2.
They make huge gains in the Teams’ Standings, climbing to third ahead of Invicta, and just three points shy of Campos in P2. Can they carry this momentum into the European leg of the season?
A PREMA Comeback For the Ages
It was a tough start to the weekend for PREMA. After Qualifying in tricky conditions, they found themselves at the back of the field with Sebastian Montoya in P20 and Mari Boya P22. The Sprint also proved hard to navigate, with both drivers failing to score points.
PREMA’s turnaround occurred in the Feature Race, with both drivers managing to bounce back to earn the team a double points finish.
Montoya secured the team’s first top-five finish of the season. Taking advantage of the safety car, a rapid pitstop put him amongst the frontrunners. A deserved P5 on the road after hard-fought battles towards the end, bumped up to P4 after Tsolov’s post-race penalty. This completes his third points finish in as many Feature races this season.
Boya had a tougher afternoon, but still secured valuable points. On the opposite strategy to his teammate, he was more vulnerable to the later safety cars, while a spin also cost him time. Despite that, he kept fighting, making late gains to finish P9 on the road (P8 in the final classification).
They were statement drives from both drivers, making up 27 places in the Feature Race between them – 14 places gained for Montoya and 13 for Boya. Significant gains made in the Teams’ Standings over VAR and AIX.
The Rest of the Pack
One of only few drivers to deliver an improvement with their final effort in Qualifying, Câmara was set to start P2 in Sunday’s race. This was until he found himself with a three-place grid drop, deemed by the stewards to have unnecessarily impeded Alex Dunne.
His woes continued throughout the weekend, only managing P7 in the Sprint. Then, in the Feature Race, he fell to last after making contact with Bilinski, attempting to pass on the inside of Turn 2 for fourth. A crucial loss in the Drivers’ Standings for the Brazilian, with title rival Minì making massive gains.
Trident’s John Bennett was on for a best-ever finish in the Sprint. A great start to the weekend with P7 in Qualifying, meant he would start the reverse grid Sprint in P4. However, two incidents involving him and Tsolov caused him to tumble down the order in the Sprint, and forced a retirement from Sunday’s race. An unfortunate end to a promising weekend for the Trident driver.
An honourable mention to AIX Racing’s Cian Shields, who secured a career-best finish of P6 on the road in the Feature Race (P5 in final classification). He gained a total of 11 positions after fighting his way through the field.
The Latest Victims of the Wall of Champions
With F2 drivers never having faced the Wall of Champions before, the winner was always going to be the infamous wall. The wall’s first victim came early into the weekend. In Friday’s Free Practice, a brief yellow flag featured after Rafael Villagómez spun into the wall at the exit of the final chicane. Front wing damage did not stop him from making a recovery.
The new Championship leader also narrowly avoided the Wall of Champions during practice. It was a disrupted session for Minì, as shortly before this his team had to wheel the car back to the garage after coming to a stop at the pit exit.
Trident’s Laurens van Hoepen aimed to turn his maiden F2 pole into a first win, but the Feature Race ended in disappointment for the Dutchman on Lap 5. Under pressure from Tsolov, he successfully defended into the final corners. But a sudden snap of oversteer sent him into the Wall of Champions. His race came to an abrupt end, leaving him wondering what might have been.
The Championship Standings After Round 3
With all change in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ standings, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Canada.
Drivers’ Standings
Minì leads the Championship for the first time this season with 57 points after successive podiums. A healthy gap has formed to Rafael Câmara in second with 36 points.
Tsolov has fallen two places to third after a miserable weekend. A glorious weekend for Stenshorne sees him rise up the standings. He finds himself level on points with the Bulgarian, with Câmara only one point further up the road.
Canada’s Sprint Race winner Noel León completes the top five on 33 points. Pole-sitter van Hoepen also has 33 points.
Teams’ Standings
MP Motorsport jump ahead of Campos Racing with 69 points to take top spot in the Teams’ Standings. Just one point separates the two.
Rodin Motorsport made big gains and are lurking just behind on 65 points. Invicta Racing sit fourth on 52 points, with Hitech completing the top five with 38 points.
It is very much all to play for in both championships, with nobody running away with a lead as of yet.
Formula 2 returns June 4th in motorsport’s crown jewel nation: Monaco.
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Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool