Formula 2 returned for the first part of its European Triple Header as racing got underway at the historic racing circuit that is Imola. With a slow burn narrative dominating the weekend, the big surprises would come on Sunday when the full implications for both the Driver’s Championship and the Team’s Standings would be realised. By the end of the weekend, it wouldn’t just be a new driver leading the Championship, but a new team on top too.
Once again, Formula 2 has proved that in this racing series, anything can happen. Read our 2025 F2 Emilia Romagna GP Roundup below.
The Chronicle Headlines
- Alex Dunne topped the timesheets in Free Practice for Rodin Motorsport.
- Dino Beganovic secured his first Pole Position in Formula 2, narrowly ahead of Sebastian Montoya and Victor Martins.
- Ritomo Miyata would start the Sprint Race from Reverse Pole.
- Jak Crawford took control of the Sprint Race from second to claim his first victory of the year.
- Alex Dunne made a crucial move in the closing stages of the Feature Race to win for the second time in 2025.
- Dunne now leads the Championship Standings with a six point lead over Luke Browning.
- Hitech TGR storm ahead of the competition in the Team Standings to move from fourth to first ahead of Campos Racing, just one point behind.
Free Practice – Dunne Setting His Intentions
Free Practice on Friday saw Alex Dunne set out his intentions for the weekend ahead. The Rodin Motorsport driver topped the timesheets, putting in a lap time of 1:27.907. Arvid Lindblad and Kush Maini were his main rivals in second and third.
The practice session was a straightforward one, with lap times naturally becoming quicker and quicker as the clock counted down. Sami Meguetounif was the notable driver in this session, as the French driver put in the sixth fastest time around the Emilia Romagna Circuit. In a weekend full of headlines, Meguetounif would become one of the good news stories come Sunday. But more on him later.
Qualifying – Drama in the Final Minutes
While Practice had been a quiet affair, the opposite was true of qualifying. Things were proceeding as planned until the final ten minutes of the session. Kush Maini had a spin into the barriers at Tamburello, grinding everything to a halt as the session was red flagged. The DAMS Lucas Oil car couldn’t be removed in a timely fashion, so the session was not resumed.
This meant that the time that Dino Beganovic had pipped in, just prior to the red flag, a time of 1:27.418, would be good enough for Pole Position. The Swede beat Sebastian Montoya for this honour by just 0.003s. Victor Martins would line up on the gird in third.
Beganovic would also be the first winner of the Aramco Pole Position Award in F2. This new award was introduced to the series this weekend.
Sprint Race – Crawford Takes Control
Jak Crawford snatched the lead away from Ritomo Miyata at the very start of Saturday’s Sprint Race. The American made the race-winning move down into the second turn on the opening lap to spoil the Japanese driver’s day. From then on, Crawford’s victory never seemed in doubt. By lap four, he’d broken out of DRS range so that Miyata would struggle even more to attack him from behind. He controlled the pace from there and despite the efforts made by those further down the field, nobody could ultimately challenge him.
“It was a great race, great points to take away and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” – Jak Crawford
The same could not be said for Miyata. Halfway through the race, Lindblad began to put pressure on him. After a couple of attempts, he got past him before Tamburello on the twelfth tour of the circuit. One lap later, Miyata experienced deja vu as Luke Browning attacked him for third. At first, the British driver wasn’t able to get past him. But it was only a matter of time before he did. Miyata kept slipping down the order from there, eventually finishing in sixth.
Martins and Dunne moved ahead of Miyata, with Fornaroli and Stanek finishing just behind him to claim the last points on offer in the Sprint Race.
Feature Race – Dunne Gets It Done
As is often the case in Formula 2, two strategies were at play over the course of the Feature Race. Tyre wear and risk management were the key components at play with one driver willing to risk it more than the others.
Alex Dunne was a man on a mission from the start. The McLaren Junior wasn’t going to be patient and wait for the race to come to him. Through the mandatory pit stop, the safety car period and the traffic ahead of him, populated by those on the alternate strategy, he seemed hell bent on not letting anything stop him from getting back to the front – and staying there.
Others behind him, such as Browning, Beganovic and Lindblad were seemingly content with getting close to those in front of them and waiting for the race to come to them. Dunne, meanwhile, decided to take the bull by the horn. The ease with which he overtook those ahead of him raised questions about why these other drivers were not following suit, especially as the laps began to count down.
“Very, very happy. Of course, to do two out of three this year is a pretty good start. It’s important to try and do more and more throughout the year.” – Alex Dunne
Browning would go on to finish in second, as he did when Dunne won in Bahrain, with Beganovic in third. Lindblad finished in fourth, with Fornaroli rounding out the top five. Crawford finished in sixth ahead of Goethe in seventh.
It was disaster for Sebastian Montoya as the Colombian driver stalled on the grid at the beginning of the Formation Lap. By the end of the Feature Race, he was able to impressively climb his way back up into eighth place. But it will be a bittersweet result and a case of What If? for the junior driver.
Verschoor finished in ninth, after starting in nineteenth. Meguetounif came home in tenth, scoring his first Championship point of the year.
Championship Standings
With his Feature Race victory, Alex Dunne has now moved to the top of the Driver’s Championship. Six points separate him from Luke Browning in second. A further three stand between him and Richard Verschoor in third. This season looks set to have many more twists in its tail as no one driver has yet seemed capable of running away with the Championship. At this stage, Lindblad, Fornaroli and Marti all look to be in some form of contention too. But one victory for a driver lower down the standings could once again turn everything on its head.
In the Team Standings, Hitetch TGR have moved from fourth to first, much to the surprise of their rivals around them. They lead Campos Racing by just one point. MP Motorsport, Rodin Motorsport and Invicta Racing are also not far behind.
Next Up: The Jewel in the Crown – Monaco
Formula 2 will head to the streets of Monte Carlo next time out. With a tight, twisty, and unforgiving nature, qualifying will be crucial at this venue, but it won’t guarantee the victory for whomever ends up on Pole. An endurance race like no other, it’s going to push every single Formula 2 driver to the limit – and possibly beyond.
Catch the action in Monaco on May 22nd – 25th.
Feature Image Credit: McLaren Racing