MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe says he had a “good feeling” heading to Qatar after securing his first-ever FIA Formula 2 pole position on Friday.

The German driver edged out championship leader, Leonardo Fornaroli, to snatch the top spot around the Lusail circuit by 0.04s.

“I’m extremely pleased,” the 21-year-old said after the session. “It was a good session overall, I was quick throughout. I don’t know if I was ever actually P1 [before the final lap], I was always around P2.

“I really gave it my all on that last lap.”

WHAT A LAP!! ?

OLLIE GOETHE SECURES @aramco POLE POSITION IN QATAR!! ???#F2 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/pzGQobiV28

— Formula 2 (@Formula2) November 28, 2025

Goethe told InsideF2.com that he knew he was in the fight for pole on his final lap. He made perfect use of having the speedy Fornaroli directly ahead of him on track, giving him a slipstream out of the final corner, helping snatch pole from the Italian.

“It was nice to have Leo in front!” he said. “I knew I wouldn’t catch him too much, but in general I’m happy with my lap, I knew I was competitive from the start of the session.

A season building momentum 

Goethe admitted he was expecting a strong showing this weekend, saying that he feels momentum has been growing after a difficult first half of the season.

During the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone, he admitted qualifying had been holding him back, telling InsideF2 that his race pace had been “strong”.

But in the second half of the campaign, Goethe has achieved stronger qualifying results, securing top-10 starts at three of the last four rounds.

“Over the long break (between Baku and Qatar), I was working really hard, so I had a good feeling about this weekend, I was expecting something good, we were quick here last year,” he said.

"Let's go! Ha ha!" ?

Ollie Goethe pulls out a mega final-lap effort to take his first @aramco Pole Position! ??#F2 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/P9X9q2ezqN

— Formula 2 (@Formula2) November 28, 2025

Goethe says he’s confident ahead of the two races in Qatar, but says he will need to manage the degradation of his Pirelli tyres.

He said the result means “a huge amount” to him, and that it has been a “tough” year.

Goethe said: “[There has been] a lot of downs this year. I’m happy for myself, for my family and for the team, they’ve been working really hard to get me back up.

“I’ve been working really hard, so it feels really good.”

He will start Saturday’s Sprint Race from 10th, because of the top-10 qualifiers being reversed for the shorter race. His MP team mate, and outside title hopeful, Richard Verschoor, will start that race from pole position.

Photo by James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images