Victor Martins converted his Free Practice pace into a commanding pole position at Silverstone, delivering a stunning lap in the closing stages of a fiercely competitive FIA Formula 2 Qualifying session.
The ART Grand Prix driver set a blistering 1:39.731 to claim the Aramco Pole Position Award, edging out Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne by just 0.065s. Jak Crawford was right in the mix as well, ending the session third for DAMS Lucas Oil, only two tenths shy of the front.
It was Sebastián Montoya who initially set the pace for PREMA Racing on a 1:41.225, but that time was soon eclipsed. Luke Browning briefly took top spot before MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor jumped ahead with a 1:40.777. Martins then laid down his first real marker, going fastest with a 1:40.710 before the session was halted by a red flag after Amaury Cordeel spun off at the final corner.
When the session resumed with just over 18 minutes remaining, most of the field held back in the pitlane. But Dunne was one of the few who went early—and it paid off. The Irish rookie lit up the middle sector and climbed to P3, narrowing the gap to Martins to under a tenth.
As the field returned on fresh Soft tyres for a final run, the pace intensified. Crawford surged to the top with a 1:39.971, but it was short-lived. Martins immediately bettered it, with Dunne also sneaking ahead of the American to claim a front-row start.
Martins’ lap proved unbeatable in the final push, securing his second pole of the 2025 season and underlining the ART man’s strong form on British soil.
Behind the top three, Roman Stan?k impressed with fourth for Invicta Racing, just ahead of Montoya, who recovered from an earlier deleted lap to take fifth.
Joshua Duerksen continued his strong run with sixth for AIX Racing, followed by Verschoor, Dino Beganovic, and Kush Maini. Leonardo Fornaroli completed the top 10, meaning the Invicta driver will start from reverse-grid pole in Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Elsewhere, Arvid Lindblad narrowly missed the top ten in P11, with Browning a surprise P12 after showing promising speed earlier in the day. Sami Meguetounif and Max Esterson followed in P13 and P14 for TRIDENT, while Rafael Villagómez posted a respectable 15th.
Ritomo Miyata failed to set a classified time, leaving the Japanese driver at the back of the grid for both races.
Photo by James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images
