The F2 action at Silverstone got underway on Friday, with a wet practice session followed by qualifying, with Isack Hadjar taking pole position from Victor Martins and Dennis Hauger. After the session, Feeder Series caught up with four of the drivers.

By Martin Lloyd

Hadjar’s pole is vital for his season. First and foremost – as long as there is no Red Bull F1 call-up – he will gain two points in the fight against championship leader Paul Aron, reducing the gap between himself and the Estonian before a wheel has been turned in either race. Moreover, Aron experienced his worst qualifying of the season, managing just 12th place following a spin at Turn 1. After the session, Hadjar was delighted with his showing.

“It’s a track I love first of all, so to know I can be fast on this fast-flowing track is an achievement,” he said. “I’m so proud of the boys. They give me such a good car every time we hit the track. On the other hand, it’s not normal that we only score our first pole now. We’ve had so much speed. Last week was a huge opportunity.”

With Hadjar taking the championship lead for the first time if he outscores Aron by nine points or more, he is definitely in the championship conversation as the eighth round nears its end. The Frenchman was bullish when discussing his title chances, feeling that he has a strong chance of staking a claim for the title in the second half of the season.

“Honestly, I really feel like there’s no way I’m not fighting for that title. I think I’m really confident in my chances to win it. We are putting in the work. I’m not talking like this to talk – I really mean it.”

Hauger qualified in third place, just seven hundredths behind Martins. The Norwegian started on pole in Spielberg last weekend but suffered from a clutch issue that caused him to stall on the grid. When he took his previous pole in Melbourne, Hauger crashed out from the lead of the race, but he hopes for a better result from a strong qualifying performance at Silverstone.

“I think we have a good shot [at winning]. I think the pace is there. We don’t know if it’s going to rain or be dry, but no matter what I think we were up there. We’re starting P3 and that puts us into a position to do something well.”

Hauger was closely followed by his MP Motorsport teammate, Franco Colapinto. The Argentinian had taken part in his maiden F1 Free Practice with Williams earlier in the day, before a strong performance continued his impressive qualifying run. Colapinto has qualified in the top 10 in each of the last five races, and then converted those strong Fridays into three podiums. Colapinto told Feeder Series that he was pleased with his showing.

“We changed a lot of things in my driving to find a bit more of a sweet spot and I did it in the last run. F2 is very different to F1, and I was still lacking lap time in many places, but to save it with a P4 in qualifying, and being able to fight from there in the race, is a positive result.”

Ritomo Miyata qualified in 11th, missing out on reverse-grid pole to Kimi Antonelli by just seven thousandths. The season has been a learning experience for the Rodin driver, having joined F2 following his Super Formula and Super GT title wins in 2023. Nonetheless, Miyata has recently landed on an upward trajectory, only missing out on a sprint-race podium in Barcelona because of track limits infringements.

“It was really difficult, there was a yellow flag and lots of traffic, and my best time was into traffic. I’m happy because it’s my first time driving this track. It was very difficult because I only had three push laps in free practice, and the tyre compounds were completely different – in practice it was raining and qualifying was dry.”

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency