Van Hoepen Steals Pole on F2’s Historic Montreal Debut

Laurens van Hoepen has a gift for the last second. He had already demonstrated it in the opening rounds of the 2026 season, accumulating podiums with the quiet consistency of someone who does not make the headlines but always appears when it matters most. In Montreal, at the first qualifying session in Formula 2 history on Canadian soil, the Dutch Trident driver did exactly the same: he waited. He let the favourites position themselves at the top of the timesheets, let the Ferrari, Alpine and Red Bull academy drivers share the provisional front rows, and then, with the chequered flag falling and time running out, he set a 1:21.422 that nobody could improve.

First pole position of Laurens van Hoepen’s Formula 2 career. First Trident pole since Richard Verschoor achieved one in Baku in 2024. And the first qualifying session in F2 history at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the Île Notre-Dame layout that since 1978 has seen the best of world motorsport and that this Friday opened its doors to the category that in 2026 decided to cross the Atlantic for the first time.

A session that did not start on time

F2 qualifying suffered a delay before starting. The Formula 1 free practice session ran fifteen minutes over schedule following Alex Albon’s groundhog accident, and that time ate into the gap between F1 practice and F2 qualifying. Drivers had less preparation time than usual. On a circuit new to everyone, every minute counted.

When the pit lane finally opened, the Dallara F2 2024 cars headed out onto progressively faster asphalt thanks to the rubber left by F1 cars that morning. The first driver to set a serious benchmark was Joshua Dürksen of Invicta Racing with a 1:22.914. Then came Gabriele Minì of MP Motorsport with a 1:22.615 that put him at the top and attracted the paddock’s attention: the Italian had just won the Miami Feature Race and was showing the same speed on a circuit also new to him.

But Minì did not hold his position long. Rafael Cámara of Invicta set a 1:22.025 that took him to the provisional lead, with Nico Varrone of Van Amersfoort Racing just 53 thousandths behind in second. Behind them, Tsolov and León were showing Campos Racing’s pace in the early attempts, both close to the front but yet to find the perfect lap.

Van Hoepen was quietly building his pole candidacy. Trident, the Italian team founded in Milan in 2006 by Maurizio Salvadori, works with fewer media resources than the manufacturer academies but with the same ambition to win. Van Hoepen positioned himself third while others pushed, saving the best for when it mattered most.

The first red flag: Goethe into the wall

With nine minutes remaining, Oliver Goethe of MP Motorsport touched the wall at the exit of Turn 4 with enough force to break his rear suspension. The red flag stopped the session while several drivers were mid-lap on promising timed efforts. Among them was Cámara, who had already made contact with the Turn 4 wall earlier and whose mechanics immediately began working at full speed during the red flag period to try to get the car ready for a final attempt.

At that point in the session, Cámara led with his 1:22.025. Varrone was second, van Hoepen third, Beganovic fourth and Inthraphuvasak fifth.

The second red flag: Inthraphuvasak hits hard

Barely had action resumed when the second stoppage came. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak of ART Grand Prix lost control at Turn 5, spun and hit the wall with force. The Thai driver climbed out unassisted, but the car damage was severe and the session stopped again. The result was that he was classified fifteenth, paying an enormous price for that error at the worst possible moment.

Two red flags, a session interrupted repeatedly, and fewer than five minutes available for all drivers to attempt improvements. Exactly the conditions where the coolest and most precise drivers have an advantage over those who depend on the accumulated rhythm of multiple attempts.

The cinematic final in four minutes

With the pit lane open again and the clock running, all 22 cars headed out onto the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in what was one of the most intense qualifying finishes of the 2026 F2 season. Positions changed with every sector of every lap.

Noel León set a 1:21.881 that briefly put him at the provisional top, the first time in the weekend that the Mexican Campos driver showed his real qualifying speed. His teammate Tsolov responded immediately with a 1:21.789 that moved him into first, showing why he arrived in Montreal as championship leader.

Martinius Stenshorne of Rodin interrupted the Campos dominance with a 1:21.744 that put him at the top, and his teammate Alexander Dunne improved almost immediately with a 1:21.709, installing the Rodin 1-2 at the head of the timesheets in the same way they had led free practice that morning.

Tsolov found time on his final attempt to move up to second, splitting the two Rodin cars. Cámara, with his car repaired by mechanics during the red flag period, also improved and moved to second, pushing Dunne and Tsolov back to the second row.

And then came van Hoepen. The Dutchman crossed the finish line with a 1:21.422, 0.267 seconds ahead of Cámara, in what was the fastest time of the day by a margin that left no room for doubt. Trident will start from pole position in Sunday’s Feature Race.

The classification order and what it means

The final table has direct implications for both races of the weekend. Sunday’s Feature Race front row belongs to van Hoepen and Cámara. The second row is Dunne and Tsolov, the championship leader who arrives in Montreal with just one point of advantage over Minì and Cámara but starts from fourth position.

The reversed top 10 for Saturday’s Sprint Race places Gabriele Minì on reversed-grid pole, meaning the MP Motorsport driver will start first in Saturday’s race with an enormous opportunity to score points. Behind him, Rafael Villagómez of Van Amersfoort Racing starts second in the Sprint.

For Colton Herta, the session was disappointing. The American who left IndyCar to try to reach F1 qualified twenty-first with a 1:22.857, 1.435 seconds from van Hoepen. Montreal was his first race supporting a Grand Prix in his home country, and the qualifying result is not the weekend start the North American crowd was hoping for. Mari Boya of Prema was the last qualifier with a 1:23.063.

The defeat of the manufacturer academies at the hands of a private team like Trident is the result generating the most conversation in the F2 paddock after the session. Ferrari backed Cámara, Alpine backed Dunne, Red Bull backed Tsolov. All three are fast, all three are in the championship fight. And still, van Hoepen, with Trident and without any F1 manufacturer’s backing, was the fastest driver of the day.

Key quotes and curiosities

Van Hoepen after claiming his first pole: in the final minutes everything happened very fast. I knew we had the pace and I trusted the lap would come together. When I saw the time I could not believe it at first.

Alexander Dunne after qualifying third: qualifying was chaotic with the two red flags but the team did an incredible job. The car has a lot of speed and on Sunday we are going to fight for the win.

Rafael Cámara on his second place: it was a very difficult session but I am happy with the front row. The team did an incredible job repairing the car during the red flag.

Among the curiosities: van Hoepen gives Trident their third pole in the modern F2 era, the first since Richard Verschoor achieved one in Baku in 2024. Laurens van Hoepen was born in Almelo, Netherlands on May 5 2003, making this one of his best results in the year of his 23rd birthday. The championship standings after two rounds had Tsolov with just one point of advantage over Minì and Cámara, making Sunday’s Feature Race a battleground with enormous implications for the leadership before F2 returns to Europe at Monaco.

F2 QUALIFYING — CANADIAN GP 2026

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal — May 22, 2026 — F2 Qualifying Session — First ever F2 qualifying in Canada — Session extended after two red flags (Goethe Turn 4, Inthraphuvasak Turn 5)

Sources: FIA Formula 2 official fiaformula2.com, Formula1.com, RacingNews365, Formula Scout, Motorsport Week, GPBlog, Dive-Bomb, Motorsport.com Español, Yahoo Sports

What did you make of the F2 qualifying session in Montreal? Do you think Van Hoepen can hold on and win Sunday’s Feature Race, or will Cámara, Dunne and Tsolov use their second-row positions to turn everything around at the start? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.