‘I want to fight for the Championship’ – Beganovic sets out 2026 targets with DAMS Lucas Oil

19 January 2026

Dino Beganovic says he wants to fight at the front in 2026 as he returns to DAMS Lucas Oil for his second full season in Formula 2.

The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member made his F2 debut with the French team at the final two rounds of the 2024 campaign, achieving a maiden podium at the Yas Marina Sprint Race.

Speaking at post-season testing, Beganovic spoke of his excitement at getting to race with DAMS in the upcoming year alongside teammate Roman Bilinski.

“We have some great memories together from last year, it was a great time,” said Beganovic. “So I am looking forward to building on that, now at the post-season tests, so it feels good, it's a good group of people and I am excited to be here.

“I think my main thing is to get close to the team again, build that relationship, and build a team around me and Roman that we can rely on for the whole year and be happy with, that's the main focus.

“Jak Crawford had great results this year with this car, so I have to keep trying to improve. There are still things to improve with the car and my driving, it's the small stuff that makes a big difference in the end.”

Beganovic is focusing on building his relationship with DAMS back up ahead of the 2026 season

Beganovic concedes that he had a mixed 2025 season, struggling for results in the first half of the campaign before ending the year with 11 points scoring results in the final 14 races.

That included a victory in the Baku Sprint, before achieving a podium in the Feature Race the next day. The 22-year-old is eager to make sure he carries that momentum into 2026.

"It was an up and down season,” said Beganovic. “It was not the start that we wanted or expected at all, but it improved a lot, especially in the last four rounds.

“We found some things that we improved and after that, the results were coming, so I am very pleased with that, that we made a step there, and we had a good end of season.

“Even though somethings got away from us, I still feel like we ended on a high with Hitech, so it's good to have that momentum going in 2026.”

Beganovic was talking after completing 122 laps in a Ferrari at the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi post-season test, ending up with the ninth fastest time.

Beganovic is keen to fight at the front this season after a strong end to 2025

The Swede conceded that he was still sore from his time in both the F1 and F2 cars, joking that “I felt my whole neck, my back, everything was hurting.”

But Beganovic says that was not getting in the way of the hard work he and DAMS needed to do before the start of the season, as he looks to replicate what the last two Formula 2 Champions accomplished.

“I am going to take it race by race, but I want to win races,” said Beganovic. “I want to fight for the championship, it's the big thing for next year.

“Looking at it, Gabriel and Leo are prime examples of that, how to win a championship, being consistent, being there every weekend, and not being outside the top 10.

“It makes a big difference in the end, and looking at the big picture, that's what we are aiming for, always being up there.”