‘There was more in it today’ says disappointed Beganovic after Monte Carlo Qualifying

Dino Beganovic qualified fifth for Sunday’s Monte Carlo Feature Race but admitted after that he was disappointed with the result.

The DAMS Lucas Oil driver ran in Group A and was in strong form for much of the session, fighting at the front for provisional pole ahead of Group B taking to the track.

Beganovic had just set the fastest lap of the session with a 1:21.947 when the Red Flags were waved at just under four minutes to go after John Bennett found the barrier at Turn 1.

The Swede believes that stoppage cost him, as while he improved to a 1:21.099 and was just 0.176s behind pole-sitter Rafael Câmara, he says had he been able to stick to his run plan, a better result was possible.

“I’m not happy,” he said. “I feel like that there was a lot more in it today there than what we came out of it with.

“It's a shame with the Red Flag that it came in the middle of the session. I also think that being at the back of the pit lane, we were at quite a disadvantage in the end.

“So, I had to do a push-push at the end and obviously tyres were not really there for the end of the lap. So I’m very disappointed because I feel like it was more in there today.”

READ MORE

• QUALIFYING: Câmara bounces back in style to take pole in Monte Carlo
• Minì hails promising pace but says he and MP are not ‘fully perfect’ in Monte Carlo

Beganovic was able to find solace in his and DAMS’ performance, feeling that their deficit to Câmara showed what was possible.

“To be one and a half tenths off with a double push, I think it's pretty good,” he said. “It means that we had a lot more in it.

"Obviously, I did a purple in sector one, so I feel like there was a lot more left in the rest of the sector. So, just doing a slower first lap would have been beneficial, but we didn't have the time for it in the end, and we were kind of forced to do this sequence.”

Looking ahead to the races, Beganovic will start the Sprint Race from sixth, and while it sets him well to score points in both races, with several championship rivals starting ahead, it will be about scoring as many points as possible this weekend.

READ MORE

• PRACTICE: Minì sets the pace ahead of Maini in Monte Carlo
• 2026 Monte Carlo Qualifying Groups confirmed

“At the moment it's just about trying to gain the points that we can,” he said. “I think that's mainly where our focus will be.

“We know it's hard to overtake here, so let's see if we can do something different for the strategy on Sunday, but otherwise we just need to take the points available.”