Round 12 Post Qualifying 1 Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to today’s FIA Formula 2 post-Qualifying 1 Press Conference here at Baku City Circuit. Joining us in third place, Noel León for Campos Racing. In second place, Martinius Stenshorne for Rodin Motorsport, and, for the first time on Pole Position in 2026, Alexander Dunne, also for Rodin Motorsport. Alex, congratulations. Finally, Pole Position in Feature Race 1, you’ve been quick all day. How happy are you right now?

Alexander Dunne: I’m very happy. I think this is probably the first time I’ve properly smiled all year. No, I mean, I’m very, very pleased. I think, obviously, it shows that the team have done a fantastic job with the car as well. The fact that we were one-two in both qualifying sessions, I think, obviously, as drivers, we did a good job, but in terms of team performance, that’s also pretty impressive from the team side as well. So I think credit goes just as much to them as it does to myself. So, I’m very happy. I think to finally have the opportunity to put it all together and put it on pole feels really nice.

FIA Formula 2: Track position was a key factor in the sessions today. How difficult is that to manage from the car?

Dunne: It’s quite tricky. I think, at least on my side, I was always behind someone, but I never really had the perfect slipstream. I think the slipstream I had in Q1 was a lot better than what I had in Q2. But then it’s always difficult to manage because if you’re behind someone who’s maybe a little bit slower than you, then through the lap you might end up closer than what you’d ideally like to be, which compromises sector two, but then you gain it back in sector three. So, it was quite tricky. There was a lot more of a traffic jam, let’s say, than what I expected. I think in Q1, coming out of Turn 6, we were all in a line and, at one point, I thought there was going to be a crash because everyone was going so slow. In Q2, it was the same thing coming out of 15, I think it is, or 16, where a lot of people slowed down. So it was quite difficult to manage. I would say here it was probably more difficult than Monza because here I would say slipstream is even more important than Monza, and Monza is the one that everyone talks about for traffic management and things like that. So, it was surprisingly more difficult than what it was last year. But in the end, a pole and a P2, I can’t really complain, that’s for sure.

FIA Formula 2: You keep your title hopes going with two more points for Pole Position and a chance for a first victory this season. It has eluded you so far. Are you feeling confident about finally ticking that off tomorrow?

Dunne: Yeah, I think it’s a good way to go about the end of the year, or towards the end of the year. I think after Madrid, it was kind of the first weekend where it all came together again, and we made good progress in terms of catching the guys in the championship. The gap is still relatively big, but I think after that weekend I said I’ll make sure I leave nothing out there for the rest of the season and try to close the gap as much as possible. So far, we’ve started in a good way, but we can just do what we can do. What will be, will be. We’ve done a good job in qualifying and hopefully we can continue that in the races, and then we’ll see where we end up.

FIA Formula 2: Moving on to you, Martinius. It’s P2 for you in Q1, it’s a one-two for Rodin Motorsport and, yet again, you look quick around Baku. You seem to really like this place, don’t you?

Martinius Stenshorne: Yeah, so far we’ve been really quick here. Obviously, I did my first race weekend in Formula 2 last year and that went quite well. We were really competitive. So, yeah, today as well, already from Free Practice, I felt quite confident and I think we showed our pace in qualifying.

FIA Formula 2: Do you think Pole Position was on the table in Q1? You had a tow to the finish line, but getting the perfect track position looked very tricky, at least in Q1 for you.

Stenshorne: Yeah, it was tricky. I mean, no one wants to be in front, which is understandable, and I think it was possible. I had a really good tow, but I think I could have done a bit better in the middle sector there. But in Q2 it all came together and we did everything perfectly.

FIA Formula 2: You said earlier that you had your first F2 race last year at this track and it was good, but you didn’t get the results you deserved. Do you feel like this year is your time to shine?

Stenshorne: Yeah, I hope so. Last year we were really competitive. Unfortunately, we had some issues in both races while being in contention for big points. So, yeah, hopefully this year it turns around and we get it.

FIA Formula 2: Thank you very much. Noel, it’s third place for you in Q1. You managed to find an improvement when a lot of other drivers looked to be struggling to extract another lap. How tough was your session?

Noel León: A bit, to be honest. It was a bit tough to manage the traffic. Everybody was trying to look for a slipstream and it’s quite important. So, at the end of the day, I’m happy with my lap. I think my slipstream wasn’t the best for Q1 and I think we missed pole because of that, but I’m very happy with the performance of the car and the team, and it’s a good position for tomorrow.

FIA Formula 2: Obviously, since the summer, you have been in very good form at this stage of the season. Do you feel that way as well, and do you feel like you’re keeping the momentum through Baku again?

León: Yes, I think so. We had a couple of tough weekends in the summer. Things just didn’t come my way, some stuff was not on my side and I just couldn’t get away from that. So I’m happy that, after Budapest, everything is coming nicely and going better every time. We’ll just keep the momentum until the end of the season. So, yeah, very happy with the progress and we’ll keep pushing.

FIA Formula 2: Tomorrow, you’ll be starting from the clean side of the grid. What will it take to add another win to your tally in 2026?

León: Yeah, I mean, these guys are pretty quick. You can see that they qualified one and two in both qualifying sessions. So it’s going to be tough, I think. As I said, I’m very happy with my lap and with the performance of the team because, in the morning, we didn’t look as strong as we are now. So we are making steps. We’ll try to make another one for tomorrow and we’ll see. These guys, they’re fast. I’ll let you know about that.