- Swede impresses in Formula 1 practice with Ferrari
- Bags double points-score in Formula 2
Dino Beganovic has wrapped up a hectic weekend of action in Spain, completing a Formula 1 free practice outing for Ferrari and competing in round five of the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
On a particularly busy Friday, Beganovic made a first appearance of 2026 in an official Formula 1 free practice session, taking over Lewis Hamilton’s SF-26 Ferrari for FP1.
The 22-year-old Swede tallied 30 laps around the Circuit de Barcelona-Cataluyna – the most of any driver in the field – and wound up a fine eighth on the F1 timesheets.
”Getting the opportunity to try out the SF-26 for the first time was just fantastic,” says Dino Beganovic. ”It’s a new generation of car but I think I got into it quite quickly. We completed our run plan and the team was happy, which is the main thing. It was tricky to go from used medium tyres to new softs for my push laps, but I am happy with my pace and the work we managed to complete.”
Settling back in for his Formula 2 commitments for the rest of the weekend, Beganovic faced a quick turnaround ahead of F2 qualifying later on Friday afternoon, taking P12 in the grid-deciding session.
From his slot in the midfield, Beganovic then came through to bag some important championship points in both of the weekend’s two races.
Saturday’s sprint race saw Beganovic jump up to eighth with a blistering start and, after another overtake along the way, he eventually finished seventh.
In Sunday’s main feature race, Beganovic started on the soft option Pirelli tyres, pitting on lap 12 for the prime, harder compound. The strategy briefly put the Swede into the podium positions and, although later reshuffled back to sixth as others rejoined on fresher tyres, ensured he ended the weekend with a solid result.
”It’s mixed feelings this weekend, as I think we did the most of both races but we also clearly struggled in qualifying,” Dino Beganovic sums up the F2 event. ”That’s something we need to keep working on. From where we started, it was two good races, and I’m quite pleased to have salvaged the points that were realistically up for grabs.
”Some work to do in qualy, but we remain in the mix and we’ll push hard to improve in the coming races.”
The FIA Formula 2 Championship resumes in Spielberg, Austria, on June 26-28. Beganovic remains in sixth place in the drivers’ championship standings.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 2 Championship
Rd. 5 – Barcelona (ESP)
Race 1 (Sprint Race)
1: K. Maini (IND), ART Grand Prix
2: G. Minì (ITA), MP Motorsport
3: N. Tsolov (BUL), Campos Racing
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7: D. Beganovic (SWE), DAMS Lucas Oil
Race 2 (Feature Race)
1: R. Câmara (BRA), Invicta Racing
2: N. Tsolov (BUL), Campos Racing
3: A. Dunne (IRE), Rodin Motorsport
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6: D. Beganovic (SWE), DAMS Lucas Oil
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 2 Championship
After 5/14 rounds
1: N. Tsolov (BUL), Campos Racing, 86 p.
2: G. Minì (ITA), MP Motorsport, 83 p.
3: R. Câmara (BRA), Invicta Racing, 69 p.
4: A. Dunne (IRE), Rodin Motorsport, 64 p.
5: N. Léon (MEX), Campos Racing, 54 p.
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6: D. Beganovic (SWE), DAMS Lucas Oil, 53 p.
