F2 Spain: Albon takes second consecutive pole position, de Vries P2
Alexander Albon took a second consecutive Formula 2 pole position by topping the charts at Barcelona, despite a risky call to sit out the end of the session

Nyck de Vries was second ahead of Luca Ghiotto, with ART Grand Prix pair George Russell and Jack Aitken fourth and fifth. Championship leader Lando Norris qualified eighth for Carlin.
In Friday's earlier practice session, the track had improved significantly as time went on, but despite that, Albon and team-mate Nicholas Latifi sat in the pits for the final few minutes of qualifying, which gave their rivals a free shot at their times.
But Albon's benchmark, a 1m28.142s, was good enough to withstand a late flurry of efforts - including Prema Racing's de Vries, who could only finish 0.227s behind with his final effort.
Ghiotto, Russell and Aitken improved to round out the top five, which therefore left Latifi ruing his late spell on the pitwall as he fell to sixth.
Russell was one of several drivers who pointed to the wind as a reason for their struggling during the earlier practice, which he felt was unsettling his car.
"There's a very strong headwind, which consequently means you have a strong tailwind into Turn 4, Turn 7 and the high speed of Turn 9, so it's making it very tricky to drive through these corners," he explained.

But set-up changes worked a treat in qualifying to boost the Mercedes Formula 1 junior ahead of Aitken, who is making his F1 test debut for Renault following this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
Russian Time's Tadasuke Makino took seventh ahead of Norris, who struggled to hook up a clean lap, something he also failed to do in practice.
The rapid right of Campsa (Turn 9) seemed to be the McLaren F1 reserve's bogey corner - it was where he ran wide in practice and then took too much curb on the inside on one of his qualifying runs, just after setting a purple first sector.
A disappointing session for Norris' Carlin squad, which leads the teams' standings after two rounds, was capped off by his team-mate Sergio Sette Camara slowing on track during the initial running.
The Brazilian driver's F2 2018 car suffered electrical problems, but he did return to the track at the end of the session. His time was good enough for 14th.
MP Motorsport duo Ralph Boschung and Roberto Merhi rounded out the top 10, while Artem Markelov's abysmal qualifying run continued as he ended up 19th, only ahead of the Santino Ferrucci (Trident), who crashed at the exit of Campsa in the final quarter of the 30-minute session.
Results
Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alexander Albon | DAMS | 1m28.142s | - | 11 |
2 | Nyck de Vries | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 1m28.369s | 0.227s | 11 |
3 | Luca Ghiotto | Campos Vexatec Racing | 1m28.400s | 0.258s | 11 |
4 | George Russell | ART Grand Prix | 1m28.524s | 0.382s | 11 |
5 | Jack Aitken | ART Grand Prix | 1m28.579s | 0.437s | 11 |
6 | Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 1m28.605s | 0.463s | 11 |
7 | Tadasuke Makino | RUSSIAN TIME | 1m28.620s | 0.478s | 11 |
8 | Lando Norris | Carlin | 1m28.923s | 0.781s | 10 |
9 | Ralph Boschung | MP Motorsport | 1m28.970s | 0.828s | 11 |
10 | Roberto Merhi | MP Motorsport | 1m29.081s | 0.939s | 11 |
11 | Antonio Fuoco | Charouz Racing System | 1m29.130s | 0.988s | 13 |
12 | Louis Deletraz | Charouz Racing System | 1m29.136s | 0.994s | 11 |
13 | Maximilian Guenther | BWT Arden | 1m29.143s | 1.001s | 12 |
14 | Sergio Sette Camara | Carlin | 1m29.256s | 1.114s | 5 |
15 | Roy Nissany | Campos Vexatec Racing | 1m29.284s | 1.142s | 11 |
16 | Sean Gelael | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 1m29.307s | 1.165s | 11 |
17 | Nirei Fukuzumi | BWT Arden | 1m29.376s | 1.234s | 12 |
18 | Arjun Maini | Trident | 1m29.407s | 1.265s | 11 |
19 | Artem Markelov | RUSSIAN TIME | 1m29.585s | 1.443s | 11 |
20 | Santino Ferrucci | Trident | 1m30.440s | 2.298s | 6 |

F2 Spain: DAMS driver Albon tops practice ahead of Sette Camara
Formula 2 car start fix introduced, drivers say it's 'very tricky'

Latest news
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
The other Doohan charting his way to motorsport success
Heading into FIA Formula 2 this season, there was a lot of pressure on Jack Doohan. The 2021 F3 runner-up joined a new team for his next challenge, as well as signing up to the Alpine Academy. He told Autosport how he’s tackling the step up - with some help from his motorcycle legend father
The Brazilian F2 driver hoping to return his country to motorsport's top tier
With a chaotic but “pretty much perfect” FIA Formula 2 weekend in Saudi Arabia behind him, Felipe Drugovich now leads the drivers’ standings in his third crack at the series. The Brazilian driver explains how he's improved amid some difficult years, and shares his dreams of ending his nation's absence from the F1 grid
The Red Bull junior aiming to emulate Piastri in F2
Norwegian talent Dennis Hauger has a tough act to follow in Oscar Piastri’s footsteps on his graduation to F2 as the reigning F3 champion with Prema. Here’s what he makes of the task ahead of him
The other Mercedes F1 young gun facing a big 2022
With a disappointing 2021 season behind him, Frederik Vesti makes the move up to FIA Formula 2 with a reinvigorated sense of determination. Could this finally be the breakthrough year for the talented Mercedes junior?
Ranking the 10 best drivers of an F1 junior series stalwart
DAMS has been one of the most prolific teams below Formula 1 since its foundation in 1989, launching 32 drivers into grand prix racing. Following the team's sale to ex-F1 racer Charles Pic, formally closing the book on the ownership of the Driot family, Autosport picks out its 10 best drivers during their spell with the team
How an F2 enigma hopes ‘coming home’ can reopen doors to F1
After a disappointing 2021, Marcus Armstrong is returning to FIA Formula 2 for another shot at the title in 2022 with Hitech – this time without the backing of Ferrari. This year, he says, he’s ready to give it his all in a last-shot bid to reach Formula 1
The hardships that haven’t dented an F2 rookie’s American F1 dream
Faced with no options for 2021, Logan Sargeant’s Formula 1 dreams looked set to crumble. But a last-minute Formula 3 seat and a strong season secured him an F1 junior berth and a Formula 2 drive for 2022. He told Autosport how his transformative season has affected both his personality and his future