Beganovic Converts Madring Pole Into First Win of 2026 as Title Fight Twists Again

Dino Beganovic controlled both Safety Car restarts and finished more than seven seconds clear of Alex Dunne, while Rafael Câmara’s 10-second penalty left him tenth — still ahead of championship leader Nikola Tsolov.

Pole. Control. Distance. On Sunday at the Madring, Dino Beganovic finally turned 2026 pace into a victory.

The DAMS Lucas Oil driver led Formula 2’s first Feature Race in Madrid from lights to flag, resisting Alex Dunne at the start, acing two Safety Car restarts, and stretching his advantage to more than seven seconds by the chequered flag. Ritomo Miyata completed the podium after Saturday’s Sprint winner again found the right timing under the second neutralisation.

Clean launch, early chaos

Beganovic started from pole alongside Dunne and protected the inside into Turn 1. Dunne locked a tyre but held second, with Câmara third under pressure from Martinius Stenshorne. The calm lasted barely a lap.

Kush Maini’s early exit against the barriers brought yellows and then the first Safety Car. Beganovic controlled the restart and quickly rebuilt a roughly one-second cushion over Dunne, while Câmara began to lose touch with the leading pair on a circuit where overtaking is scarce.

Strategy scramble — then Câmara’s costly lunge

Mandatory stops reshuffled the midfield. Câmara, Bilinski and others peeled in around the mid-race window; Tsolov and Stenshorne followed a lap later. Mari Boya, on a better tyre window, jumped ahead of Câmara after the stops, with Tsolov and Stenshorne also emerging in front of the Invicta car.

The title rivals then fought on track. After Tsolov went off while attacking at Turn 5 and had to give positions back, Câmara went around the outside of the championship leader. One lap later, the aggression cost him: attacking Oliver Goethe around the outside at Turn 1, Câmara made contact and sent the MP Motorsport driver into the wall.

Goethe retired. A second Safety Car followed. The stewards handed Câmara a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.

Beganovic disappears up the road

The second Safety Car handed a cheap stop to the front group. Beganovic, Dunne, Miyata, Emerson Fittipaldi Jr., Joshua Dürksen and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak completed tyre changes under the neutralisation and emerged in the top six.

When racing resumed, Beganovic again timed the restart perfectly and walked away. Dunne never applied sustained pressure. Miyata banked another Madrid podium. Dürksen finished fourth ahead of Fittipaldi and Inthraphuvasak — a strong recovery for the Thai driver after Friday’s Practice crash.

Câmara crossed the line ninth before the penalty dropped him to tenth for a single point. Tsolov, who entered Sunday on 177 points to Câmara’s 169 after Saturday’s Sprint DNF, finished 18th and scored nothing. The Brazilian therefore still trimmed the championship gap despite a messy afternoon.

John Bennett, Goethe and Maini were among the retirements. Colton Herta did not take part after withdrawing from the Madrid races.

Madrid’s verdict

Beganovic leaves Spain with pole and Feature victory — the weekend statement he had been circling all season. Miyata leaves with a Sprint win and Feature podium. Dunne adds a Feature second and the fastest-lap point.

And the title fight? Still live. Câmara’s penalty limited the haul, but finishing ahead of Tsolov keeps the pressure on heading to Baku on September 24–26. The Madring has now hosted its first full Formula 2 weekend. The next chapter starts in Azerbaijan.