F2: Fornaroli inherits Qatar pole after Goethe penalty

Leonardo Fornaroli will start the Lusail Feature Race from pole position after original pole sitter Oliver Goethe was hit with a grid penalty.

Goethe had set a 1m 36.115s to take the top spot away from Fornaroli in the final moments of the session but, following a post-session investigation, he was handed a three-place grid penalty for both the Sprint and Feature Races.

The MP Motorsport driver was judged to have impeded Martinius Stenshorne, promoting Championship leader Fornaroli up to the top spot.

Fornaroli had been leading the pack for the majority of the session until Goethe’s last-gasp lap, but he will now start the Feature Race from P1 as he looks to seal the 2025 Drivers’ title on Sunday.

Victor Martins finished third ahead of Roman Stanek, but they move up to second and third on the grid respectively with Goethe’s penalty.

Alexander Dunne finished Qualifying in fifth place, while Richard Verschoor remains in the reckoning and will go from reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race on Saturday after finishing 10th.

Elsewhere, Jak Crawford suffered a hit to his title aspirations, as the second-placed driver in the Standings wound up 15th in Qualifying. Fellow contender Luke Browning also struggled, finishing up 18th in Qatar.

For a full report of the FIA F2 Qualifying session, visit the official website here.