The 2026 Formula 2 season officially began this week in Barcelona, and Noel León was the main highlight of the first day of collective testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Campos Racing driver clocked 1min24s370 in the final minutes of the afternoon session and ended the day in the overall lead.
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The Mexican outperformed Nicolas Varrone, from Van Amersfoort Racing, by 0s688, while Joshua Duerksen, from Invicta Racing, finished third. The day was marked by three red flags, alternating leads, and focus split between qualifying simulations and long runs.
Morning: Rodin Motorsport dominates, Tsolov causes interruption
After installation laps and systems checks, MP Motorsport took the lead with Oliver Goethe (1min26s040). With increased track activity, times began to drop, and Rodin Motorsport took control of the session.
Martinius Stenshorne clocked 1min25s437 and finished the morning in the lead, just 0s015 ahead of teammate Alexander Dunne. Gabriele Minì finished third.
The first red flag came with just under 55 minutes remaining, after Nikola Tsolov stopped at the end of the main straight. The session was resumed without further consequences.
Afternoon: focus on race pace and definition in the final minutes
In the afternoon, the initial focus was on long stints and race simulations. Stenshorne led again at the start of the session, but few fast laps were recorded until the final stretch.
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The second interruption happened when Joshua Duerksen spun at Turn 3 and stopped on the track. After the restart, fast lap simulations with soft tires began.
Duerksen even took the lead with 1min25s274, but in the last 15 minutes Noel León found extra time and recorded 1min24s370, securing the absolute best time of the day.
A final red flag was caused by Sébastian Montoya, who ended up in the gravel at Turn 1. The session was not restarted.
In addition to the top 3, Ritomo Miyata finished fourth, ahead of Stenshorne, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, Dunne, Rafael Câmara, Tsolov, and Colton Herta.
Testing continues over the next few days, with teams looking to understand the behavior of the cars at the start of the new season.
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