In a flawless performance, British driver Arvid Lindblad converted his Friday pole position into a dominant Sunday victory, moving up to third in the drivers’ standings after also scoring points on Saturday. Despite a challenging qualifying session, Pepe Martí contributed valuable points that helped return Campos Racing to the top of the team standings
Lindblad secured his second win of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 season — and his first in a Feature Race with mandatory pit stops. The Red Bull Junior also clinched his maiden pole position in the series, solidifying his status as a genuine title contender. While it wasn’t the weekend Martí had hoped for, the Spanish fan favorite made the most of a tough grid position to bring home important points for the team.
In a weekend defined by high temperatures, Lindblad was already fastest in Friday’s free practice with a lap of 1:27.147 at the wheel of his Campos Racing machine, putting nearly three-tenths over his closest rival, Alex Dunne. Martí, meanwhile, set a personal best of 1:28.594 in a session where he couldn’t complete a clean lap.
Later that afternoon, qualifying took place on a scorching track with temperatures nearing 50ºC. Despite the challenge, Lindblad asserted himself as the fastest on the grid. On his first run, he clocked a 1:25.492 to go over two and a half tenths clear of Leonardo Fornaroli. Martí, by contrast, struggled to put together a clean lap. Lindblad sealed the pole position late in the session with a stunning 1:25.180, going purple in all three sectors — a benchmark none of his rivals could match. It marked his first pole in FIA F2 and earned him two additional points. Martí provisionally entered the top ten with a 1:25.770 on his final attempt, but was edged out by just 0.015s, narrowly missing the reverse grid spot for Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Saturday’s 26-lap Sprint Race was all about tire management. Lindblad made a solid start from P10, gaining a position early on. Though briefly passed by Richard Verschoor, he retook the place down the main straight. Martí held P11 at the start and avoided trouble. With all drivers managing tires carefully, the opening laps ran in stable formation. Mid-race, the battles intensified. On lap 14, Verschoor attempted a pass on Lindblad down the main straight. Lindblad defended the inside, but the Dutchman went wide, overshot the corner and collided with the Campos driver, sending him into a spin. Rejoining at the back, Lindblad began his recovery. Martí, now seventh, looked strong for a late attack. The race turned on lap 18, when a crash in the first chicane brought out the safety car. Several drivers, including Lindblad, pitted for fresh tires — a move that proved decisive. After the restart on lap 21, those with new rubber surged through the field. Martí, like the rest of the top ten who hadn’t stopped, lost out in the closing laps. Lindblad executed a superb recovery to finish eighth and snatch the final point, while Martí came home 14th.
In Sunday’s Feature Race, Campos Racing opted to start both drivers on the soft tire and extend their stints as much as possible — a strategy that ultimately paid off. Lindblad controlled the opening phase of the race, holding off Sebastián Montoya and Verschoor. Martí made an excellent start, gaining five positions and pulling off a brilliant move around the outside of Joshua Dürksen. The goal was to lead without destroying the tires. Lindblad gradually pulled away from Montoya, holding a 2.5-second lead by lap 9. Martí ran sixth, just behind Luke Browning and comfortably ahead of Ritomo Miyata. As others began pitting, Lindblad and Martí stayed out the longest, with the Brit stopping on lap 13 and Martí a lap later. Though Lindblad rejoined in traffic, particularly behind Cian Shields, he passed quickly and extended his lead over Montoya. He later put Gabriele Minì between them as well. When Alex Dunne made his stop on lap 26, Lindblad regained the lead. Martí briefly ran fourth after overtaking Dino Beganovic, but couldn’t hold off faster cars on the soft compound, like those of Jak Crawford and Dunne. Two laps from the end, a car stranded in the gravel triggered a safety car, and the race ended under caution. After 37 laps, Lindblad took the checkered flag to win. Martí crossed the line in sixth — a solid result considering how the weekend began.
After six rounds, Lindblad climbs to third in the standings with 79 points, just eight off the lead and five behind second place. Martí sits seventh with 49 points. As for the teams’ championship, Campos Racing returns to the top with 128 points — 26 clear of their nearest rivals.
The championship now takes a four-week break before the seventh round at the Red Bull Ring, set for June 28–29.
Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 2): “Yeah, overall, really amazing weekend here in Barcelona. Felt good from the first lap. P1 in FP, P1 in both qualifying sets, and then the win today, leading every lap. So yeah, really solid weekend. FP was good, felt good from the beginning. Quali was good on both sets, had a really good feeling. Yesterday's sprint wasn’t amazing, struggled a bit for pace. A car with an issue was stuck on the racing line in turn 12, so I lost DRS and had to defend. There was a bit of contact, dropped to last. Not really my fault, but I shouldn’t have left the opportunity. Still happy to come through from half a lap down to P8 after the safety car and putting the softs. Today’s feature was really good. Focused on a good start and first stint — did both. Managed the first laps, extended the gap. Could have managed slightly better, but still a good stint. Good second stint too. Good pit-stop, some overtaking early on. Bit of doubt at the end with others on options, but pace was strong. Even without the safety car, it would’ve been a comfortable win. Really solid weekend. Grateful to the team. Let’s get to work — can’t wait for Spielberg.”
Pepe Martí (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 2): “I'd say "frustrating" is the best word to describe the weekend. On Friday, I wasn’t feeling good with the car at all. We made some progress in the afternoon, but with only two good laps in qualifying, I didn’t perform well enough and ended up P11 — which really compromised the weekend. Saturday was a shame. We had amazing pace as I was up to P7 when the safety car came out. The guy behind me boxed and won the race, so that was frustrating. On Sunday, I think we maximized everything. Started P11, got up to P6, overtook two on the same strategy, but got passed by two who were on the alternative one. The car had great pace both days, but again, poor qualifying held us back. It’s upsetting to always have the same story. We need to improve qualifying, and I believe we will. Then we can fight for the top spots on Sunday.”
Photos: © Dutch Photo Agency
