Rodin Motorsport driver Alexander Dunne topped the timesheets in the Silverstone Free Practice session on Friday, July 3, 2026, positioning himself as a strong contender for pole position in the upcoming Qualifying.
The Irishman recorded a lap of 1:42.065 around the nearly six-kilometer circuit, narrowly beating Invicta Racing's Rafael Câmara by 0.071 seconds.
Dino Beganovic of DAMS Lucas Oil finished third.
According to reports from fiaformula2.
com, multiple drivers exceeded track limits during the session, particularly at high-speed corners like Copse and Stowe, highlighting the need for precision in later sessions.
"It was a good session, I really enjoyed it. To be honest, after every lap, the first thing I was thinking was, this is really fun.
I really, really enjoy the track," said Dunne.
Dunne previously fought for pole at Silverstone 12 months ago, finishing second. He aims to use that experience and his current momentum.
"It's definitely a place I always look forward to coming to and driving at, it's always really nice.
I was happy, the balance was good. I feel like I was driving pretty well as well," he added.
The Alpine Academy driver noted that Turns 9 and 15 are particularly challenging for maintaining car control.
"It is difficult, I think Turn 9 and Turn 15 in particular, if you over-push slightly or the car is maybe a bit too on edge, it's quite easy to push it outside the track limits," he explained.
The field experienced low grip on the Hard tire compound during the morning session, but conditions are expected to change significantly in the afternoon.
Drivers will switch to softer compounds, which typically provide a performance jump of two to three seconds.
"I imagine that when we go to qualify when the track's rubbered in a bit more, and we have softer tyres, it should be a bit easier," Dunne said.
"The Hard tyre in FP can be tricky to get along with sometimes."
Dunne expressed confidence in his setup and vehicle progression based on data from the morning runs.
"If we can do the same as what we just did, then maybe that will be good enough.
I'm feeling good.
Obviously, I have a good idea of where to go based off of last year, and then from FP this morning, I feel like I'm in a pretty good place.
So, I think we just need to go out and drive normally, put the lap together, and I think we'll be in with a good shot," he said.
The top ten also included Sebastián Montoya in fourth, Roman Bilinski in fifth, Gabriele Minì in sixth, Joshua Duerksen in seventh, John Bennett in eighth, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in ninth, and Kush Maini in tenth.
Qualifying is scheduled for 14:55 local time.
