Martinius Stenshorne claimed his first FIA Formula 2 victory in Montreal on 24 May 2026, heading teammate Alexander Dunne to seal a Rodin Motorsport 1-2 in a dramatic Feature Race. Championship leader Gabriele Minì completed the podium in third after a stop-start afternoon that ultimately finished under the Safety Car.
The start was lively as pole-sitter Laurens van Hoepen was passed around the outside by Nikola Tsolov at Turn 1, only for the Dutchman to retake the lead by Turn 3. Van Hoepen’s afternoon ended on Lap 5 when a snap of oversteer exiting the final chicane sent him into the Wall of Champions, bringing out the first Safety Car.
Racing resumed on Lap 7 with Tsolov in front, but the restart was short-lived. Emerson Fittipaldi pitted and then spun at pit exit on cold tyres, prompting a second Safety Car. That interruption brought most of the field in for their mandatory stops, cycling Roman Bilinski to the lead. Colton Herta, Kush Maini and Mari Boya also remained on track, with all but Herta having started on the soft compound.
On the Lap 13 restart Bilinski held firm, but when Tsolov dived at Boya into Turn 1, Stenshorne seized the moment to climb to fourth. The Rodin driver then took third from Maini into Turn 10 on Lap 14. Tsolov appeared set to follow him through, but contact with Maini at the final chicane sent the Bulgarian spinning down the order.
Stenshorne’s progress continued on Lap 16 as he passed Herta into the final chicane for second place. Moments later, Rafael Câmara lunged Rafael Villagómez at Turn 1 and the pair touched at Turn 2, putting the Van Amersfoort Racing driver out and triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
When the VSC ended at the close of Lap 18, Câmara immediately came under pressure from Dino Beganovic and skipped across the final chicane, allowing the DAMS Lucas Oil driver through. Up front, Bilinski locked up into Turn 10 on Lap 19, and Stenshorne swept into the lead, with Herta also moving by for second. Beganovic continued his charge, passing Herta on Lap 20.
The fight for fourth between Câmara and Bilinski boiled over at Turn 2 soon after, contact sending one car spinning to the back. Bilinski’s defence ultimately faded on Lap 24 as Minì and Dunne both found a way through. The pair then traded places: after Minì briefly reclaimed third with DRS, Dunne responded with his own DRS move into the last chicane on Lap 26 to secure the final podium position behind his teammate.
Beganovic’s strong run ended on Lap 27 with a technical issue that brought out another Safety Car. The field took a late restart entering Lap 34 with Stenshorne leading from Dunne and Minì. Maini, who had yet to serve his stop, was quickly passed by Duerksen and Tsolov as they moved into the top five.
With the race converted to a timed distance, Oliver Goethe and Ritomo Miyata made contact, sending one car into the barriers and summoning a final Safety Car that remained to the chequered flag. Stenshorne duly led Dunne home to complete Rodin’s 1-2, with Minì third.
After an earlier spin, Tsolov recovered to fourth. Sebastián Montoya took fifth for PREMA Racing, followed by Cian Shields in sixth. Nico Varrone, Herta, Boya and Maini completed the points in seventh through 10th.
Martinius Stenshorne, Rodin Motorsport: “The weekend was very good. Already in Qualifying we had good pace, first part didn’t look so good but apart from that, the whole weekend was very good. Getting a podium on both days too feels special. So I’m glad to take points in the Feature Race as well.”
In the standings, Minì retains the lead on 57 points, with Nikola Tsolov second. The title picture remains tight after Montreal’s disruptions; attention now turns to the coming rounds, where strategy around Safety Cars and tyre choices is likely to stay decisive.
Source: fiaformula2.com