F2 Australia Practice: Camara strikes first blow in Beganovic Battle

At the end of the opening practice session of the Formula 2 season in Australia, Gabriele Mini sat at the top of the standings with a 1:29.137. The competition was fierce heading into qualifying, but Mini looks like the driver to beat after the first session of the race weekend. Obviously, my focus is on the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy prospects, with Dino Beganovic and Rafael Camara both competing in Melbourne. It was Camara that led the way for the Ferrari Academy drivers, finishing the practice session in third, with Beganovic trailing behind in fifth.

Dino Beganovic and Rafael Camara’s F2 Melbourne Practice Session Results

• Session Result: Rafael Camara (3rd), Dino Beganovic (5th)
• Fastest Lap: Rafael Camara (1:29.564), Dino Beganovic (1:29.710)
• Gap to Pole: Rafael Camara (+0.4), Dino Beganovic (+0.5)
• Key Highlight: Camara surprised me with his immediate pace on his Formula 2 debut compared to Beganovic.
• Weekend Prospects: Both drivers are capable of qualifying in a podium position in Melbourne based on their practice lap times.

Rafael Camara Surprised Me With His F2 Australia Practice Pace

The Formula 2 practice session in Melbourne got off to a frantic start, with multiple drivers having close calls on cold tires. One of these drivers was Dino Beganovic after being impeded by Emerson Fittipaldi on a timed lap, with Beganovic going for a cheeky dive bomb move into turn one which resulted in both drivers going off-track. To be honest, this looked more like a returning of the favor by Dino than a legitimate move. However, the rest of the session was clean for both Dino and his Ferrari rival Rafael Camara.

I have to admit, Camara really surprised me in his first Formula 2 practice session. Not only was he competitive within the F2 field, he was quicker than Dino Beganovic, who has much more experience in Formula 2 machinery. Heading into the race weekend, I was hopeful that the Brazilian could secure a top-ten finish, but now he looks like he could fight for a podium heading into qualifying. Beganovic wasn’t slow either, with both drivers looking really quick in sector 1, with sector 2 and 3 slightly lacking.  It’s hard to say who will come out on top in qualifying, but Camara is here to fight, so Beganovic will need to be sharp to avoid getting upstaged so early in the season!

Read my deep dive into the battle between Dino Beganovic and Rafael Camara to understand why this F2 season is set to be a nail-biter for Ferrari fans.