San Nazzaro: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Qemzi gave himself the ideal opportunity to reclaim the lead in the 2024 UIM F2 World Championship title race on Sunday by securing pole position for the Grand Prix of Italy.
Making it a perfect day for the team, Mansoor Al-Mansoori qualified second after winning the Q1 and Q2 sessions, and also leading the six-boat Q3 shootout before being edged out by his teammate.
Defending F2 world champion Al-Qemzi, bidding to become the first driver to win the crown five times, goes into the grand prix just four points adrift of Lithuania’s Edgaras Riabko, who will start in fifth place.
Sweden’s Mathilda Wiberg, winner of the previous round in Lithuania, is level on points with Al-Qemzi, but faces a difficult task when she starts behind the two Abu Dhabi boats after qualifying in third place.
It all adds up to a fascinating Sunday in San Nazzaro, with everything to race for ahead of the two remaining rounds of the championship on back-to-back September weekends in Portugal.
Having won in San Nazzaro last year on his way to securing a fourth F2 world crown, Al-Qemzi arrived in Italy with his sights set firmly on a repeat win to lift himself back in front in this year’s title battle.
He started well, setting the fastest time in the morning official practice, with championship leader Riabko down in eighth and Wiberg in third spot.
After clocking the fifth best time, Al-Mansoori was quickest over the early part of the afternoon’s Q1 session, later dropping several places before recording another best lap to go through in first place, just ahead of Al-Qemzi.
The momentum was clearly with Al-Mansoori who powered his way through Q2 with another fastest lap to reach the six-boat shootout ahead of Britain’s Matthew Palfreymen and Wiberg, with Al-Qemzi fourth ahead of Riabko and Frenchman Nelson Morin.
It was a similar story in Q3 as Al-Mansoori again clocked the best early lap, only to be nudged out of pole position by Al-Qemzi who now carries the advantage into the grand prix.
