Despite participating in only two rounds of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship, Dino Beganovic proved himself a mighty competitor behind the wheel of the Dallara F2 2024. Beganovic, who replaced Juan Manuel Correa at DAMS Lucas Oil earned himself three finishes in the points from four races. He subsequently finished 20th in the drivers’ championship with 22 points.
An excellent debut in Qatar
Beganovic’s F2 career got off to a strong start when he qualified P4 during the 2024 Lusail FIA Formula 2 round. He subsequently started Saturday’s sprint race from P6 under the reverse grid conditions.
Unfortunately, Beganovic could not capitalise on his third-row starting position during Saturday’s sprint. He finished P10, just two places outside the points, after a collision with Rodin Motorsport’s Ritomo Miyata. Miyata was subsequently issued a four-place penalty for causing this collision, as well as a two-place penalty for causing a collision with Prema Racing’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Despite what was surely a disappointing end to his debut F2 race, Beganovic was undeterred. He put in a strong and defensive performance during Sunday’s chaotic feature race to earn himself a fifth-place finish. This finish, just 5.727 seconds behind race winner Paul Aron, earned Beganovic his first ten F2 championship points. These points, it turned out, would not be his last.
Beganovic promoted to podium in Abu Dhabi
In the 2024 Yas Marina season finale, Rafael Villagómez of Van Amersfoort Racing stopped on track, causing a red flag that disrupted Beganovic’s qualifying session. Despite managing to get up to P4, the Swedish driver was unable to keep ahead of the likes of Victor Martins and title contenders Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar, the Swedish driver found himself. He ultimately qualified P5, just 0.161 seconds off Martins’ top time of 1:35.745.
Since Beganovic qualified P5, he was set to start P6 in Saturday’s feature race. Instead, he started P5 after stewards handed Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini a three-place grid penalty for impeding Zak Crawford, Beganovic’s DAMS Lucas Oil teammate, during qualifying. Despite a chaotic start to the race, Beganovic kept himself out of trouble. He put in a steady, defensive drive to cross the line fourth.
However, the rookie driver soon moved up to P3, taking his first podium finish, after officials disqualified the original third-place finisher, Paul Aron, for a technical regulations breach. With Aron also forced to start Sunday’s feature race from the pit lane, Beganovic gained a spot on the second row of the grid. Unfortunately, he could not capitalise on this, and crossed the line seventh, almost 20 seconds behind race winner Joshua Dürksen.
Beganovic to race with Hitech TGR in 2025
Beganovic’s strong performances during the final rounds of the 2024 F2 championship, and his sixth-place finish in F3, earned him a full-time F2 seat with Hitech TGR (formerly Hitech Pulse-Eight).
Hitech’s F2 Team Manager, Clive Hatton, expressed the team’s delight in welcoming Beganovic into their ranks. He also praised the Swedish driver’s “impressive” performances in both F3 and F2.
“We’re delighted to welcome Dino for our 2025 Formula 2 campaign.”
“Having competed against him for several years, it is great to have him driving for Hitech and we look forward to working with him.”
“Dino’s record in single-seater racing is impressive. After two highly competitive seasons in Formula 3, he took his F2 debut in his stride in Lusail, demonstrating that he was ready to take the next step up the ladder. His performance in Abu Dhabi one week later was outstanding.”
Beganovic, a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, will partner with former F3 rival and Williams Racing Driver Academy’s Luke Browning. Like Beganovic, Browning was called up to F2 after a successful F3 season. He replaced Zak O’Sullivan at ART Grand Prix.
“Together with Luke, we have a strong line-up to fight for the Formula 2 Championship title next year. They each bring F2 race experience that will be invaluable heading into testing and the new season.”
