The ART Grand Prix driver, competing under the Alpine Academy banner, claimed the Aramco Pole Position Award at the FIA Formula 2 Miami Grand Prix — the second pole of his Formula 2 career — with a lap of 1:39.888 that edged Invicta Racing's Rafael Câmara by just 0.033 seconds. Martinius Stenshorne completed a tightly grouped top three, covered by 0.050 seconds from pole. The result carried extra weight for several reasons. Miami was hosting FIA Formula 2 qualifying for the first time, making it a new circuit for every driver on the grid — a level playing field on paper, but one that still rewards those who can read an unfamiliar track quickly and extract the most from a single flying lap. Maini did exactly that.
The session itself was rarely straightforward. Câmara set the early benchmark and held provisional pole for much of the 30-minute session, while the order shifted repeatedly as drivers cycled through fresh tyres in the closing stages. A late yellow flag — triggered by a mechanical failure for Stenshorne — halted further improvements and confirmed Maini at the top of the timesheet. The timing was clinical. His lap stood.
For the Indian driver, it is a performance that reinforces the trajectory he has been building at ART Grand Prix. In Formula 2, where one-lap pace serves as one of the clearest indicators of a driver's readiness for the next level, delivering a lap like that — under direct pressure from one of the grid's strongest performers — is a result that does not go unnoticed.
The season continues. But Miami was a statement.