Beganovic reveals that his lock screen is a mutual picture with Lewis Hamilton

Just day ahead of his latest practice outing with Ferrari in the opening one-hour session at the Austrian Grand Prix, F2 driver Dino Beganovic has reflected on his integration into the Ferrari Driver Academy.

Ferrari announced earlier this weekend that Charles Leclerc will miss the opening practice at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix as he will hand over his SF-25 to Ferrari Academy member Dino Beganovic.

It will not be a completely new territory for Beganovic as he has already completed a practice outing earlier in the year in FP1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old driver is competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, and he currently sits in tenth place in the drivers standings. Beganovic has been a member of the Ferrari junior programme since 2020. He competed in the FIA Formula 3 series in 2023 and 2024, finishing sixth in both seasons.

The Swedish driver deputised for the Monegasque driver in Sakhir as well, as part of the sporting regulation that mandated that every regular driver needs to sit out two practice sessions.

Ferrari's seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is yet to hand over his car later the season. Beganovic's second practice outing means that the Italian squad will have satisfied half of its mandated four rookie FP1 sessions for the current campaign.

Reflecting on his performance at his debut F1 weekend outing in Bahrain, the Hitech rookie reckoned that it was a surreal experience for him to wear a red suit.

“I was not that nervous before the FP1. I was a lot more nervous for my first time driving the car in January. But the day before I did get a little nervous, only because I was in the meeting with all the people that work at Ferrari, and obviously Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

“I'm taking Charles' place, and I'm driving next to Lewis Hamilton, in a Ferrari. If you told me six months ago I would be doing that, in my deepest moments in F3, I would have never believed that.

“Everything can change very quickly, and my lock screen is amazing, it's me and Lewis next to each other on track. Also, my first time driving in an official F1 session, with Ferrari, it's not any other team, it's Ferrari, with a red suit, it was just really special.”

Beganovic is currently trailing championship leader Alexander Dunne by 58 points, but there is still a long way to go in the season, and he hopes that he can have a strong second half in 2025.

“Looking at it results wise, last year they had been strong on these European tracks, which is a confidence boost,” Beganovic explained.

“It's very competitive, especially in quali, the small things can make a big difference. Compared to last year, because I drove last year, the biggest difference is we had a top three or top four that were clearly ahead, but now it's 10 or more that can be on pole.

“Even the guys in 13th and 14th can be on a podium. It makes it an interesting season, but again it puts pressure on scoring points in every race, to keep being at the top.”