Dino Beganovic: The Ferrari simulator, returning to DAMS, and his backstory challenge

That’s partly thanks to a new documentary laying bare his family's journey from wartime Bosnia to the global F2 paddock, and a Ferrari simulator role that is quietly shaping him into a complete racing driver.

The 22-year-old Swede, who is developing under the Ferrari Driver Academy umbrella while competing with DAMS in F2, faltered in the 2026 season-opener in Melbourne but returned in Miami with two points finishes: eighth place in the sprint and second in the feature.

That showed raw speed, of course, and resilience to come back - but a bolder statement concerning his solid reintegration into the team.

"I was very happy to hear that I'm joining DAMS for this year,” he says. Straight away, when I made my debut in F2 there in the end of ’24, it was a great feeling with the team. They welcomed me super well and they supported me, in what my needs were, and what I could improve and what they could improve."

‘I’ve been there, just in the virtual world’

One of the less visible but increasingly important dimensions of a Ferrari junior's preparation is the workload inside the F1 team's simulator. For Beganovic, that access has become a genuine competitive edge in his depth of technical communication.

"I do a lot of F1 simulator [work] as well with Ferrari, so obviously they keep me very busy," he says. "But nothing different from last year."

Where it became particularly relevant for 2026 was in the calendar. Miami and Montreal debut on the F2 bill in 2026 and Beganovic has already been there - in a way.

He says: "I've used my knowledge from F1 simulators and F1 talks with engineers trying to get information about this track to help myself, but also help the team."

There were plenty of talks of Miami and Montreal joining the 2026 F2 calendar well before they were confirmed, and Beganovic says he began preparing as soon as he heard it through the grapevine.

"We had done loads [of preparation in the simulator] actually before it was even confirmed. So, I'm very happy I did those days and those hours.”

He had also enjoyed time in the Ferrari simulator, helping the F1 team prepare for the Miami Grand Prix in 2025.

“It feels like I've been there already and that's kind of the mindset [I had] going also into the weekend - that I've been there already plenty of times, but just in the virtual world."

What the simulator is actually teaching him

Beyond lap times and circuit learning, the simulator has become a development environment for some of the less obvious skills of a racing driver.

Beganovic is candid that when he started simulator work with Ferrari, he had plenty to learn. The team's primary demands - consistency and precise, structured feedback - were things he had to work at. Now, he considers them among his strongest attributes.

"From the beginning, it's one of the things that they request the most - feedback and consistency is the most important in the sim. You can be very fast, but if you don't have those two, you're kind of useless in the simulator. So, I was quite good straight away, but I still had loads to learn from other drivers."

The benefits have translated directly onto the racetrack. A driver who can articulate what the car is doing beneath him, and why, can help engineers find solutions faster. In single-seater racing, where time in the car is finite and conditions change lap to lap, that loop-closing more quickly can be decisive.

"I have improved so much as a driver and then taking it to the track as well; that helps the communication with the engineers and understanding me and the [things] that I need from the car, which I think is a very important role of a racing driver.

“Not just driving the car, but also improving and communicating well with the team."

A story that needed telling

Away from the car, ViaPlay has released a six-part documentary series about Beganovic, charting his journey to this point.

His parents fled Bosnia in the early 1990s during the war, arriving in Sweden with essentially nothing. Beganovic grew up with an understanding that nothing was guaranteed.

"In general, in this sport, you have kind of the idea that every driver is coming from a very wealthy family, as it's a sport that demands a lot of [financial stability]. And it's not really what my story is.

“My parents came from Bosnia in the early ’90s, during the war in Bosnia, and basically came to Sweden with zero money and tried to make my life and my little brother's life better than what they had."

The lifestyle he describes is a long way removed from the factory simulator sessions and Formula 1 paddock access he now enjoys, and Beganovic is clearly aware of that distance.

"I remember in karting, it was the biggest jump for me, to find the support to go to international karting. We were doing everything we could. I remember I [had] calendars with my photos on it and I was selling door-to-door in my neighbourhood. I was selling them for like 30 euros, but if you sell lots of them, it's, in the end, quite a lot of money. So, we did literally everything [to raise enough funds].

“So, it's this part that many people miss in the story of me and then having the honour to work with so many nice people… meeting my manager, Rickard Rydell in 2018, and starting to work with him.

“And he's been a key factor in my career... You can see a lot of it in this area - both highs and lows… - so it's very nice to have it out and to film it as well.”

The next chapter

DAMS had a decent 2025 season - fourth overall with Jak Crawford second in the championship.

The car’s baseline is not in question, but can that potential be converted into a title?

Melbourne confirmed something close to that for Beganovic.

"Yes, definitely. It's just a confirmation or a bit of a receipt of the hard work you put in. And it's very nice to see that it's paying off, and especially signing with DAMS and coming back to the team, just making sure we're back where we left, is a very nice feeling. So, my goals are the same as Melbourne. My targets are the same."

Beganovic wasn’t always this assured; the competitive picture wasn’t that clear for him in 2025.

"I need to remind myself why I do it, why I started doing it - it's because I love the sport. And recently I've started to enjoy it more. I have a new aura, let's say. I've got back much more of the love for racing recently, being in a very good environment."

He pauses, then adds, with a smile: "Normally, when you enjoy something, you will always do the work better.

“So that has always been the thing - maybe that's why I wasn't great in school either!"