Written by Jasmin Low
The top 3 in qualifying all found themselves on the podium | Image Credit: Formula 2
Formula 2 heads away from Europe for the final three rounds of the 2024 season, this time tackling the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan. Three new faces joined the grid for the weekend; Luke Browning in place of Zak O’Sullivan at ART, Christian Mansell replacing Roman Stanek at Trident, and Gabriele Mini filling in for Oliver Bearman at Prema.
Richard Verschoor claimed Pole Position a mere 0.017 seconds from Kimi Antonelli, who joined the Dutchman on the front row for the Feature Race event. However, the rookies were also in the fight earlier in the weekend, with Mansell starting on pole for the sprint race, and Mini starting in third. Although Mansell finished the sprint in eighth, Mini landed himself on the podium on debut. Jak Crawford managed to claim another podium, using his experience to manoeuvre his car around the city streets. It was Joshua Durksen who claimed his first victory in Formula 2, in an emotional moment as the Paraguayan anthem rang out over the circuit.
The main event proved to be a pivotal moment in the championship as a red flag slashed the amount of racing time and the points handed out were reduced. However, Bortoleto claimed eleven points for finishing in fourth with the fastest lap, promoting him to the championship lead, four-and-a-half points ahead of Isack Hadjar.
The Race
As the five lights went out, a massive crash involving Kush Maini, Pepe Marti, and Oliver Goethe immediately occurred on the pit straight. Maini stalled on the start line whilst Goethe made contact with the Invicta, which was then hit again as Marti’s car was sent barrel rolling across the track, leaving Maini’s Dallara chassis crushed in the middle of the road. All the drivers walked away from the incident. The red flag was immediately brought out, however, Verschoor maintained his lead at the start with Antonelli behind him as they were clear from the carnage behind.
The frontrunners were clear from the carnage behind before a red flag was brought out | Image Credit: Formula 2
The dramatically reduced race time called for strategic reviews, with multiple cars swapping their tyres in the pitlane before the restart under the safety car. The 29-lap race switched to time, restarting with 34 minutes left on the clock. Rafael Villagomez and Niels Koolen also did not make the restart.
Richard Verschoor dropped the hammer under green flag conditions with just over 27 minutes to go, leading the field once again. Dennis Hauger entered into a three-way battle with Enzo Fittipaldi and newcomer Luke Browning who incurred some damage, with Hauger ultimately staying ahead of the pair. Victor Martins also managed to make his way past Antonelli for second place, and caught up to the back of Verschoor as DRS was enabled. Martins swept by the Trident to take the race lead whilst Antonelli held the fastest lap from third.
Cars began to make their way to the pit lane to make their mandatory pit stops, with Jak Crawford suffering a slow stop and losing a place to Browning. Crawford’s teammate, Juan Manuel Correa, became the sixth retirement of the race.
The leading cars came into the pitlane soon after, shuffling up the order, as Verschoor made it out of the pits in front of Antonelli and Martins. Zane Maloney was left to lead the race from Gabriel Bortoleto, both drivers looking to eat into the points gap between them and then-championship leader, Isack Hadjar.
Maloney tried desperately to defend his lead over Antonelli, but made contact with the Prema as he suffered a lockup and became unavoidable, finding his way into the barriers and plummeting to the rear of the field.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, Isack Hadjar made his way to the pits from the front of the field, entering back into the fast lane in fourteenth place. With no DRS between the top three, the drivers began to suffer with tyre degradation, sliding around the track.
With just three and a half minutes left of the race, debutant Gabriele Mini found himself in the wall at turn fifteen after suffering a lockup, bringing out a second safety car. As a result, the race ended under the guidance of the safety car, granting Verschoor the win, followed by Martins and Antonelli.
Bortoleto snatched the championship lead from Isack Hadjar after finishing fourth and with the fastest lap. With just two rounds left of the championship, it is all to play for as the battle for the crown continues.
Formula 2 will head next to Qatar for the first time, racing from the 29th of November to the 2nd of December.
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