The winners and losers from F2’s supersized Baku weekend
Formula 2 rounded out a mega weekend of racing in Baku, featuring three races and two qualifying sessions. Several drivers enjoyed a stellar time in the Azerbaijan capital, with the championship picture changing rapidly over the race weekend.
One driver featured on the podium in all three races, while four took home the unique distinction of scoring in all three races. DIVEBOMB picks out the winners and losers from Baku’s long weekend of racing.
Winner: Rodin Motorsport
A 1-2 in Qualifying 1, 1-2 in Qualifying 2. Another 1-2 in Friday’s Feature Race, and a driver on all three podiums over the race weekend. Rodin Motorsport completed one of their finest weekends in F2, with both Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne delivering big results.
All in all, the British outfit accumulated a whopping 87 points over the course of the weekend, bringing them to within one point of Invicta Racing in second in the constructors’ standings.
The positive impact of Rodin’s stellar form around the streets of Baku was felt more strongly on Dunne, who became the first F2 driver to stand on a podium thrice in a single race weekend. Scoring 51 points, he left Baku as the highest scorer of the weekend, now sitting firmly in championship contention.
Both drivers nailed the right track position in Qualifying 1, putting themselves comfortably at the front early in the session. But in Qualifying 2, a gamble to take on a fresh set of supersoft tyres paid off handsomely at the end. Stenshorne claimed his first pole of the season, with a monstrous 0.445s gap to teammate Dunne, securing pole by the largest margin all season.
If Thursday’s qualifying sessions left plenty to celebrate, they delivered much-needed confidence that Rodin had nailed their setup for the race weekend. And this was evident right from the Friday sprint, when Dunne delivered his best sprint of the year. He climbed up seven positions to finish third, showing flashes of the bold overtaking he is known for. Stenshorne finished a strong fourth, backing up his teammate.
The pace through the sprint was vindicated in Feature Race 1 later on Friday. Dunne and Stenshorne initially held the top two spots, but a mid-race safety car for a slowing Mari Boya saw the Irishman benefit big, while Stenshorne found himself further down the order.
After the red flag for a multi-car pile-up, Dunne ensured he moved past provisional race leader Ollie Goethe carefully. Stenshorne showcased the sheer pace underneath to recover to second, marking Rodin Motorsport’s second 1-2 finish of the season, and a special first win of the season for Dunne.
Saturday’s Feature Race was one that both drivers anticipated to be “One of the hardest races of the year”. And Rodin’s advantage proved less conducive in the hotter temperatures of the mid-morning race.
While both Stenshorne and Dunne made their pit stops, they emerged behind Rafael Câmara’s Invicta. Even as Dunne took over the lead only a lap later, he faced a setback: A five-second penalty for crossing the line at the pit entry.
Despite pushing on, he eventually lost his victory once the chequered flag fell, coming home third behind Câmara and a hard-charging Nikola Tsolov. Stenshorne came home a distant fourth, falling back after his pit stop.
Missing out on the second Feature Race win may have been the only blot on Rodin’s Baku notebook, but there is no doubt the team will take away plenty from a game-changing weekend.
Loser: Gabriele Minì
It’s a difficult call, but despite his recovery drives during the races, MP Motorsport’s Gabriele Minì ends up in this section. This is largely due to the groundbreaking weekend his championship contenders had in Baku.
Minì entered the weekend third in the standings, sitting 24 points behind then-championship leader Tsolov. With three races over the weekend, it presented the perfect opportunity to capitalise on and recover lost ground from Monza and Madrid.
Yet, as has been the case, qualifying brought about yet more struggles for the Italian driver. Unable to string the fast laps together, Minì found himself down in 14th for Friday’s sprint and Feature Race, and 16th for Saturday’s Feature Race.
With the tight confines of Baku limiting overtaking, Minì faced a stern challenge in order to keep his championship challenge going. He managed to climb up towards the fringes of the top 10 in the sprint, but was caught in the crosshairs of teammate Goethe’s lunge on the last lap. This dropped him to 14th, marking a difficult sprint.
Minì enjoyed a much stronger Feature Race 1, though, benefitting from the mid-race safety car in order to gain several positions. Eventually, once every driver had pitted, he was sixth on the road, capping off a resurgent drive.
However, despite starting from 16th and once again showing excellent overtaking, the Italian finished ninth on the road. With his three championship contenders ahead finishing on the podium, Minì now sits 44 points behind leader Câmara, and might just have seen his title hopes vanish on the streets of Baku.
Winner: Rafael Câmara, Nikola Tsolov
2025’s Formula 3 protagonists Câmara and Tsolov have enjoyed stellar battles over the course of the F2 season so far. But despite both finishing on the Feature Race podium on Saturday, they took contrasting routes to the podium.
Câmara looked to have the pace early in qualifying, but slid down the order in Qualifying 1. A late move by Invicta saw Dürksen providing his teammate a healthy dose of slipstream, ensuring the Brazilian lifted himself up to fifth. Tsolov, on the other hand, found himself stuck behind a slower AIX Racing car, aborting his final flying lap and qualifying only 10th for Friday’s Feature Race.
Qualifying 2 proved slightly better, as Câmara upped his pace to finish the session third, having initially sat atop the timesheets. Tsolov opted to come into the pits late in the session, dropping down to eighth as others behind improved.
Both drivers endured a difficult sprint on Friday. Tsolov started from the front of the field, but slid further down the order as the race went on, coming home down in fifth. Câmara’s race took a turn for the worse from sixth on the road. The Invicta man locked up heading into Turn 2, clattering into Mari Boya’s PREMA Racing and copping a 10-second time penalty for this.
Having served his penalty, Câmara nearly got entangled in the last-lap melee, stranded on the apex of Turn 1.
Starting 11 points adrift in Feature Race 1, Câmara got himself up the order at the start, before passing Noel León for third on the road. Pitting under the safety car helped the Invicta man claim second, but a poor restart left him vulnerable to losing ground.
Yet, he quickly recovered his composure, with a last-lap drag to the line helping him take fourth from León. The move also meant he held the championship lead from Tsolov by one point, after the Bulgarian encountered a day of troubles.
A slow pit stop cost him several positions, with the safety car putting paid to his prospects of gaining ground. He was then caught up in the melee at Turn 3, being one of the six to retire due to the multi-car incident.
To make matters worse, a five-second time penalty for crossing the line at the pit entry was converted into a three-place grid drop, leaving Tsolov 11th on the grid for the Feature Race, and facing a major recovery drive to salvage a good result.
Fortunately for Tsolov, he was able to do so. Pitting much later than those around him, the Campos man emerged in the top five, with much fresher tyres compared to Stenshorne and Dunne. A series of fast laps, coupled with timely overtakes on Laurens van Hoepen and Stenshorne’s Rodin earned him third, before the penalty for Dunne moved him up to second at the flag.
As for Câmara, utilising the clean air helped him initially stay ahead of Dunne. But despite the Irishman getting past easily, the Brazilian ensured he stayed within proximity. This helped him inherit the race win after Dunne’s penalty was applied, ensuring he took the championship lead by seven points from a resurgent Tsolov.
Loser: Joshua Dürksen
If one side of the Invicta garage experienced absolute joy, the other endured a tougher weekend as it went on. Dürksen has benefitted from a series of excellent results to ascend into the top 10 once again, but failed to add to that tally in Baku’s trio of races.
Aiding his teammate over the course of Qualifying 1 saw him only earn 16th on the grid for Friday’s races, while a slightly better run in Qualifying 2 got him 13th on the grid.
Despite looking quick in the sprint and climbing five positions, Dürksen went deep into Turn 1, clattering into the barriers on Lap 17 and bringing out the safety car. He was also one of the six to retire in the midst of the incident at Turn 3 in the Feature Race later on in the day.
The Paraguayan hoped for better from 13th on the grid, having run as high as 11th at one point. But a pair of mistakes at Turn 1 cost him further ground, and he was involved in a race-long scrap with PREMA Racing’s Sebastián Montoya, eventually coming home in his starting position.
Winner: DAMS
DAMS had a resurgent weekend in Madrid, with Dino Beganovic converting pole into his first victory of the season. The Swedish driver carried this momentum into Baku, being the only other driver apart from Dunne to stand on the podium multiple times across the trio of races.
Beganovic had happy memories of Baku from 2025, scoring his maiden F2 win in the sprint, before coming home third in the Feature Race. He replicated this result once again on Friday.
A late lap in Qualifying 1 got him up into eighth, setting up a strong starting position for Friday’s races. Beganovic then executed an excellent drive from third on the grid, easily making his way past Nikola Tsolov to make it back-to-back victories, despite feeling unwell heading into the race.
Benefitting from PREMA Racing’s troubles and an overtake on Maini in the Feature Race, Beganovic found himself in prime position to capitalise on the restart. Pitting under the safety car got him ahead of León’s Campos, before an opportunistic move on the restart earned him another position on Câmara’s Invicta.
After the red flag intervention, Beganovic moved past Stenshorne to briefly claim second. But only a few laps later, the Norwegian driver took back his position, with León briefly making contact with Beganovic’s DAMS at Turn 3.
Yet, this wouldn’t cost the Swedish driver, who came home an ecstatic third on the road in Feature Race 1.
He faced a more difficult ask from 12th on the grid for Feature Race 2 on Saturday. But a stronger race showing helped Beganovic execute overtakes on several drivers ahead, including Maini, Montoya and León. A brief challenge on van Hoepen for fifth saw him make contact at Turn 1, losing position to a hard-charging Boya behind.
Beganovic eventually came home seventh, showing an excellent turn of pace for DAMS. This was also backed up by teammate Roman Bilinski, who scored points in all three races around Baku.
An opportunistic move on Maini earned him sixth in the sprint, before two resilient Feature Race drives saw him finish seventh and 10th, earning valuable points that put DAMS up to fifth in the standings.
Loser: ART Grand Prix
While DAMS soared up into fifth, ART endured a torrid showing around Baku’s streets. Despite Maini leading in practice and putting in two excellent flying laps in Qualifying to start in the top five, the team’s race pace eventually cost them a big result on race day.
Starting seventh for the sprint, Maini was running as high as sixth heading onto the final lap, before being shuffled aside by Bilinski and Montoya at Turn 4. He took the final point in eighth.
A slow start in Feature Race 1 cost him positions to Câmara and Boya, and ART’s struggles to maintain pace over a race distance saw Maini slide down to eighth. A five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane dropped him to 10th on the road, as Maini claimed the final point once again. Teammate Inthraphuvasak came home in 11th, echoing the same struggles.
Both drivers started in the top 10 for Feature Race 2 on Saturday, but any opportunities for points dissipated as the sprint went on.
Inthraphuvasak clipped the wall at Turn 15, eventually damaging his ART and stopping by the side on Lap 9. Maini, on the other hand, endured a steady drop down the order, losing out to several drivers showcasing stronger race pace. He eventually came home in 12th, over 10 seconds behind MP Motorsport’s Goethe, showcasing the gap in race pace ART had dealt with.
Winner: Laurens van Hoepen
It’s been a steady season for Trident’s van Hoepen, as he has accumulated podiums and points along the way. Baku was another prime example of the Dutchman’s consistency coming to the fore.
Putting himself in the top 10 in both qualifying sessions, van Hoepen started second for the sprint on Friday. Despite losing position to the high-flying Beganovic, the Trident man took back second from Tsolov, taking his fifth podium of the season.
He had an excellent chance to capitalise on this strong start to the weekend, from ninth in Feature Race 1. Yet, he lost out to several drivers pitting under the safety car, and was out of the race in the Turn 3 incident that brought out the red flag.
Van Hoepen made up for his misses in Feature Race 2, though. Starting seventh, van Hoepen made up ground during the pit stop on Lap 11, moving up into what was a net fourth position on the road.
He lost the position to Tsolov’s Campos, but despite the Trident’s difficulty in keeping up with the top contenders, van Hoepen held on to fifth, fending off Beganovic in a late defensive effort. The Dutchman is now one of three drivers sitting on 90 points, alongside Maini and Dürksen, but is 10th due to not having a race victory to his name in 2026.
Loser: John Bennett
On the other end of the Trident garage, it proved a more difficult time for John Bennett. After qualifying well down the order, the Briton knew it was to be a challenging weekend in store.
Even still, Bennett evaded the chaos late in the sprint, climbing up to 10th in the order. It was a positive result, despite not scoring any points.
Bennett was also another driver to have gotten entangled in the multi-car incident at Turn 3 in Feature Race 1, with teammate van Hoepen also caught up in this incident.
But it was in Feature Race 2 that Bennett was left to repent on a missed opportunity to fare well. Attempting to go three-abreast into Turn 1 with Bilinski and Rafael Villagómez, the Trident man was tipped around, coming to a stop in the run-off area and climbing out of his car, disappointed. Bennett has now incurred four non-finishes in five races, after a career-best weekend in Monza.
Winner: Mari Boya
PREMA Racing and Boya remained distraught after his home event in Madrid, when a mid-race safety car killed any chances of a dream podium on home soil for the rookie.
But in Baku, Boya emerged as one of the stars of qualifying. He held the advantage over teammate Montoya all weekend, qualifying sixth for Friday’s Feature Race, before a career-best start of fourth for Saturday’s Feature Race.
Starting fifth for the sprint, though, Boya’s race came undone at Turn 2 on the opening lap, as Câmara failed to stop on time, clattering into the PREMA car ahead. The Spaniard remained in disbelief at how his race had come to such an abrupt end.
There was yet more disappointment in the Feature Race, with an incorrectly fitted tyre causing Boya to stop on track after his pit stop and bring out the safety car.
Despite his struggles, the Aston Martin junior enjoyed his best result of the year in Saturday’s Feature Race. Having lost ground in the pit stops and early into his stint, Boya put in a raft of overtakes to climb up to a sensational sixth, ensuring he left the weekend on a high.
Loser: Hitech
Hitech and Ritomo Miyata came into the Baku weekend with a spring in their step, with the Japanese driver having enjoyed a sensational time in Madrid. Yet, they endured a torrid time in Azerbaijan, failing to score in any race of the weekend.
Miyata qualified just outside the top 10 for all the races, while Herta endured another torrid qualifying session, spinning wildly on the run down to Turn 15. He started down in 21st for all three races.
Despite Miyata running on the fringes of the top 10 in the sprint, his race ended on the final lap, with León clattering into him at Turn 1. Herta, meanwhile, climbed all the way up to ninth, capitalising on this carnage to end up just adrift of Maini, and a shot at points.
Feature Race 1 saw Miyata out of the race after the Turn 3 melee, while Herta, who briefly ran in the top three on the restart, dropped out of the top 10 after his pit stop.
Saturday’s Feature Race 2 saw the team encounter further trouble, with Miyata stopping the car at Turn 7 and bringing out the VSC. Herta finished 15th, capping off a tough weekend for Hitech in Baku.
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