Formula 2: Richard Verschoor claims Baku Feature Race victory - UPDATED
Formula 2 driver Richard Verschoor converted Pole Position into a Baku Feature Race win ahead of Victor Martins.
The Trident driver was able to keep his ART Grand Prix rival behind him in the closing laps after losing out to the Frenchman ahead of the pit stop phase. Andrea Kimi Antonelli rounded out the podium for PREMA Racing in third, while Gabriel Bortoleto took over the lead of the Drivers’ Championship after a P4 finish.Pole-sitter Verschoor retained the lead into Turn 1 but there was contact further back which led to an immediate Red Flag. Josep María Martí, Oliver Goethe and Kush Maini were the drivers involved after the Invicta Racing car didn’t pull away at lights out. It left Goethe and Martí unsighted and with nowhere to go in avoidance. Thankfully, all three were able to climb out of their cars unscathed.
After the clear up was completed, racing resumed with a rolling start and with the Feature condensed and running to a timed-finish versus the original full 29-lap distance.
Verschoor got a great launch to keep the lead ahead of Antonelli and Martins in the top three and was 0.7s clear heading back onto the main straight for the second lap of racing. Martins meanwhile was in the perfect position to slipstream his way by Antonelli to take second into Turn 1.
One lap later and the ART driver was onto the back of the race leader and looking to make a move for P1. With 21 minutes to go, Martins had the DRS and ducked to the inside into Turn 1 to take the lead of the race.
Trident teammate Christian Mansell moved himself up to sixth with a DRS pass on Sprint Race winner Joshua Duerksen at Turn 3.
The AIX Racing driver was the first in for a mandatory pit stop and he was joined by Jak Crawford and Luke Browning with 19 minutes left to run.
Race leader Martins responded on the next lap along with Verschoor and Antonelli while Zane Maloney and Bortoleto continued on track from the top five. A slow stop for Martins left him third in the queue leaving however, as the PREMA of Antonelli got the jump on the French driver as Verschoor exited in front of them.
Maloney and Bortoleto were in for their mandatory stops on the following lap to switch to the Soft compound tyres and rejoined in the same order. Maloney though was able to come out ahead of Antonelli.
However, on the run to Turn 3, there was contact between the two after a lock-up for the Rodin Motorsport driver that left Maloney in the runoff area. Martins took advantage to slip past the PREMA driver to move up to fifth on the road.
With 12 minutes left of the Feature Race, the gap between Verschoor and Martins stood at 2.3s as the ART driver chased down his rival once again.
Nine minutes remaining and Martins had that down to 1.7s as he made incremental gains, particularly in the second sector of the lap. Across the line next time around and the gap stood at 1.3s.
With five minutes left of the race, Martins was on the cusp of DRS range, 1.1s back but unable to break into the window.
The battle was over though when Gabriele Minì hit the wall at Turn 15, bringing out the Safety Car with two minutes to go.
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The Formula 2 Feature Race for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has started in Baku.
Dutch driver Richard Verschoor of the Trident team claimed the pole position with the fastest qualifying time. He was followed by Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Prema Racing in second place and French driver Victor Martins from Art Grand Prix in third, News.Az reports.
The Formula 1 Feature Race for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 15:00 (Baku time) today.
Running from September 13-15, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 continues to attract global attention. Held on the Baku City Circuit—a prominent street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital—the event has been a fixture since its debut in 2017 and is set to remain at this venue until at least 2026.
The Baku City Circuit Operations Company expects record-breaking global viewership for this year's event. Around 300 journalists, including approximately 200 from international media outlets such as Sky Sports, Motorsport, Canal+, Netflix, and The Sun, are covering the races, bringing the thrilling action from Baku’s streets to audiences worldwide.
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