Jak Crawford took pole for the Formula 2 Feature Race for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, beating Leonardo Fornaroli and Gabriele Minì in a disrupted qualifying session.
Baku is notorious for its tight winding corners, which keenly punish drivers’ mistakes. A balance between confidence and caution is the key to success around the streets.
There’s a variety in the level of downforce teams run around Azerbaijan, with each team deciding on where the focus is.
With the close walls in qualifying, incidents are rife. Nine drivers are coming into Baku for the first time in their careers, and a strong banker lap is vital for each driver to get themselves on the timing sheets.
The opening charge
Crawford led the field around the track, the field running nose to tail around the streets of Baku.
Roman Staněk’s Invicta followed closely behind, improving on the American’s initial time.
Crawford crossed the line with a 1:56.179s, but it was short-lived for the DAMs driver, and Alex Dunne crossed the line with a 1:55.846s, taking provisional pole.
Stanek took second just 0.1s behind the McLaren junior, and the PREMA of Mini sat in third.
The session saw its first disruption early on, with a red flag waved as Amaury Cordeel made contact with the wall at Turn 13 after losing the rear at the apex.
The action resumed with Cordeel’s car moving off the track and the debris cleared.
Alex Dunne led the field, looking to extend his lead out front, but behind him, Luke Browning and Dino Beganovic looked to knock the Irishman from his spot.
Browning and Beganovic took the second and third, but every driver crossing the line was improving. Dunne seemed to pick up an issue with his steering,d iving into the pits hoping to have it fixed.
Meanwhile, Crawford crossed the line to take provisional pole, the American driver putting in a 1:54.791s, with Minì behind the DAMs. The PREMA driver managed a time of 1:55.190.
Leonardo Fornaroli, the championship leader, took third, with Victor Martins behind him in fourth. There was a brief yellow flag from Joshua Duerksen running off the track as Fornaroli embarked on another flying lap.
Fornaroli moved from third to second, putting himself just 0.019s behind Crawford.
After a longer pit stop than hoped for, Dunne came out of the pits with 7 minutes remaining in the session.
A tight fight at the top
Into the final push laps, Richard Verschoor led the pack. While the field remained close together, Dunne trailed further back.
But just as drivers looked to make up some time around the winding streets, Victor Martins found the wall at Turn 3, the Frenchman bringing out a red flag as he climbed out of his ART.
The session was switched to a yellow flag, but the time remained paused at 4 minutes and 22 seconds as the car sat in the pit lane.
With the Turn 3 barrier destroyed, it would be a desperate sprint to the line for drivers.
In eighth place sat Martinius Stenshorne, looking at a possible top ten start on his F2 debut with Trident.
The fight for pole turned quickly into a one-lap shootout. The lights went green, and the grid made its way back onto the track.
Those at the front took a more cautious approach to the final laps, while those further down the order hurried their way to the line.
Dunne managed a purple first sector as he looked to take pole, the second sector starting impressively for the McLaren junior.
However, just as he went to close out the second sector, John Bennett and Stanek collided as the latter rejoined the pack after running off the track.
The session was red-flagged a third and final time, bringing the session to an end. Crawford took pole for Sunday’s feature race, a time of 1:54.791s, with Fornaroli lining up alongside him.
It would be a strong second row start for Gabriele Minì, with Victor Martins alongside him, although Martins’ time was at risk due to causing a red flag earlier in the session.
Browning and Dunne then line up on the third row, the drivers in the title fight all closely packed at the front.
Provisionally starting on the front row for the Sprint Race was Sebastian Montoya on the Sprint pole, and Stanek alongside. Stanek, facing potential penalties regarding his crash with Bennett.
READ MORE – F2 Preview: Tight at the top as Baku beckons
Discussion about this post