Alex Dunne sealed the F2 pole place in qualifying 1, whereas Rodin Motorsport teammate Martinius Stenshorne roared to pole in qualifying 2 on the Azerbaijan GP.
F2 took inspiration from Formulation 3’s further periods in Madrid and made the Azerbaijan GP ‘supersized’. With one Free Apply, two qualifying periods, one Dash Race, and two Function Races, the F2 drivers had an extended weekend forward of them.
Every qualifying session was set for 20 minutes, and drivers had just a few moments to organize for the soar from qualifying 1 to qualifying 2. The primary session set the grid for the Dash Race and the primary Function Race, whereas the second session determined the order for the second Function Race.
Inexperienced lights for Qualifying 1
After a delayed begin on account of observe inspection, the pack had been lastly prepared. 20 minutes ticked down because the 22 drivers ready to set the grid for the Baku weekend. As a result of the time was diminished from the same old half-hour to twenty minutes on account of two periods as an alternative of 1, the drivers had much less time for his or her flying laps.
When the observe was clear, Oliver Goethe led the sector onto the observe. After getting of their warm-up laps, Goethe set an early benchmark of 1:59.374. The opposite drivers rapidly knocked down his time as they headed into their flying laps. The observe was anticipated to proceed evolving, because the situations had been nonetheless not optimum.
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak was near the wall on the exit of Flip 15, however managed to keep away from clipping it.
On the midway level of qualifying 1, the pack closed in tightly, desperate to get a tow. Whereas Alex Dunne held the highest spot with an early 1:55.383, Nikola Tsolov and Gabriele Mini made their method by way of the sector, narrowly avoiding contact with one another. Tsolov tried to go all out and suffered a short contact to the wall. In the meantime, Mini appeared near dropping management of the MP automotive earlier than he managed to reserve it.
Noel Leon moved as much as third with a stable lap, whereas Martinius Stenshorne set a purple sector three to leap to second, simply 0.033 seconds behind Dunne.
The primary yellow flag of the session got here within the last 4 minutes, when Mini and Dunne briefly went off observe. Because the observe went inexperienced, it was a struggle towards time. With a tow from Joshua Duerksen and a stable lap, Rafael Camara climbed as much as fifth.
Qualifying 1 concluded with Dunne nonetheless on high after having sealed pole place early within the session. Stenshorne and Leon had been shut behind, becoming a member of the highest three.
Within the last moments, Dino Beganovic posted a robust lap with a purple center sector, however and not using a tow, he couldn’t go increased than eighth. Additional again, championship chief Tsolov completed P10, placing himself on reverse-grid pole. Mini additionally had a tricky session, ending P14, whereas Camara secured P5.
Qualifying 2
After just a few moments to regroup, the pack took on the second qualifying session in Baku.
Emmerson Fittipaldi set an early benchmark of 1:56.960. In the meantime, Mini was desperate to put up a robust lap after a tricky first qualifying. The MP driver appeared set for a robust lap and set a 1.55.479. Nonetheless, because the observe advanced, an increasing number of of the pack started setting purple sectors.
Additional again, Colton Herta’s tough time continued when he suffered a full spin. Fortunutely, the motive force was in a position to save the Hitech automotive with out an incident.
On the midway level, Camara was on high with a lap time of 1:54.227. Leon trailed by two tenths, whereas Dunne lurked in third. Mini stored making an attempt to enhance, nonetheless, luck wasn’t on the MP driver’s aspect, as he repeatedly failed to succeed in the highest ten within the session. In the meantime, Sebastian Montoya suffered an enormous lock-up.
The warmth intensified as Goethe eagerly climbed up the sector. Nonetheless, each MP drivers struggled, because the Pink Bull junior improved solely from P17 to P16. Leon was out of the automotive with 4 minutes of qualifying left. With a P2, the Campos staff appeared assured he had performed sufficient to safe the entrance row. Nonetheless, F2 all the time brings extra surprises.
Mari Boya went purple in sector one, and it appeared to be a robust lap from the PREMA driver. In the meantime, Maini confirmed nice consistency in his lap as he climbed up the sector. The ART driver was second earlier than Boya bumped him right down to P3 along with his sturdy lap.
As soon as once more, Dunne confirmed his pace, taking the provisional pole from Camara with a 1:54.173. A shock got here within the type of Stenshorne, who soared throughout the road with a time of 1:53.728 to take the pole from his teammate. The weekend was set to be a Rodin Motorsport front-row lock-out in each Function Races. Camara was set to line up behind them, accompanied by Boya on the second row.
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