Round 12 of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship comes its end with the Feature Race which will see the 22 young drivers competing for first place and the 25 points on offer. With a track temperature of about 41.7 degrees Celsius, this race has the potential to be quite challenging for the drivers, with high tyre degradation expected. With red flags and Safety Car interventions expected, tyre management may play a significant role in the race, especially for those drivers competing for the win.
With the drivers all out on track, the starting line-up has been confirmed as VER, ANT, VMA, MAL, BOR, DUR, MIN, CRA, MAN, BRO, ARO, HAU, JCO, FIT, MIY, GOE, ACO, VIL, HAD, JMA and KOO. With team personnel and equipment now off the track, the cars have been powered up as the drivers await instructions to begin their formation lap.
As the lights go green, Trident’s Richard Verschoor (VER) leads the grid around the track. He, like the majority of the grid, will be starting on the supersoft compound tyre. He carefully returns to his starting position, waiting for the rest of the grid to line up for the start.
As the lights go out at the Baku City Circuit, Verschoor gets a good start off the line, keeping ahead of PREMA Racing’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ANT) and ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins (VMA). However, any further action is neutralised as the red flag is brought out following a serious accident between some of the drivers. Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini (MAI) had stalled on the track. His car was clipped by that of MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe (GOE) who unsuccessfully tried to get around him. Campos Racing’s Josep Maria Martí (JMA) was also caught up in the accident. Thankfully, he lands right-side up after flipping towards the wall.
The medical car, which follows the drivers in the first lap, is quick to the scene of the accident, allowing for all three drivers to be quickly confirmed as being alright. None of the three will be able to complete the race, however, with all three cars having suffered significant damage during the collision.
The remaining drivers have all returned to the pit lane. The teams are quick to put on the cooling apparatus, hoping to prevent any electronic components from overheating before the race. Many of the teams have also decided to run diagnostic tests, hoping to confirm that none of the remaining cars have been damaged by the collision or the debris produced by it. It is expected that this red flag will be a lengthy one, with the marshals needing to recover the three cars and clean up quite a significant amount of debris.
Race control has announced that the race will resume at 12:13 local time under a rolling start position. One by one, the drivers return to their cockpits, as the teams await the starting instructions. The safety car is already in place, waiting for the green light to lead the drivers around the track. Two more drivers – Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagómez (VIL) and AIX Racing’s Niels Koolen (KOO) – have been withdrawn from the race, bringing the number of drivers remaining in the race to seventeen.
With the race now significantly shortened due to the lengthy red flag, tyre management is not likely to be as important as it had been at the original start of the race, with all remaining drivers still needing to make their mandatory stop. The race will be running on a timer so the drivers will have just under thirty-four minutes to battle for the win.
It remains to be seen whether this shortened race will hinder the championship hopes of Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar (HAD), who would have been hoping to extend his 6.5-point championship lead over Gabriel Bortoleto (BOR), despite starting toward the back of the grid. For Bortoleto, however, this shortened race, made shorter by the first two laps after the restart being under safety car conditions, this race may be advantageous for his title challenge. He restarts the race in fifth place, 12 positions of Hadjar who restarts from P17.
With just over 28 minutes remaining in the session, the safety car comes into the pit lane. Race leader Verschoor now leads the pack. He gets a good start to pull ahead of the pack. Antonelli, in second place, however, is caught off-guard and immediately comes under pressure from Martins and Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney (MAL).
A yellow flag is brought out in Sector 3 due to debris on the track. This, however, is soon cleared allowing for the track to quickly return to green flag conditions. There had been several incidents in the midfield between MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger (HAU), ART Grand Prix’s Luke Browning (BRO), and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Fittipaldi (FIT). Browning and Fittipaldi have both sustained front-wing damage while the stewards announce that Hauger will take a five-second penalty for his collision with Browning.
At the front of the field, Martins gets ahead of Antonelli, claiming second position down the main straight. He soon gets right on the back of Verschoor. Vershoor responds well to the challenge and momentarily gets ahead of Martin, but this is not enough as Martin soon takes the lead by diving down the inside at Turn 1. Just behind them, Antonelli is closing in, hoping to secure his own podium position.
In the midfield, Aron gets ahead of Crawford, taking P8. Just ahead, Trident’s Christian Mansell overtakes AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen for P6. With only twenty minutes left in the race, the standings are VMA, VER, ANT, MAL, BOR, MAN, DUR, MIN, ARO, CRA, HAU, BRO, FIT, MIY, HAD and ACO. The first drivers are now coming in for their mandatory pit stops, with Dürksen, Browning and Crawford being the first to change their tyres.
With just about seventeen minutes remaining, the race leaders, Martins, Verschoor and Antonelli, come into pits. Slow stops for Martins and Verschoor, however, allow Antonelli to get ahead of them. As they leave the pit lane, Maloney, Bortoleto and Mini have been called in on their next lap.
Maloney has a good stop and comes back onto the track ahead of Antonelli. However, Maloney’s tyres are cold, and with 15 minutes remaining, the two collide after going wheel-to-wheel into Turn 3. Antonelli had turned into Maloney, who locked up. While Antonelli can recover his position, settling into fifth place, Maloney falls to the back of the pack after going into the barrier in the run-off area. He is now P16, just about 20 seconds behind his Rodin Motorsport teammate Ritomo Miyata (MIY). Antonelli, who had been fighting for net second place in the race, is now fighting third, behind Verschoor and Martins. He will, however, not be penalised for his collision with Maloney, with the stewards announcing that no further decision will be taken.
With just over ten minutes remaining in the race, Fittipaldi becomes the next driver to pit, leaving Hadjar out at front of the pack. Hadjar is yet to make his mandatory pit stop, likely hoping for a Safety Car intervention. He rejoins the track in P12, behind Mansell. The standings are now HAD, VER, VMA, ANT, BOR, DUR, ARO, BRO, CRA, MIN, MAN, FIT, HAU, ACO, MIY and MAL.
With just over nine minutes remaining in the race, Hadjar finally comes in for his mandatory pit stop. He had been hoping for a safety car intervention but without one, he now tumbles down to P14. At the front of the field, Martins is closing in on Verschoor, reducing Verschoor’s lead to 1.7 seconds and then to 1.3 seconds. Verschoor appears to be struggling with a damaged car but is defending well to keep hold of his lead. He will benefit from yellow flags or some kind of Safety Car intervention. He soon gets this as with just over three minutes left in the race, Gabriele Minì goes into the barrier at Turn 15, bringing out the yellow flags in Sectors 2 and 3.
With his front wing off and his car on fire, he will not be able to resume racing. The yellow flags are soon upgraded to a Virtual Safety Car, and this is soon upgraded to a Safety Car to allow for the recovery of the stricken PREMA Racing car. With less than a minute now remaining, the race will finish under the safety car, earning Verschoor his first win of the season. Martins and Antonelli will complete the podium in second and third place respectively, while fourth-place Bortoleto will become the new championship leader, with former championship leader Hadjar unable to score points after a fourteenth-place finish.
As the cars cross the finish line, the final standings are VER, MAR, ANT, BOR, DUR, ARO, BRO, CRA, HAY, MAN, FIT, ACO, MIY, HAD, MAL and the stricken MIN.
