Formula 2: Pole in Baku won by Oliver Berman

The start of the half-hour Formula 2 qualifying session has been delayed by ten minutes and the weather in Baku appears to have changed somewhat in the short time since the completion of F1 practice. That part of the route that runs along the sea was covered with some kind of haze, although above those sectors of the circle that are located in the area of ​​​​the ancient city, the sky still remained absolutely clear.

Talking about the difficulties of the Azerbaijan circuit, the riders and representatives of the teams of the youth series stressed that the combination of a very long straight and many 90-degree turns, where the fenders are close, is a difficult task for everyone forms .

This was especially true for F2 debutants, who are quite numerous this year as they are introduced to the Baku City Circuit for the first time. Although even more experienced drivers admitted that it is more difficult to avoid problems on this track than on many others.

This was confirmed by the red flags that appeared as early as the seventh minute of the session after a serious accident involving American Ben Benavides, a PHM Racing driver, who made a clear mistake at the first corner. The front of the German team’s car was completely destroyed, but fortunately the driver was not injured, except that he was very upset.

It is worth adding that his accident could have had even more serious consequences as last year’s F3 champion Victor Marten, who now plays for ART, drove behind Benavidez. But he managed to avoid the car crashing into the barrier, drive into the safety zone and then return to the pits.

But the fence of the track was badly damaged and the technical service of the track started to repair it. One could only guess how long it would take, given the magnitude of the problems. It turned out that the break lasted more than 15 minutes, but then the races resumed.

The first more or less fast lap was set by Dennis Hauger, in an MP Motorsport car, with a result of 1:55.181, but it was clear that this was just the beginning, and that his time would be blocked, and more much more. Oliver Berman, a Prema rider, quickly completed the lap in 1:53.780, but Hauger answered him in 1:53.531.

Ayumu Iwasa, the DAMS driver, went a little overboard and hit the bumper lightly as he exited Turn 15, but with no consequences – he wasn’t even in the top ten at this point in the session. Much less fortunate was Hitech’s Isaac Hajjar, who damaged his car from contact with a turn 5 barrier, after which his mechanics made an urgent attempt to return the front suspension and steering to normal. Until now, besides Benavidez, he was the only one who failed to complete a normal lap at all. But the mechanics sorted it out and eventually the Frenchman returned to the track.

Since in Baku a lot depends on whether you can use the slipstream behind the opponent’s car, there was a real pandemonium on the track from time to time. Many tried to win something and get into a favorable position on the track, leading some riders to radio to their teams that the rivals were going too slow, hindering the exit circle from the pits, so it was difficult for them to get the tires to warm up for the next attempt.

Theo Purscher was the first to break Hauger’s time in 1:53.336, followed by Frederik Vesti in 1:53.271. But Oliver Berman, another Prema representative, hit the wall and, it seems, slightly damaged the car.

Meanwhile, the session came to an end and the riders made a decisive attack on pole. In the closing seconds of qualifying several riders were on the front row, and the best results changed with kaleidoscopic speed: first Vesti scored, then Enzo Fittipaldi, but finally pole went to the already mentioned Oliver Berman, who blocked the Brazilian. result with only a few thousandths after a lap time of 1:52.652. In addition, on a car whose steering settings were overturned after contact with the attack.

It is the 17-year-old British Prema driver and student of the Ferrari Racing Academy who will start from first position on Sunday, alongside the representative of the glorious Brazilian racing dynasty; Theo Purscher and Frederik Vesti start from the second row and Dennis Hauger closes the top five.

Richard Fershhor will start from pole position in Saturday’s sprint and set the 10th fastest time today.

Qualifying results