Formula 2 (F2) began its special 2026 Azerbaijan GP weekend with Free Practice around the Baku City Circuit, as the field prepared for an expanded format featuring two Qualifying sessions, one Sprint Race and two Feature Races.
The three-day event started one day earlier than usual, with the 45-minute practice session opening Thursday’s running before back-to-back Qualifying sessions later in the afternoon.
Lights out
The session went green, and the drivers began their first runs as they looked to get crucial early lap times on the board.
There was little action in the opening minutes, but Kush Maini set the first representative benchmark, topping the timing sheets with a 2:00.42.
Turn 3 incidents trigger early interruptions
A brief yellow flag came out when Oliver Goethe went into the run-off area at Turn 3, although he managed to rejoin and continue.
The session then moved under Virtual Safety Car after Joshua Dürksen also went off at Turn 3. Unlike Goethe, Dürksen could not reverse out and continue, leaving marshals to clear his car.
Goethe’s session later worsened when he stopped on track after locking up and making slight contact with the barrier at the entry to Turn 5, adding another interruption to the early stages of Free Practice.
Maini lowers the benchmark
The session resumed with Rafael Câmara on his first flying lap of the day, and the Invicta Racing driver moved up to third.
Martinius Stenshorne then went fastest with a 1:58.808, before Kush Maini lowered the benchmark further with a 1:58.102.
Maini’s ART Grand Prix teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak also had a close moment at Turn 3, brushing the barrier as the field continued to build pace.
Dunne takes over at the top
Câmara moved up to fourth as the pace continued to improve, while Tsolov set the fastest first sector on his latest run.
Stenshorne then had a big moment at Turn 19 but managed to save the car and briefly went fastest. His Rodin Motorsport teammate Dunne quickly eclipsed him, going 0.222s quicker with a 1:57.044.
Miyata continued his strong form by climbing to fifth, before Câmara improved again to move up to second, 0.298s behind Dunne. Maini then displaced him, taking second place and closing to within 0.226s of the Rodin driver.
A few drivers returned to the pit lane after completing their flying laps, while several others remained on fast laps as the session continued to build.
Maini going strong
With less than five minutes remaining, Dunne led from Maini, Câmara, Martinius Stenshorne, Ritomo Miyata, Gabriele Minì, Nikola Tsolov, Laurens van Hoepen, Bilinski and Boya.
Dunne continued to show strong pace and went quickest in the middle sector before improving to a 1:56.736, putting a tenth between himself and Maini. Herta also found time late on, climbing to sixth as the final runs began.
The chequered flag then fell with several drivers still on fast laps, although a yellow flag disabled DRS and disrupted some late improvements.
Maini still found enough time to take over at the top with a 1:56.532, beating Dunne to first place. Tsolov finished third ahead of Herta, Minì, Câmara, Van Hoepen, Stenshorne, Miyata and Boya.
Maini tops Free Practice at the chequered flag
With less than five minutes remaining, Dunne led from Maini, Câmara, Stenshorne, Miyata, Minì, Tsolov, Van Hoepen, Bilinski and Boya.
Dunne continued to show strong pace and went quickest in the middle sector before improving to a 1:56.736, putting a tenth between himself and Maini. Herta also found time late on, climbing to sixth as the final runs began.
The chequered flag then fell with several drivers still on fast laps, although a yellow flag disabled DRS and disrupted some late improvements.
Maini still found enough time to take over at the top with a 1:56.532, beating Dunne to first place. Tsolov finished third ahead of Herta, Minì, Câmara, Van Hoepen, Stenshorne, Miyata and Boya.
2026 F2 Azerbaijan GP Free Practice results
