Dino Beganovic enjoyed a highly successful opening day of racing at the 2026 Azerbaijan GP, taking victory in the Sprint Race before adding a third-place finish in Feature Race 1 later in the day at the F2 round in Baku.
The DAMS Lucas Oil driver capitalised on a well-timed Safety Car during the afternoon encounter to move into podium contention. Although he could not match eventual winner Alex Dunne or second-placed Martinius Stenshorne in the closing stages, Beganovic brought home another valuable haul of points.
His results in Baku also continued a strong run of form following the summer break, with Beganovic increasingly establishing himself towards the front of the F2 field. Speaking in the post-Feature Race 1 Press Conference attended by Pit Debrief, the Swede reflected on his double podium, his recent progress, the championship picture and the challenge awaiting him in Feature Race 2.
Beganovic pleased with double podium despite admitting to some luck
Beganovic capped off a strong Friday at the F2 round in Baku with third place in Feature Race 1, adding another podium only hours after taking victory in the Sprint Race. The Swede made progress during the opening stages before the timing of the Safety Car played into his hands. It arrived just as Beganovic was approaching his pit window, allowing him to make his mandatory stop under neutralised conditions.
After the subsequent red flag and restart, Beganovic remained in contention at the front and eventually secured third behind the two Rodin Motorsport cars of Dunne and Stenshorne. Beganovic acknowledged that the Safety Car had fallen at an ideal time but felt he and DAMS executed the opportunity well.
“Yeah, first of all, it was a great day. I think in general, from this morning to the afternoon, we knew we were strong, but it wasn’t on my big part to have another podium today. I think it was a good race. Obviously, we made some moves in the beginning at the race start and all the restarts, and then we got that safety car in the perfect timing when we wanted to box. So, we got a bit lucky there, and then after that, we were able to just execute it well. Both Alex [Dunne] and Martinius [Stenshorne] were very strong, so we couldn’t keep up with them, but in general, very happy with today.”
Recent run of form gives Beganovic confidence
Beganovic’s results in Baku continued an impressive run following the summer break. The DAMS driver took pole position at the previous round in Madrid, while his performances in Azerbaijan added further momentum to his recent run.
Asked what had changed to allow him to reach his current level of competitiveness, Beganovic struggled to pinpoint one specific factor. However, he highlighted the work completed with DAMS since the summer break while noting that the foundations had already been present beforehand.
“I’m not sure. I mean, obviously, Madrid was new for everybody and a street track that I normally feel comfortable with, but other than that, I had a good summer break, and after that, we just have worked well with the team. We also had some solid rounds before the summer break as well. So, it’s very nice to have that result in the bag now and carry on that streak, and hopefully, we can finish this weekend off well tomorrow as well.”
Beganovic remains realistic about championship ambitions
His recent performances have also allowed Beganovic to close the gap to the drivers ahead of him in the standings, keeping a potential top-three championship finish mathematically within reach.
However, despite his strong run of results, Beganovic remained realistic about the scale of the task ahead. Rather than focusing solely on a championship position, he stressed the importance of extracting everything possible from each remaining weekend and session.
“Mathematically, yes, but I would be realistic and say it will be tough to get there. We need to be on our best and a little bit more for every week and every session. So, I’m not going to exclude it. We will do our best, and then we will see where we arrive and just try to get all the points that we have on the table.”
Extra track time earns Beganovic’s approval despite demanding schedule
Baku features a different weekend format to the one F2 drivers and Beganovic usually encounter, with an additional Qualifying session and second Feature Race creating a packed schedule.
The change leaves drivers, engineers and mechanics with considerably less downtime between sessions. Having completed both the Sprint Race and Feature Race 1, Beganovic admitted the schedule had proved demanding, particularly for those working on the cars. However, from a driver’s perspective, he welcomed the additional track time and the reduced amount of waiting around between sessions.
“Yes, I think in general obviously it changes quite a lot because the schedule is quite tight between both the FP and qualifying and also the sprint and the feature. So for the mechanics and all the guys working on the cars it’s quite tough but as a driver, actually I forgot we had the race this afternoon, so I’m glad that someone told me. But I would have found out anyway.”
“Anyway, I think it’s quite tough also physically having your schedules and meetings and so on. Everything is always on standby and either delayed and so on but it’s quite cool because you’re not sitting around waiting all day. So it’s quite nice and obviously I’m a fan of obviously driving more on the racetrack.”
Friday’s lessons could prove crucial for Feature Race 2
The unusual format also provides teams and drivers with considerably more track time from which to learn before the second Feature Race. Beganovic believed DAMS had already identified areas to improve after comparing its performance across Friday’s two races. While he felt the car performed strongly during the Sprint Race, the afternoon proved slightly more difficult.
With the track continuing to evolve throughout the weekend, Beganovic expects every team to use Friday’s information to optimise both their cars and driving ahead of Feature Race 2.
“I think definitely loads, then there is the track that is getting better and better after every session, but I think there is loads of stuff to learn. I think this morning was quite good for us, a bit less good in the afternoon, but we know what could have been better in the afternoon, and I think we’ll start to come back to a bit of our approach that we had this morning with the car setup, so I think it’s all the same for everybody. Everybody will really optimise their car and their driving tomorrow, so I think it will be a very close race, and all, obviously, mistakes and learnings from today will be applied better tomorrow.”
Beganovic refuses to rule anything out from P12
While Beganovic enjoyed two trips to the podium on Friday of the F2 round in Baku, Feature Race 2 presents a different challenge. The DAMS driver will start from 12th, leaving him with significantly more work to do if he wants to extend his points-scoring run and end the Azerbaijan GP on another high.
His difficult starting position also increased the importance of maximising Friday’s opportunities. Nevertheless, Beganovic pointed to Joshua Dürksen’s recovery drive to second in Baku in 2025 as evidence that moving through the field remains possible around the street circuit.
“I think it was very important, obviously, to have the good results today. Obviously it’s all to play for still tomorrow, and starting for P12 will definitely be harder than today, but I think it’s all to play for. We saw last year Joshua [Dürksen] coming from through the field and finishing P2, so we’re not going to exclude anything and we’re going to give it our all but obviously I’m pretty happy with the weekend so far and now I just want to finish off strong to get that bonus and get those extra points on the board.”
