Rafael Villagómez is setting his sights on victory in Saturday’s 2025 Azerbaijan GP Sprint Race following a dramatic and chaotic F2 Qualifying session at the Baku City Circuit. Despite a series of obstacles, the Van Amersfoort Racing driver has emerged from the session with the reverse grid pole position, giving him a strong starting point for the weekend’s race.
A chaotic Qualifying session
Villagómez’s original Qualifying position was P12, but penalties for other drivers promoted him to P10. Reflecting on the session, the Mexican driver described it as a “messy” experience, but he was pleased with the final result.
“Pretty messy, many Red Flags and a lot of people going off. I touched the wall on Lap 2, so I really only got one lap. It was luckily good enough for reverse grid pole. So I’m happy with that,” Villagómez said, highlighting the intense nature of the session.
He also credited his team for their efforts, acknowledging that they had anticipated strong pace for the weekend. “I think the team did a really good job, and we knew from this morning that the pace was good and that we had a good car. It doesn’t mean much today, but if we can hold onto it tomorrow, it would mean a lot. Last year, we got a win, and this year, we’ve had a podium but not had a win.”
The road to reverse grid pole
Despite the early wall contact, Villagómez was fortunate to make it through the session without major incidents. However, he admitted that the damage from his first run left him on edge as the final runs progressed.
“I was a little bit nervous to be honest. I had a little bit of damage, and we were one of the last ones in the queue, so anything could happen. If someone went off ahead, my lap would be gone, and it might be an advantage to someone else. But, I had the crash in front of me and that brought out the Red Flag.”
Thanks to others making even bigger errors later in the session, Villagómez managed to claim a top 10 position, securing the reverse grid pole for the Sprint.
How the grid will line up for tomorrow's Sprint Race 👀🏃♂️
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) September 19, 2025
Lights out at 14:15 local time! ⏰#F2 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/k1cCT5d3yM
Looking ahead to the Sprint Race
With the reverse grid pole now in his hands, Villagómez knows that Saturday’s Sprint Race will be a challenging race, particularly with the DRS effect playing a key role around the Baku City Circuit. Nevertheless, he remains determined to target victory.
“I want to have a good start, but at the same time, it’s not the best track to lead around because the DRS effect is massive,” Villagómez explained. “It’s not the end of the world if I come out of Turn 1 and I’m not in the lead.”
Moreover, Villagómez is also keeping an eye on the weather, which could complicate the race even further. “Also, we’ll have to see what the weather does. There’s a chance it could be raining tomorrow, so we’ll have to wait and see. If there’s a lot of spray, it’ll make it more difficult, but the goal is to win.”
Preparing for Sunday’s Feature Race
Looking beyond the Sprint, Villagómez is also thinking ahead to Sunday’s Feature Race, where strategy will play a crucial role. The Baku track’s unique characteristics, particularly its tricky outlap, will make pit stop timing more important than ever.
“The outlap is pretty tricky here because of how dirty the track is, so we need to play with that a bit,” Villagómez explained. “If we time it well, when the right time to box is – we know from Monza we’re pretty good in the race and managing the tyres, so that gives us a little bit of confidence, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
With the unpredictable nature of both the circuit and the weather, Villagómez and his team will need to be at their best if they hope to come away with a strong result in both the Sprint and Feature Races.
