The 2025 F2 Azerbaijan GP highlighted just how intense the championship fight has become with only two rounds left — Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli continues to lead the Drivers’ Standings on 188 points, but DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford closed the gap after a strong weekend in Baku. Following his pole position on Friday, the American converted it into a commanding Feature Race victory on Sunday, as the battle for the title heightens heading into Qatar. While Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic enjoyed his maiden F2 win and scored himself a double podium-finish walking away from the weekend.
As Formula 2 heads into a lengthy break before returning to action in November, we take a look at the winners and losers of the 2025 F2 Azerbaijan GP.
Winners of the weekend
Jak Crawford
The American enjoyed a standout weekend in Baku. Right from the get-go, Crawford showed impressive pace, finishing Free Practice in second. This pace and confidence was evident as he carried this strong momentum into Qualifying. Despite interruptions during the session, the 20 year-old stayed cool and delivered when it mattered most, storming to pole-position, marking his second of the season.
In the Sprint Race, the American showcased his fighting spirit, charging through the field after starting tenth on the grid to finish fourth. While he’d come close to a podium, the American still secured valuable points to add to his tally. With his focus firmly set on closing the gap to Fornaroli, starting from pole on Sunday gave Crawford the perfect opportunity to make up valuable points in the championship.
When the lights went out on Sunday, Crawford made a strong start but lost the lead into Turn 1 as Fornaroli dived down the inside. Staying composed, the American settled into a rhythm. However, following an early safety car, a perfectly timed pit stop for Crawford saw him jump ahead of Fornaroli. He rejoined the track in second behind Gabriele Minì. On the restart, he wasted no time, catching Minì off-guard to claim the lead. Though Joshua Dürksen closed in late in the race after a strong drive, Crawford kept his composure and controlled the rest of the race to claim his fourth win of the season.
Dino Beganovic
The 2025 Azerbaijan GP proved to be a breakthrough weekend for the Swede, as he claimed his maiden F2 victory in the Sprint Race. For Beganovic, it was a return to the podium after seven rounds. After qualifying eleventh, he was promoted to tenth when Roman Staněk’s lap time was deleted for causing a red flag — a change that presented him with the opportunity of starting on reverse-grid pole.
On Sprint Saturday, the 21 year-old made a superb start off the line and never looked back. In a race filled with chaos and interruptions, Beganovic remained composed, leading from lights-to-flag to secure a commanding victory and deliver a Hitech 1-2 finish. However, starting further down the grid on Sunday, Beganovic knew he had work to do in order to move up the order.
During the Feature Race, the 21 year-old showed no hesitation in battling hard, making several decisive overtakes to climb through the field. After Fornaroli’s 10-second time penalty was applied, Beganovic inherited the final spot on the podium, capping off the weekend in style with an impressive double podium-finish in Baku.
Joshua Dürksen
The Paraguayan appears to have found some momentum and pace in the closing stages of the season, with his latest podium marking his third in the last four races. Especially on a track like Baku, starting from 15th for both races, Dürksen’s chances of a podium-finish initially looked slim. But as always in Formula 2, anything can happen. The 22 year-old narrowly missed out on points in the Sprint, finishing ninth, but Sunday turned out to be a far stronger drive for him.
On Sunday, keeping out of trouble paid off for several drivers, including Dürksen. As the race unfolded, he steadily craved his way through the field and soon found himself chasing down Crawford for the lead. Despite closing the gap and attempting a few moves to pose a challenge, time ultimately ran out, forcing him to settle for second. Nonetheless, the Paraguayan produced a superb drive to secure his fifth podium of the season — a performance he can be proud of.
Losers of the weekend
Martinius Stenshorne
Stenshorne’s F2 debut proved to be a weekend to forget. Fresh off a strong F3 season where he finished fifth overall, the Norwegian joined Trident for the first time alongside Laurens van Hoepen. The weekend began promisingly as he qualified seventh on Friday. However, misfortunes soon struck. During the Sprint, starting fourth, he got a brilliant launch off the line and climbed into second. But, an engine failure soon ended his race prematurely. Following that, a battle with Pepe Martí in the Feature Race ended in a crash into the barriers, closing out his debut weekend with a double retirement.
Despite the setbacks, getting in the cockpit of a Formula 2 car for the first time would have provided the Norwegian with valuable experience ahead of his first full-season in 2026. Stenshorne walks away with several positives as well to take away from the experience.
Roman Staněk
The 2025 F2 Azerbaijan GP proved to be an uncharacteristic weekend for Roman Staněk. The Czech driver made a costly error in Qualifying, rejoining the track unsafely and colliding with John Bennett, causing a major crash. With his fastest lap deleted, Staněk was relegated to 17th on the grid. Although he fought his way up to 11th in the Sprint Race, he could only manage 13th in the Feature Race.
To date, his weekend in Baku marked the 21 year-old’s worst weekend in 2025. Heading into the final two rounds of the season, Staněk sits ninth in the Drivers’ Standings with 81 points. He will be aiming to climb further up the order and finish the year on a high with Invicta Racing.
