F2 | Qualifying | Azerbaijan GP | Crawford takes pole in red-flag disrupted session - Motorsport

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DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford secured pole position in a red-flag disrupted F2 Qualifying session in Baku, full report and results below.

The weekend has got off on a hectic start with Free Practice delivering its usual chaos on the streets of Baku. Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne topped the session as he bounced back from a difficult weekend in Monza, closely followed by Crawford and Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic. Making their first appearance in F2 machinery, Trident’s newcomers Martinius Stenshorne and Laurens van Hoepen finished P15 and P21 respectively. While a few drivers encountered issues during FP, all eyes turn to Qualifying to see who snatches pole position in Baku.

Time for Qualifying at the F2 Azerbaijan GP!

After an exit kerb caused significant delays during Formula 1’s first practice session, it was a similar situation in F2 as the start of Qualifying was pushed back. However, soon enough, 30 minutes ticked down as all drivers headed out of the pits and onto the track.

Drivers continued to weave through the circuit trying to bring their tyres up to temperature. Approaching the final corners of the track, a queue was forming as drivers tried to space themselves out on track. However, the first driver on a representative fast-lap was Crawford. The American crossed the line to set a benchmark time of a 1:56.179.

Next across the line was Staněk, who replaced Crawford at the top with a 1:55.985. Continuing where he left off in Free Practice, Dunne soon catapulted himself to the top to replace Staněk and claimed provisional pole with a 1:55.846.

Red flag for Cordeel in the wall at Turn 13

As several drivers continued on their banker laps, yellow flags flew for awhile before red flags flew for Cordeel who had hit the wall hard heading into Turn 13. Whilst waiting for the session to resume, replay showed several drivers struggling during the early stages of the session, as Villagomez and Browning ran off into the run-off area and Beganovic who spun at Turn 16.

As it stood, Dunne, Staněk and Minì sat at the top of the timings, completing the top three. With 21 minutes left on the clock, drivers exited the pits and headed back on track once more. With half of the grid yet to a set a representative time, it wasn’t long before the grid committed to fast laps immediately. The Hitech duo of Beganovic and Browning worked together to head to the top. To the thousandths, Browning set an identical lap time to Dunne as he slotted behind the Irishman.

Soon enough, current championship leader Fornaroli went to the top with a 1:55.191. Following closely behind, Crawford was lighting up the timing sheets as the American crossed the line to go four tenths faster than Miní with a 1:54.791. Pushing his car to its limits, Dunne appeared to have sustained significant suspension damage. The Irishman hit the wall at Turn 11 which ultimately damaged his car as trampled back into the pits with his steering wheel at a forty-five degree angle.

Back on track, Fornaroli improved on his next lap to go second with a 1:54.810. However, all eyes were on the Rodin mechanics who continued to frantically work on Dunne’s car ahead of the final runs of the session.

Last 10 minutes of the session

All drivers headed back out on track for the final runs of the session. Luckily for Dunne, he managed to make it out for a final run of the session and joined the back of a forming queue. First across the line for the final flying laps of the session was Verschoor.

The Dutchman was finding significant improvement. However, behind him, Martins found the barriers at Turn 3 and triggered the second red flag of the session. As 4 minutes remained, drivers rushed out of the pits to try to put in their final flying laps once again.

Third red flag for Staněk and Bennett in Turn 1

Once the session resumed, everyone rushed out of the pits for one final chance of improving their times. Hustling to the line, Dunne set off on his final flying lap. The Irishman had just set a purple first sector before yellow flags flew for an incident in Turn 1.

Soon enough, a third red flag was triggered after a big crash that involved Staněk and Bennett. The Czech driver had briefly ran wide into the run-off area before he rejoined the track unsafely and ran straight into the path of Bennett. Staněk and Martins were both noted for causing a red flag which was going to be investigated after the session. After a premature end to Qualifying, Crawford claimed his second pole position of the year on the streets of Baku.

With several incidents still under investigation, the results below remain provisional.