Roundup of a dramatic sixth round of the 2022 F2 season in Baku, Azerbaijan as the title race delivered more twists.
Title contenders, Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire entered this round looking to maintain their title challenges ahead of the rest of the field, yet a mixture of events saw the title destiny swing closer towards the Brazilian with eight more rounds to come this season.
Jehan Daruvala, Juri Vips and Dennis Hauger were however amongst those looking to ignite their title challenges on a potentially season-defining weekend in Baku.
Now here is a full roundup of all the drama from throughout a crazy weekend on the streets of Baku.
Practice
Van Amersfoort Racing’s (VAR) Jake Hughes and Amaury Cordeel were first out on track but it was Trident’s Richard Verschoor who laid down an early benchmark time of 2m 16.626, which was swiftly bettered by several drivers as everyone got up to speed.
Once the representative flying laps began to come to the fore, Liam Lawson initially set the pace with 2m 00.236 in the 11th minute until Ralph Boschung went quicker, as the Campos driver posted 1m 58.724 to go top four minutes later.
Lawson immediately responded by going 0.696 seconds quicker to return to the top of the timesheet as Ayumu Iwasa went second just one minute later.
Roy Nissany went third in the 19th minute just as Clement Novalak ran deep and stalled his MP Motorsport at Turn Four, which led to a red flag just one minute later after Boschung regained top spot with 1m 56.911 ahead of Lawson.
The session resumed five minutes later but Boschung caused a second red flag in the 29th minute after he lost the rear of his Campos on entry to Turn Five, which caused a 11 minute stoppage as his car was removed and marshals checked the TECPRO barriers.
Once the session resumed with five minutes left, several drivers opted to conduct a Qualifying simulation, with Juri Vips eventually sat top of the timesheet, as the Estonian set 1m 55.924 to go fastest ahead of Lawson, Marcus Armstrong, Jack Doohan and Frederik Vesti.
Championship rivals, Drugovich and Pourchaire were only seventh and 15th fastest respectively at the conclusion of Practice.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Juri Vips | Hitech GP | 1m 55.924 |
| 2 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | + 0.077 |
| 3 | Marcus Armstrong | Hitech GP | + 0.314 |
| 4 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | + 0.490 |
| 5 | Frederik Vesti | ART GP | + 0.608 |
| 6 | Jehan Daruvala | PREMA | + 0.774 |
| 7 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | + 0.774 |
| 8 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | + 0.987 |
| 9 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | + 0.996 |
| 10 | Dennis Hauger | PREMA | + 1.029 |
| 11 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | + 1.259 |
| 12 | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | + 1.323 |
| 13 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi | + 1.429 |
| 14 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz | + 1.557 |
| 15 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | + 1.624 |
| 16 | Calan Williams | Trident | + 1.719 |
| 17 | Roy Nissany | DAMS | + 1.800 |
| 18 | Amaury Cordeel | VAR | + 2.159 |
| 19 | Cem Bolukbasi | Charouz | + 2.312 |
| 20 | Jake Hughes | VAR | + 2.896 |
| 21 | Olli Caldwell | Campos | + 3.896 |
| 22 | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | + 3.899 |
Qualifying
Hughes was first out on track in Qualifying as everyone opted for super-softy tyres and set down an early unrepresentative benchmark time of 2m 08.982, which was quickly lowered to 1m 56.556 but DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa stunned the field with 1m 54.483 to lay down a tough marker.
Nobody managed to beat the Japanese’s lap time in their opening laps as Dennis Hauger and Felipe Drugovich rounded out the top three, although several drivers found time on their second fliers in the opening run as Armstrong improved to second ahead of Drugovich.
Charouz’s Cem Bolukbasi was first out on track for the start of the final runs but the red flag was waved in the 25th minute, after provisional pole-sitter – Iwasa crashed on the exit of Turn 3 to bring out a 10 minute stoppage.
Once the session resumed, it led to a frantic restart as Hauger went top from Drugovich and Richard Verschoor, only for Vips to go top in the final minute with 1m 53.762 as he proceeded to launch one immediate final flier right after setting the quickest time.
The Estonian eventually was able to relax after nobody failed to better his lap time as he claimed his second F2 pole position of the season, alongside his ex teammate and last year’s pole-sitter, Lawson as their fellow Red Bull junior – Hauger rounded out the top three.
Armstrong, Drugovich, Verschoor, Logan Sargeant, Jehan Daruvala, Vesti and Hughes rounded out the top ten for the Feature Race grid, as Hughes claimed reverse-pole for the Sprint Race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Juri Vips | Hitech GP | 1m 53.762 |
| 2 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | + 0.163 |
| 3 | Dennis Hauger | PREMA | + 0.211 |
| 4 | Marcus Armstrong | Hitech GP | + 0.215 |
| 5 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | + 0.238 |
| 6 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | + 0.267 |
| 7 | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | + 0.432 |
| 8 | Jehan Daruvala | PREMA | + 0.439 |
| 9 | Frederik Vesti | ART GP | + 0.485 |
| 10 | Jake Hughes | VAR | + 0.594 |
| 11 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | + 0.601 |
| 12 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | + 0.678 |
| 13 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | + 0.721 |
| 14 | Roy Nissany | DAMS | + 0.965 |
| 15 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi | + 0.970 |
| 16 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz | + 0.976 |
| 17 | Calan Williams | Trident | + 1.248 |
| 18 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | + 1.378 |
| 19 | Amaury Cordeel | VAR | + 1.559 |
| 20 | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | + 1.694 |
| 21 | Cem Bolukbasi | Charouz | + 1.970 |
| 22 | Olli Caldwell | Campos | + 2.485 |
Sprint Race
At lights out, Hughes got a slow start from reverse-pole as Vesti briefly claimed the lead into the opening corner, yet a slide out of the first corner enabled Daruvala to get the inside line into Turn 2 to claim the lead as Hughes fought back to claim second ahead of Vesti, Sargeant and Verschoor.
Daruvala proceeded to stretch his lead as Hughes struggled for pace as he led a lengthy train of cars trying to overtake him across the opening five laps, until Vesti managed to make a move round the outside of Turn 3 on Lap Six to claim second.
Hughes consequently slid down the order across the next eight laps until Hauger crashed at the exit of Turn 3 following a lock-up as he tried to pass Pourchaire which led to a Safety Car with Hughes, Clement Novalak and Cordeel all gambling on a pit stop.
The race resumed on Lap 17 with Daruvala leading Vesti as Sargeant locked up in the first corner which enabled Verschoor and Armstrong to pass him for third and fourth respectively.
Vips meanwhile was forced down the escape road at Turn 2 despite having begun to turn into the corner, after Enzo Fittipaldi came flying across the corner with tyre damage from earlier contact which led to a second deployment of the Safety Car.
The Safety Car came back in at the end of Lap 18 with Daruvala again controlling the restart only to lock up into the first corner, which enabled Vesti to make a race-winning pass into Turn Two whilst Lawson had leapt up to third after moves on Sargeant and Armstrong.
Lawson however squeezed Verschoor hard with the inside line into Turn 7 which left the latter heading straight into the barriers, with the Safety Car deployed for one final time in the race ahead of a last-lap shootout.
In the end, Vesti clung on for victory ahead of Daruvala by 0.380s as Lawson fought off Armstrong for third, whilst Drugovich demoted Sargeant to sixth ahead of Pourchaire and Iwasa who rounded out the points as Hughes recovered to finish ninth on his fresher tyres.
Behind the top eight finishers, there was a huge final lap collision on the final restart as Boschung squeezed Calan Williams too hard into Turn 1, which led to the Swiss driver briefly going airborne whilst Williams hit the barriers hard as he was trying to make an outside move on Boschung.
Williams’ Trident consequently blocked part of the corner and meant that the unsighted pair of Marino Sato and Bolukbasi had nowhere to go, although all four drivers walked away unharmed despite Boschung getting hit with a three-place grid penalty for causing the collision with Williams.
Boschung consequently began the Feature Race from 21st on the grid after having qualified 18th fastest.
In the title race, Drugovich extended his lead over Pourchaire from 32 to 34 points as Daruvala remains third but 56 points behind the Brazilian.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Frederik Vesti | ART GP | 21 | 48m 36.014 |
| 2 | Jehan Daruvala | PREMA | 21 | + 0.380 |
| 3 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | 21 | + 1.102 |
| 4 | Marcus Armstrong | Hitech GP | 21 | + 1.517 |
| 5 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | 21 | + 1.764 |
| 6 | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | 21 | + 2.178 |
| 7 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | 21 | + 2.668 |
| 8 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 21 | + 3.246 |
| 9 | Jake Hughes | VAR | 21 | + 5.496 |
| 10 | Roy Nissany | DAMS | 21 | + 7.381 |
| 11 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 21 | + 7.573 |
| 12 | Juri Vips | Hitech GP | 21 | + 8.027 |
| 13 | Amaury Cordeel | VAR | 21 | + 8.997 |
| 14 | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | 21 | + 9.290 |
| 15 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | 21 | + 1 Lap |
| 16 | Calan Williams | Trident | 20 | + 1 Lap |
| 17 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi | 20 | + 1 Lap |
| 18 | Cem Bolukbasi | Charouz | 20 | + 1 Lap |
| 19 | Olli Caldwell | Campos | 21 | + 1 Lap |
| 20 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 18 | + 3 Laps |
| RET | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz | 16 | Tyre |
| RET | Dennis Hauger | PREMA | 13 | Crash |
Feature Race
At lights out, Vips made a clean start to lead from Lawson, Hauger and Armstrong but Armstrong passed Hauger round the outside of Turn 3 for third, whilst Amaury Cordeel and Olli Caldwell collided at the back of the field.
The Safety Car consequently was called out for the following three laps and as the race recommenced on Lap 5, Vips enjoyed another clean start as the top four held order with Verschoor losing fifth to Sargeant.
Pourchaire meanwhile lost ninth to Hughes on the restart then tenth to Jack Doohan a lap later.
Only Williams and Boschung opted to start on the medium tyres which soon saw the pair carve their way towards the front between Laps 8-11, as everyone else on super soft tyres pitted with Armstrong leapfrogging Vips for the net lead and Hauger leapfrogged Lawson for net third.
Vips however passed Armstrong at the start of Lap 12 to reclaim the net lead whilst Roy Nissany and Cem Bolukbasi collided on entry to Turn 2, which saw both drivers hit the barriers and bring the Safety Car back out.
The race resumed on Lap 15 with a chaotic restart as Armstrong struck the rear of Vips to ruin his race and Iwasa collided with Hughes further back, whilst two unsighted midfield cars narrowly avoided a huge smash into the pit-wall.
Lawson meanwhile picked up a puncture which led to a VSC in order to allow for safe clearing of debris with the race again recommencing on Lap 17, as Vips piled the pressure on Williams who was yet to pit until he locked up into Turn 3 on Lap 18 and flew down the escape road to concede the lead.
Enzo Fittipaldi meanwhile lost sixth to Doohan on Lap 19 then was passed by Verschoor three laps later, whilst Hauger relentlessly put pressure on Vips up front.
That intense pressure eventually told on Lap 23 as Vips clipped the inside barrier of Turn 8 which sent him crashing out of the race at Turn 9, consequently bringing the Safety Car out for the final time as Hauger claimed his first Feature Race victory from Sargeant and Drugovich.
Daruvala, Verschoor, Fittipaldi, Vesti, Sato, Boschung and Hughes rounded out the top ten.
In the title race, Drugovich again extended his lead over Pourchaire to 49 points with Daruvala still in third but now 10 points behind Pourchaire.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Dennis Hauger | PREMA | 26 | 1h 3m 29.334 |
| 2 | Logan Sargeant | Carlin | 26 | + 0.492 |
| 3 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | 26 | + 0.946 |
| 4 | Jehan Daruvala | PREMA | 26 | + 1.664 |
| 5 | Richard Verschoor | Trident | 26 | + 2.776 |
| 6 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Charouz | 26 | + 2.970 |
| 7 | Frederik Vesti | ART GP | 26 | + 3.149 |
| 8 | Marino Sato | Virtuosi | 26 | + 4.791 |
| 9 | Ralph Boschung | Campos | 26 | + 4.911 |
| 10 | Jake Hughes | VAR | 26 | + 5.263 |
| 11 | Theo Pourchaire | ART GP | 26 | + 5.307 |
| 12 | Marcus Armstrong | Hitech GP | 26 | + 6.015 |
| 13 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi | 26 | + 6.902 |
| 14 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 26 | + 7.279 |
| 15 | Liam Lawson | Carlin | 26 | + 11.575 |
| 16 | Calan Williams | Trident | 26 | + 12.198 |
| RET | Juri Vips | Hitech GP | 22 | Crash |
| RET | Cem Bolukbasi | Charouz | 11 | Collision |
| RET | Roy Nissany | DAMS | 11 | Collision |
| RET | Clement Novalak | MP Motorsport | 29 | Mechanical |
| RET | Amaury Cordeel | VAR | 0 | Spin |
| RET | Olli Caldwell | Campos | 0 | Crash |