Summary | F2 sprint race ends in chaos with only 11 cars, Bearman wins

Oliver Bearman has won the F2 sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It was 21 laps of spectacle in Baku, in which eleven drivers, including polesitter Richard Verschoor, crashed out.

It was a chaotic start, with Richard Verschoor, who started from pole, hitting the wall and making him the first retirement of the day. There was also contact between Zane Maloney and Victor Martins in the battle for the lead.

Safety car

The man from Barbados, Maloney, who was leading, dived into the pits with a puncture, seeing his hopes go up in smoke. On lap three, the first safety car came out after the experienced Ralph Boschung hit the wall approaching the castle section. He had to park his Campos on the track. Race leader Dennis Hauger's restart was good, managing to keep Martins and Jehan Daruvala behind him, where the latter tried to outsmart the Frenchman at turn one.

World Championship leader drops out

World championship leader Ayumu Iwasa had to abandon his battle due to technical problems. Not only did the Japanese driver have problems with his DRS, but his oil supply also seemed to be acting up. Halfway through the race, Daruvala fell back further and further, allowing Frederik Vesti to complete the top three and slowly close the gap to number two Martins. The Frenchman was fast and slowly closed the gap to Hauger, which then turned into a true joust between the two drivers, who only had a few tenths between them.

Bizarre restart

Then on lap 15, Roy Nissany drove his car into the wall, the same corner where, earlier today, Logan Sargeant crashed his Williams, causing the second safety car of the afternoon. On lap 19, the race resumed and went into complete chaos. Martins found the wall in turn one and was edged by Daruvala, with leader Hauger, Jack Doohan, Theo Pourchaire and Arthur Leclerc also failing to get their cars through turn one. Race control had not yet called for a safety car, allowing Ferrari protégé Oliver Bearman to snatch the victory away from Prema teammate Vesti. The 17-year-old Briton thus climbed from P9 to his first sprint race victory.