Formula 2

Baku – Qualifying: Crawford on pole, Martins in the wall, three red flags waved

Marked by the waving of three red flags, including one at the very end of the session, this qualifying session saw Jak Crawford take pole position, while Victor Martins was unable to finish the session.

Published 19/09/2025 à 13:08

Mathieu Chambenoit

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Baku – Qualifying: Crawford on pole, Martins in the wall, three red flags waved

© Eric Alonso / DPPI

Fourth in the drivers' championship after Monza, Jak Crawford (DAMS) pulled off a very impressive feat this Friday in Baku. On the streets of the capital, the American driver managed to set the fastest time of the session in 1:54.791, beating Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta), the championship leader, by just 19 thousandths of a second. Gabriele Mini (Prema), meanwhile, moved up to third place, three tenths behind the poleman.

On the other hand, behind this certainly efficient, but otherwise lucky trio, the red flags came to dictate a ranking which could well evolve. From the start of the session, the Belgian Amaury Cordeel (Rodin) came into contact with the wall on the right flank of his car, causing the first interruption of the session. Stuck in 17th place, Arvid Lindblad (Campos) was unfortunately unable to achieve a truly more convincing time, forced to deal with the two new incidents that occurred.

Martins among the unfortunate

Often fast in qualifying, Victor Martins (ART GP) could well have secured another good result this Friday. However, on the restart, as he was about to launch his fast lap, the Frenchman carried too much speed into Turn 2, forcing him to brake too hard as he executed his maneuver. Hitting the wall head-on, the Frenchman, supported by Williams overheated its brake duct, causing both the deployment of a new red flag regime, but also the intervention of the stewards to control the fire which was beginning to develop.

ALSO READ > VIDEO – Victor Martins hits the wall in Baku qualifying

Finally, Josh Bennett (VAR) and Roman Stanek (Invicta) were both responsible for a nasty collision on Friday afternoon. A misunderstanding between the two drivers led to the Czech driver colliding broadside, while accelerating, with his British counterpart as he negotiated the bend normally. With both cars badly damaged on the track with less than two minutes to go, the session was not restarted following this incident.

While waiting for the evolution of the starting grid, the sprint race awaiting the 22 drivers involved will be followed from 12:05 this Saturday (French time).

ALSO READ > The program of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

F2 – Baku (Azerbaijan)
The qualifying rankings

Mathieu Chambenoit

Responsible for the single-seater categories (F2, F3, FRECA, Eurocup-3, F4...), I enjoy discussing F1, Endurance, or MotoGP.

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1 Comment (s)

H

Hilton Leon

19/09/2025 at 02:03 a.m.

Martins is the same! What is he still doing in F2? ART or the descent into hell. Long gone are the days of Rosberg, Hamilton, Hulkenberg and other champions.

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