Baku – Qualifying: Verschoor steals pole from Antonelli, Hadjar hits the wall… and the hard way

• Double whammy for Trident! The Italian team took both pole positions of the weekend in Baku. In qualifying, Richard Verschoor set the best time in 1'54″857, just 17 thousandths better than his closest rival, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. For his first meeting in Formula 2, Christian Mansell will have the opportunity to start from pole position in the Sprint Race, having set the 10th fastest time in the session.
• An unusual and dramatic scene for the two Campos Racing drivers, Isack Hadjar and Pepe Marti: in the first flying lap of their second stint, the two teammates encountered the same problem by losing the brakes at the first corner and going straight into the escape route, just a few seconds apart! The two single-seaters in the livery Red Bull finished their race in the Tec-Pro, causing the only red flag of the session. An image that is not without recalling that between Daniel Ricciardo et Max Verstappen in 2018… It is yet another blow for the Frenchman who fell to 15th place at the end of qualifying, far from his direct competitors for the title.

BOTH CAMPOS DRIVERS LOSE THEIR BRAKES 🤯

Hadjar and Marti shoot straight at the same place, at the same time! 😱#AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/a32LrACtly

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) September 13, 2024

• Indeed, Gabriel Bortoleto and Zane Maloney took advantage of Isack Hadjar's setbacks this Friday, by both getting into the Top 6: the Brazilian set the 6th time while the Barbadian will start from the 2nd row on Sunday, in 4th place. A second row that he will share with Victor Martins: the second Frenchman on the grid was luckier than his compatriot and, after having long fought for pole position, set the 3rd time in qualifying.
• Like Christian Mansell, Gabriele Mini also took part in his first qualifying session in Formula 2, and the Italian did rather well: the PREMA driver set the 8th fastest time and will start from 3rd place on Saturday for the Sprint Race. Another championship rookie, Luke Browning, Victor Martins' teammate at ART GP, narrowly missed out on a Top 10 and pole position for the Sprint, with an 11th fastest time.

Formula 2 – Baku
Qualifications – Ranking

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