PREVIEW: 2022 FIA Formula 2 Round 6 – Baku

Now a staple on the FIA Formula 2 calendar, the grid heads to the streets of Baku once more for round six of the 2022 championship.

The Baku City Circuit is the third longest track that the drivers will race on this season, behind the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and the legendary Circuit de Spa–Francorchamps. A tight, twisty Castle section mixed with the high-speed start/finish straight awaits the grid this weekend.

The Story So Far

Felipe Drugovich is in the best form of his Formula 2 career with three wins in his last four races. Back to back Feature Race wins means that the Brazilian has a healthy thirty-two point lead on the man in second place, Théo Pourchaire.

The two championship contenders couldn’t be separated in the Monaco Feature Race, with Drugovich just holding off Pourchaire on his way to the win. The battle between the two of them went on all weekend, with the MP Motorsport man pipping the Frenchman to pole position by just a tenth and a half.

PREMA Racing’s Dennis Hauger achieved his maiden victory in Formula 2 , becoming the first rookie to take a win this season after he inherited the lead from reverse grid pole-sitter Jake Hughes who stalled on the grid and never looked back.

With Drugovich leading the drivers’ standings, MP Motorsport also lead the teams’ standings. The dutch racing outfit find themselves twenty-nine points ahead of ART Grand Prix, with Hitech Grand Prix not too far behind them.

What Happened Last Year?

The star of last year’s race weekend was undoubtably Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips. The Estonian driver took his maiden victory on the Baku City Circuit in the Sprint Race 2 and followed it up with a superb victory in the Feature Race after taking the lead at turn one from his former team-mate, Liam Lawson.

Vips see’s the success of last year’s weekend as a major factor for his confidence going into round six, “After last year I can’t say that I’m not excited to race in Baku again. Last year, it was a very, very good track for me and Hitech because we were very fast there.”

PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman took the win in the first Sprint Race of the weekend, beating out Dan Ticktum and Formula One graduate Guanyu Zhou to the checkered flag.

With the last round taking place on the streets of Monaco, the drivers will be looking forward to a few more overtaking opportunities on the 2.2km stretch towards the start/finish line and into turn one, “Overtaking depends on how close you are because theres a long, long DRS zone coming down to Turn 1 so if you’re close enough, you do it there.”

“If not, you can put them under pressure and then you’ve got like another DRS zone coming up. So, you just make him defend for Turn 1 and Turn 2 and then it’s an easy DRS overtake at Turn 3.”

One corner that the drivers, especially the rookies, will have to be very careful is the tight, winding castle section with follows Turn 8 through to Turn 12. The Hitech Grand Prix driver describes this part as “the most unique part of the circuit”.

“The rest is just slow 90-degree corners. I think 80% of the corners have the same minimum speed but the castle section really stands out. It’s super narrow, exactly as it looks on camera in real life.”

“There’s a fine line of putting it in the wall there, so it’s a very enjoyable one to driver. Also, the scenery is pretty cool.”

Track Facts

Distance: 6.003km (3.730 miles)
Total Turns: 20
DRS Zones: 2
Available Tyre Compounds: Medium/Supersoft
Lap Record: 1:52.129 by Charles Leclerc in 2017 (Prema Racing)
2021 Pole Position: 1:54.217 by Liam Lawson (Hitech Grand Prix)

Weekend Schedule

Free Practice: Friday – 09:35 BST (12:35 Local)Qualifying: Friday – 11:30 BST (16:30 Local)Sprint Race: Saturday – 10:30 BST (13:30 Local)Feature Race: Sunday – 08:05 BST (11:05 Local)