Verschoor wins, Bortoleto takes points lead as crash disrupts Baku feature race · RaceFans

Richard Verschoor became the 16th different driver to win in Formula 2 this year in a crash-shortened feature race in Baku.

The Trident driver, who has finished twice in races already this year only to be subsequently disqualified, led from pole to win ahead of Victor Martins and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Gabriel Bortoleto took the lead of the championship from Isack Hadjar, who failed to score.

The start of the race was marred by a shocking accident when Kush Maini, fifth on the grid, stalled when the lights went out and was hit by Oliver Goethe and then Pepe Marti, flipping the Campos car onto its roll hoop. The race was red-flagged almost immediately, with all three drivers involved able to climb out of their cars seemingly unhurt.

The race was suspended for over half an hour before resuming behind the Safety Car. However, there was now just over 30 minutes of racing time remaining as Verschoor led Antonelli and the rest of the field out onto the circuit.

After two laps behind the Safety Car, the race resumed with a rolling start with just under 27 minutes of race time remaining. Verschoor waited for his opportunity before hitting the throttle pedal, catching Antonelli out and easily retaining his lead into turn one.

Martins overtook Antonelli at the start of the next lap, then gained the lead from Verschoor the following lap. The three leaders pitted in close proximity, but a slow stop for Martins handed the lead back to Verschoor.

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Antonelli survived contact with Zane Maloney at turn three after the Rodin driver emerged ahead of him out of the pit lane, sending him down the escape road. Martins started to catch the leader again, who appeared to have knocked his wheels slightly out of alignment. However, Verschoor’s pace enabled him to remain out of reach.

In the closing minutes, the Safety Car was deployed when Gabriele Mini, substituting for Oliver Bearman at Prema, crashed out at turn 15. That effectively ended the race, allowing Verschoor to take his first win of the season.

Martins took second with Antonelli in third. Gabriel Bortoleto finished fourth ahead of Joshua Duerksen, Paul Aron and Williams junior Luke Browning taking seventh in his first F2 weekend. Jak Crawford, Dennis Hauger and Christian Mansell completed the top ten.

As only 17 racing laps were completed, full points were not awarded for the race. But with championship leader Isack Hadjar failing to finish in the points for the fourth consecutive race, Bortoleto’s fourth place allowed him to gain the lead of the championship by 4.5 points with four races remaining.

Formula 2 Azerbaijan race two results

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