It’s been another action-packed qualifying session in Formula 2. The narrow streets of Baku never fail to deliver high-speed drama. In this Qualifying it was the American DAMS’ Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford who snatched the pole position ahead of championship leader Leo Fornaroli by 0.019s. PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Minì completes the top three.

Tight Margins and Triple Red Flag

Alex Dunne seemed to have his eyes set on the front row with a few early flying laps. Early contact with the wall left Dunne with front-wing damage and put him behind schedule. It was a tight margin for his teammate Amaury Cordeel as well. He hit the wall at Turn 13 and brought out the first red flag.

Then it was a tight battle between the championship contenders. Browning and Fornaroli improved Dunne’s time, with the championship leader going on provisional pole with a 1:55.191, only for Crawford to beat him by 0.399 s. Minì joined the fight to split the two by 0.001 s, but only shortly.

With just four minutes left of the session, another red flag was brought out by ART Grand Prix‘s Frenchman Victor Martins, hitting the barriers at Turn 3. The session resumed with the drivers determined to get one last flying lap in the bag.

Late Drama and Race Expectations

With a last chance to improve, the drivers hit the streets of Baku once again. Dunne looked set on improving his time, but an incident between Roman Stanek and John Bennett at Turn 1 ended the qualifying session with a third and final red flag, leaving Crawford on pole for the second time this year.

All eyes are now on the Sunday Feature Race. Baku is notorious for its tight turns and quick narrow streets, and the way the fine margins of this track are handled by the drivers can make or break their race.

One thing is for sure — anything can happen, and Baku always delivers thrilling plot twists.