F2: Richard Verschoor wins Baku Feature Race after red flag for start-line crash

Richard Verschoor claimed his first win of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season for Trident. The Dutchman led at the original race start, but proceedings were halted after a multi-car crash involving three drivers.

Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini didn’t pull away at lights out, leaving MP Motorsport driver Oliver Goethe and Campos Racing’s Josep María Martí nowhere to go in avoidance. The three-car collision required a half-hour red flag delay, but all three were able to exit their cars unharmed.

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At the rolling restart, Verschoor headed up Victor Martins and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, but the Dutch driver soon came under pressure from behind.

Martins got to within DRS range and then dived to the inside of Turn 1 to take the lead ahead of the pit stop phase.

The top three were all in on the same lap for their stops, but unfortunately for the Alpine Academy driver, his was slower than his direct rivals’, and he came out behind both Verschoor and Antonelli.

An overcut attempt from title contender Zane Maloney looked to have moved him up to an effective second place ahead of the Mercedes Junior Team driver.

However, a lock-up at Turn 3 sent him deep into the corner and minor contact between the pair resulted in a spin for Maloney, dropping him down the order and allowing Martins to slip through on Antonelli and back into P2.

Into the closing laps and the ART driver was hunting down Verschoor, cutting a three-second gap down to just 1.1s, but a late-race crash for rookie Gabriele Minì meant the shortened Feature Race was neutralised by a Safety Car, allowing Verschoor to cruise across the line to take victory.

Gabriel Bortoleto finished P4 and moved into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship as Isack Hadjar failed to score across the Baku weekend.

For a full report of the Formula 2 Feature Race from Baku, head to the official website here.