What We Learned: The main takeaways from Round 12 in Baku

25 September 2025

Baku produced another special weekend of racing as the drivers went toe-to-toe at Round 12 of this 2025 season, with Jak Crawford converting pole into a Feature Race victory.

But there was plenty to unpick from our trip to the streets, so as we continue to debrief things, let us look back at the main takeaways from the three days of action…

CRAWFORD SHOWS UP AND SHOWS OUT

For the third time this season, Crawford came out on top of the Feature Race, converting pole into a well-earned victory, after being forced to hold off Joshua Duerksen for the final few laps.

The DAMS Lucas Oil driver started out in good form on Friday, as in a Red Flag-affected session, his early time of a 1:54.791 gave him Pole Position.

In the Sprint Race, he charged through from 10th on the grid to finish fourth, before returning on Sunday to take the win.

Crawford though did not have it all his own way, as he lost the lead at the start of the race to title Leonardo Fornaroli. However, he got ahead of his title rival in the pitlane, although he wound up behind Gabriele Minì.

Crawford converted pole into a well-earned Feature Race victory in Baku

But the Aston Martin-backed driver bounced back to overtake his PREMA Racing rival a few laps after the Safety Car restart. He then had to hold off Duerksen to take the win.

Crawford now moves up to second in the Drivers’ Standings, and is just 19 points behind Fornaroli going into the final two rounds of the season.

BEGANOVIC AND HITECH’S BIG WEEKEND

It had not been the easiest of seasons so far for Dino Beganovic, but the Baku weekend could not have gone much better for him and Hitech TGR.

GALLERY: The best shots from Round 12 in Baku

Both the Swede and teammate Luke Browning made strong starts by finishing third and fourth in the Free Practice, and had they made the decision to complete their second laps in Qualifying instead of aborting them and going into the pitlane, Beganovic might have been on pole.

However, the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member converted a front row start in the Sprint Race into a dominant 6.2s victory over Browning, giving the team a special one-two result.

On Sunday, he battled through from ninth on the grid to finish fourth on the road, before being promoted to P3 thanks to Fornaroli’s 10-second time penalty.

Beganovic won the Sprint Race before also finishing third in the Feature for Hitech

That’s two more trophies added to his cabinet and while Browning had a Feature Race to forget – as he finished a lap down at the back of the field following contact damage – Hitech have closed to within 12 points of Invicta Racing in the battle for the Teams’ Championship.

Overall, a strong weekend for both driver and team.

DUNNE AND RODIN IN NEED OF A BREAK

Alexander Dunne’s title bid took a big hit this weekend when for the second Feature Race in a row, he wound up retiring due to collision damage.

BAKU ANALYSIS: The key moments that played a huge part in Round 12

Baku seemed to be going well as he topped Free Practice, and was fastest through the first sector on his final lap in Qualifying, only for a Red Flag to stop his progress.

However, Dunne still wound up fourth, and drove himself to third in the Sprint Race. He was battling for another podium on Sunday until he was unfortunately hit by Fornaroli.

Dunne finished on the podium in the Sprint Race but retired from the Feature in Baku

That contact at Turn 1 caused Dunne to drop down the field, before he retired with damage later on, causing him to score zero points and leading him to lose more ground in the Championship.

The McLaren Development Driver Programme member is still fifth in the Standings, 58 points behind Fornaroli, so a shot at the title now seems tough, although not impossible.

However, after a tough few weekends, Dunne and Rodin will just want to end 2025 on a high at the final two rounds in Lusail and Yas Marina once the season resumes.