Stenshorne on F2 opportunity in Baku, lessons to learn and 2026 prospects

2 October 2025

Stepping up to Formula 2 in the final third of a season is always a difficult prospect, but to do so around Baku, one of the trickiest tracks on the calendar only adds to the daunting challenge.

Martinius Stenshorne more than met that head on however, achieving a top 10 qualifying result on debut and securing P8 on his F2 bow.

In the races, he was competitive until a technical issue and race-ending contact put pay to his hopes of points in the Sprint and Feature Races respectively.

Looking at the opportunity however, the Norwegian driver is looking at the weekend as an introductory visit to the F2 paddock to build up experience ahead of 2026.

Stenshorne has since been confirmed by Rodin Motorsport as their first driver for next year, but speaking about his Baku cameo, he said it was a good challenge to take on.

“It feels good to race in F2. Of course, it's always nice to make a step up into a new category. It's always nice to drive something that's a bit quicker, I was looking forward to it.

“I don't think it's the easiest track to jump in around, but it was a good challenge, and also good to get some experience on a track like Baku as well.

Stenshorne was in the thick of the action on his first F2 outing

“When the opportunity comes you just have to take it. So even though it wasn’t the easiest track, it’s still a good thing to learn it for the future. It's a track that we’ll come back to so better to know it now.”

After finishing fifth in the F3 Championship in Monza, Stenshorne’s preparations for life in F2 began immediately, as he began work in the simulator ahead of his confirmation for Baku.

Driving for TRIDENT, the team was immediately local to the track and so after finishing up on Sunday with his F3 career, he began learning the procedures required for a Formula 2 weekend.

“We finished in Monza and with TRIDENT being close to Monza, I stayed in Italy and then went there on the Monday and Tuesday. We went through some procedures, and we did some simulator to learn the track.

READ MORE: Martinius Stenshorne joins Rodin Motorsport for 2026 campaign “It was challenging, of course, through the castle section is quite tight, and there's some big, heavy braking zones around Baku. But there was a bit of everything. The track is one thing and learning it at the same time as the car made it a bit harder, but I think I showed I was ready for the challenge.”

Stenshorne was able to achieve a top 10 start in what was an impressive showing in Qualifying, but it was far from easy to get within the reverse grid positions on debut.

He explained that while the track was one of the most difficult to learn on the calendar, the actual process of getting to grips with the Baku City Circuit was the same as any other.

The Norwegian driver says the experience he built up in Baku was hugely valuable despite the results

It was learning the car itself that was the biggest obstacle to overcome, with limited track time to nail procedures ahead of both the races.

“I would say a new track you can learn it quite quickly, where the corners are, and then it's about getting to the getting to the limit.

“But then you also have to find the limit of the car itself that’s the main difficulty. But, I’d done a lot of sim, so I knew what to expect a little bit, but it's always something a bit different when you get there in real life.”

Looking at the Baku weekend overall, Stenshorne believes he accomplished a great deal despite his two DNFs disguising how he truly fared.

With his confirmation for 2026 and switch to Rodin lined up, the Norwegian will be continuing to work behind the scenes to return to the F2 car and continue from where he left off.

“It's mainly experience, of course. It's difficult to set a results target. It's mainly to get as many laps as possible, get some experience under the belt, and be ready for the next time I can jump in the car.

“Ultimately, it's about getting the experience. Nice results would have been nice, but that experience is the most important thing when don't have so much running.

“Of course, you have the post-season and pre-season testing. But apart from that, there's not, not so much running. So, it's good to learn F2 on a race weekend as well, with the pit stops and the tyre preservation, learning about the brakes and everything else. I think it was a very important weekend for me.”