FEATURE RACE 1: Dunne back in title hunt with assured Baku victory

Alexander Dunne converted pole position into his first race victory of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 season to put himself firmly in the title picture. The Rodin Motorsport driver led home a 1-2 for the team with Martinius Stenshorne taking second ahead of Dino Beganovic in third for DAMS Lucas Oil.

Rafael Câmara won a drag race against Noel León to the line to take fourth place and the lead of the Drivers' Championship, with Nikola Tsolov failing to finish.

AS IT HAPPENED

Dunne got a good start to cover off his teammate into Turn 1, with Stenshorne fending off León at Turn 2 to maintain second position. Câmara was up to fourth just behind them, with Mari Boya running in fifth place for PREMA Racing in what was a clean start.

DRS was enabled on Lap 3 though Dunne had managed to extend his lead to beyond a second. León had the DRS on Stenshorne in the battle for second, while in the title stakes, Tsolov ran eighth on the road, with Gabriele Minì down in P13.

Sprint Race winner Beganovic was able to make a move on Kush Maini to take sixth at Turn 1 at the beginning of Lap 4.

With the pit stop window open, Tsolov was the first to come in, and he brought Laurens van Hoepen in with him from inside the top 10. The Campos Racing driver's stop was slow however, and he left the pits in P19 and last of the six drivers to make a stop.

Title rival Câmara meanwhile was making progress on track, taking third from Tsolov's teammate León into Turn 3.

Stenshorne, León and Boya responded with their own pit stops the following lap, switching to the Soft compound tyres and leaving in the same order they entered, but Boya's race was run. He slowed out of Turn 2 to a halt, bringing out the Safety Car.

Dunne and Câmara filed into the pits for their mandatory stops, exiting second and fourth respectively. Oliver Goethe inherited the lead, while Colton Herta ran third with both on the alternative strategy and yet to make their stops.

Beganovic was able to pit and emerge in fifth with Stenshorne, who lost out in the Safety Car process, behind in sixth.

The Safety Car was withdrawn at the end of Lap 11 and Goethe led the restart and defended from Dunne into Turn 1. Behind them, Beganovic made an opportunistic dive on Câmara to take fourth.

Stenshorne profited also to steal fifth at Turn 2, but the Norwegian wasn't done either. He made his own move on the Swede to take fourth on the road and an effective second place once more.

The Red Flags were out after an incident at Turn 3 left multiple cars in need of clearing away. Tsolov was out of the running along with Joshua Duerksen, Cian Shields, John Bennett and Rafael Villagómez. Van Hoepen and Ritomo Miyata were also involved in their own contact at Turn 3, but all bar the Van Amersfoort Racing driver were left on the sidelines as the rest recovered to the pit lane.

A restart time and order was given, but Stenshorne lost out, as he was listed behind Câmara for the resumption. Following the stoppage, the race was instead running to time rather than the full 29-lap distance.

Goethe got us restarted entering Lap 13 while Beganovic dispatched Herta at Turn 2. Stenshorne cleared Câmara once more on corner exit, while León moved ahead of the Brazilian by the end of the first sector.

Lap 14 and Dunne was desperate to clear Goethe but couldn't find a way past.

DRS was enabled next time around and with Goethe ending up slightly wide at Turn 16, Dunne was able to take the lead of the race at the first corner to start Lap 16.

Stenshorne made it an effective Rodin 1-2 once more a few corners later, diving to the inside of the DAMS driver at Turn 3.

Goethe was under attack on Lap 17 from Stenshorne and in his efforts to keep the Rodin behind, locked up at Turn 3 and ran deep, allowing Beganovic and León through in the process. Câmara cleared the MP Motorsport driver at Turn 5 to set up a four-car fight for the final spots on the podium.

Crucially in the title stakes, the race ran without another Safety Car to the end, and Dunne crossed the line to start the 22nd and final lap of the race, enough distance for a full points payout.

The Irishman rounded one final tour of the Baku City Circuit to earn his first win of the season and launch himself back into serious title contention going into Saturday's Feature Race 2.

Stenshorne secured P2 to make it a Rodin 1-2, while Beganovic held León and Câmara at bay to secure P3 to add to his Sprint Race victory from the morning.

Câmara slipstreamed his way by León a matter of metres from the chequered flag to take fourth and the lead of the Drivers' Championship with it.

Minì finished sixth ahead of Roman Bilinski, Villagómez, Hiyu Yamakoshi and Kush Maini, who rounded out the points in 10th.

KEY QUOTE – Alexander Dunne, Rodin Motorsport

"Super, super happy! I feel like it's been forever since I last won a race so to do it in the fashion today – getting the double podium today with the result in the Sprint and getting a 1-2 for the team is the cherry on top. A fantastic day! We're both going from the front row tomorrow so if we can bring home another good result and hopefully another 1-2, that would be nice."

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Rafael Câmara takes over the lead in the Drivers' Championship, going onto 182 points and one ahead of Nikola Tsolov in P2. Alexander Dunne is third and back to within touching distance, now on 174 points. Gabriele Minì falls to fourth on 161 points, with Dino Beganovic climbing to fifth with 131 to his tally.

Campos Racing remains at the top of the Teams' Standings with 310 points ahead of Invicta Racing in P2 on 272. Rodin Motorsport is just behind in third with 267 points, as MP Motorsport and DAMS Lucas Oil complete the points in fourth and fifth places on 198 and 166 points each.

UP NEXT

Saturday's Feature Race brings the Baku weekend to a close, with lights out scheduled for 11:00 local time.