Martinius Stenshorne aiming for Baku rebound and return to podium

Rodin Motorsport's Martinius Stenshorne is eager to get back into the points this weekend around the Baku City Circuit.

The Norwegian made his FIA Formula 2 debut around the track a year ago, impressing in Qualifying to earn P7 in his first outing. He was denied points in both races due to various incidents out of his control, but returning to Baku, the Rodin driver has high hopes for this weekend.

"Last year it was mainly about just getting into the rhythm with the new car," he explained. "It was also a new track for me, so there were quite a lot of things to learn.

"Obviously this year I have a bit more experience coming here, both with the car and the track, so I'm looking forward to it.

"The most difficult thing here is the same as any other street track - the walls are so close, so finding the limit and not being over it but also not too far under it as well is tough.

After learning on the fly one year ago, Stenshorne now has a year's worth of F2 experience to rely upon, and he says that his weekend should be much more straightforward than 12 months ago.

He is also eager for a good run in all three races this weekend after missing out on a scoring result due to a Safety Car that impacted his strategy and hopes of points.

"It will make it easier. I think we still showed really good pace last year, even though it was first for me. It went really well until it didn't. Hopefully we can carry that good speed into this year and have some good qualifying results and hopefully score some good points in all three races.

"We haven't scored as much as we wanted to lately. It was looking good for a while in Madrid, until another Safety Car came out and kind of ruined our strategy, so hopefully we can get some good points over the line this weekend."

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He and the rest of the drivers will have an extra chance of points this weekend, with two Qualifying and Feature Races added to the expanded one-off format for Round 12.

The Rodin driver says that while it won't make much of a difference in terms of approach to the weekend, having an extra race is a welcome addition as he looks to return to the podium for the first time since the Spa Sprint Race.

"It's an extra chance to score some points. I think the preparation has been the same as it usually is, not much has changed. We did our usual sim in the factory.

"The goal now is to be on it from the beginning and pick up some good points on Saturday as well. But for sure the main goal now is to be on it from Thursday and score good points in all three races."