F2 Azerbaijan Sprint Race: Frederik Vesti wins after late drama
11th June 2022ART’s Frederik Vesti took the race win as he managed to overtake Prema’s Jehan Daruvala on the second restart during the Azerbaijan Sprint Race.
How the race unfolded…
The reverse-grid pole sitter, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Jake Hughes got an okay start as the lights went out but Vesti took the inside line into turn one, and found himself out in the lead. However, this lead was short lived as Hughes managed to briefly regain the lead until Prema’s Jehan Daruvala went up the inside into turn two and took the lead.
Campos’ Ralph Boschung and MP Motorsport’s Clement Novalak were noted by the race stewards as one of the two drivers forced the other off the track. However, the stewards deemed an investigation wasn’t necessary.
Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan was recalled to the pit lane, after he recieved a black and orange flag, as his front wing was periously close to falling off the nose of his car.
On lap six, Carlin’s Logan Sargeant placed Vesti under pressure to finally overtake the VAR of Hughes. The ART Dutch driver finally made a move into turn six. Hughes committed himself to the inside line into the third corner but Vesti had more speed as he went around the outside and managed to squeeze through, into P2. By the end of the lap, Sargeant utilised the slipstream and Drag Reduction System to overtake Hughes down the pit straight.
As the race reached its halfway mark, Daruvala had established a comfortable lead as the Indian Red Bull Academy driver was 3.5 seconds ahead of Vesti.
It was all over for Hauger on lap 14. The Norwegian attempted to overtake Pourchaire into turn three, after being sat behind the ART driver for a few laps. However, when the Red Bull driver broke in the braking zone his front right tyre locked up. As the 2021 Formula 3 champion tried to slow down, into T3, he carried too much speed into the corner and tried to force his car around the 90° but found himself in the barrier – and out of the race.
The safety car was deployed, as a result, which ruined Daruvala’s four-second lead.
On lap 16, the safety car peeled back into the pit lane and Daruvala faced the toughest restart of the season, down Azerbaijan’s two-kilometre long straight. The race leader waited until he was halfway up the pit lane entry to bolt away from the following pack.
The safety car was soon redeployed as Charouz’s Enzo Fittipaldi was found stranded in the run off area at turn 2, after he clipped the outside barrier and damaged his front suspension. The young Brazilian failed to get his car slowed down in time on the restart, at the pack ventured around the second corner.
Fittipaldi’s actions forced Hitech’s Juri Vips to take evasive action into the run-off area with him as the Brazilian nearly went into the side of the Estonian. Fortunately, the
On the second restart, at the end of lap 18, Daruvala locked up into turn one which opened the door for Vesti to try and take the lead. With the inside line, Vesit managed to take the lead of the race.
The safety car was, once again, redeployed on the restart lap as Trident’s Richard Verschoor was found in the outside barrier at turn seven. At the end of lap 20 of 21, the safety car was recalled back into the pit lane, this left Vesti as the virtual safety car.
In a similar to Daruvala’s first restart, Vesti waited until he was halfway down the pit entry line before he got the race back underway. As the Red Bull backed Prema driver was forced to defend his second-place position from Lawson, it allowed Vesti to clear a small gap from
Trident’s Calan Williams and Charouz Cem Bolukbasi became the final retiree’s of the Azerbaijan sprint race.
When the race got back underway for the final time Boschung, inadvertently, put Williams into the wall at turn one. As Charouz’s Bolukbasi went around the blind corner, he didn’t see Williams until it was too late and the Turkish driver crashed into the stranded Trident.
That’s it for the article: F2 Azerbaijan Sprint Race: Frederik Vesti wins after late drama! What did you think of the hectic race? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula Two here:
- F2 Monaco: Felipe Drugovich extends lead with feature race win
- F2 Monaco: Dennis Hauger secures sprint race win as Jake Hughes stalls
- F2 Monaco Qualifying: Liam Lawson on pole after Drugovich crashes
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
