Formula 2 takes place in the early hours of Friday (24th), starting at 1:15 a.m., with the Sprint race that opens the 12th round of the 2026 season, scheduled for the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan. The race, whose grid is defined by reversing the top ten from the first qualifying session held on Thursday, has Nikola Tsolov, the championship leader, starting from pole position.
Second on the grid belongs to Laurens van Hoepen, a Trident driver who will start alongside Tsolov on the front row. Dino Beganovic, behind the wheel of a DAMS, starts third, while Prema will have both of its drivers closing the top-5 on the starting grid, with Sebastian Montoya in fourth and Mari Boya in fifth.
Vice-leader of the championship, Rafael Câmara will start from sixth place with an Invicta Racing car, while Kush Maini, the Indian driver for ART Grand Prix, leaves from seventh, with Noel León of Campos Racing in eighth. Martinius Stenshorne of Rodin Motorsport begins the race in ninth, with his teammate and the best in the standings, Alexander Dunne, in tenth.
Third in the standings, Gabriele Mini will need a comeback, as he finished 14th on the Sprint grid. The other Brazilian on the grid, Emmo Fittipaldi, starts the race in 20th place with a car prepared by AIX Racing.
Check the starting grid for the F2 Sprint in Azerbaijan:
1st – Nikola Tsolov (BUL/Campos Racing)
2nd – Laurens van Hoepen (HOL/Trident)
3rd – Dino Beganovic (SUE/DAMS)
4th – Sebastian Montoya (COL/Prema)
5th – Mari Boya (ESP/Prema)
6th – Rafael Câmara (BRA/Invicta Racing)
7th – Kush Maini (IND/ART Grand Prix)
8th – Noel León (MEX/Campos Racing)
9th – Martinius Stenshorne (NOR/Rodin Motorsport)
10th – Alexander Dunne (IRL/Rodin Motorsport)
11th – Ritomo Miyata (JAP/Hitech)
12th – Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak (TAI/ART Grand Prix)
13th – Roman Bilinski (POL/DAMS)
14th – Gabriele Mini (ITA/MP Motorsport)
15th – John Bennett (ING/Trident)
16th – Joshua Durksen (PAR/Invicta Racing)
17th – Rafael Villagómez (MEX/Van Amersfoort)
18th – Hiyu Yamakoshi (JAP/Van Amersfoort)
19th – Oliver Goethe (ALE/MP Motorsport)
20th – Emmo Fittipaldi (BRA/AIX Racing)
21st – Colton Herta (EUA/Hitech)
22nd – Cian Shields (ING/AIX Racing)
