Jüri Vips led from the start, but crashed at the end and let the victory of race 2 in Baku fall into the lap of Dennis Hauger. Felipe Drugovich finished third
Jüri Vips looked like he would come out unscathed in race 2 this Sunday (12) in Baku, after holding firm to the top spot at the start and escaping confusion throughout the race. But then, with five minutes to go, the Hitech driver crashed alone in the Castle section and let the victory fall into the lap of Prema's Dennis Hauger.
Still in the car, Vips accused a brake problem to justify the straightaway. With the crash, race 2 ended under a safety car.
Better to Logan Sargeant, who also managed to get through the problems unscathed and finished second. And Felipe Drugovich, championship leader, who had a complicated start, falling to eighth place, but recovered during the pit stop and, thanks to the problems of the cars in front of him at the end, finished third, opening even more the advantage in the standings.
Jehan Daruvala finished fourth, followed by Richard Verschoor. Enzo Fittipaldi once again benefited from the strategy and appeared in a great sixth position with Charouz after starting only 16th.
Frederik Vesti was seventh, with Marino Sato following him. Ralph Boschung and Jake Hughes rounded out the top ten.
As expected, Baku had a classic race with safety-car interventions and a finish within the one-hour time limit. But Vips made the privilege of starting first count, and held the lead well, followed by the rest of his rivals.
Drugovich didn't have a very good start. The Brazilian even held the fifth place in the first curves, but soon lost positions after the aggressive attack of Verschoor and completed the first lap only in eighth. Meanwhile, in the back row, Théo Pourchaire, MP's main rival in the fight for the title, jumped from 12th to 9th, and Fittipaldi was 14th, up two positions.
But it didn't take long for the safety car to show up in Baku, and the responsible drivers were Amaury Cordeel and Olli Caldwell. At the restart, Vips was still firmly in the lead, but made a questionable defensive move by putting his car completely on the inside line at the pit lane entrance and then coming back. But it passed unnoticed by the race management, despite some complaints.
The pit stops began on lap 8, already showing that the soft tires would not hold up in the Baku heat. First the leaders, and with that Drugovich came in fourth. Then, in the tenth round, the MP driver made his mandatory pit-stop and relied on great work from the team to recover the lost ground. With the cars realigned after the pit stops, he was fifth.
On lap 12, the safety car came into action again, this time for a collision between Cem Bolukbasi and Roy Nissani. Those who had not yet stopped took the opportunity to pit, except for Calam Williams, who was still first, but still had a mandatory stop to make.
The restart saw several minor incidents involving Marcus Armstrong and Vips, Pourchaire, and Ayumu Iwasa. As a result, it was the virtual safety-car's turn to be triggered, preventing overtaking and forcing the drivers to slow down.
Another restart in turn 18, and Williams' worn tires could not resist, with the driver going straight through turn 3. The lead was back in Vips' hands again, and it looked like it would end the way it started for the Hitech driver.
But Baku is unforgiving, and Vips made a mistake that cost him the win. Outside the car, the Estonian couldn't hide his frustration. Better for Hauger, who climbed to the top of the podium for the first time in the F2 2022 season.
Formula 2 2022, Azerbaijan GP, Baku, Special Race, Final Result: