DUNNE WINS IN BAKU TO REJOIN THE F2 TITLE FIGHT
Alexander Dunne converted pole position into his first FIA Formula 2 victory of the 2026 season in a dramatic Feature Race 1 in Baku. The Rodin Motorsport driver led a team 1-2, with Martinius Stenshorne finishing second, while Dino Beganovic completed the podium for DAMS Lucas Oil. The result was Dunne’s third consecutive podium and moved him back into serious championship contention.
Dunne made a strong start from pole and immediately protected the inside line into Turn 1. Stenshorne kept second place after Turn 2, while Noel León followed in third. Rafael Câmara moved up to fourth, with Mari Boya completing the top five after a clean opening lap.
Dunne quickly built a gap of more than one second, meaning León could not use DRS to attack Stenshorne when the system became available on Lap 3. Behind them, championship leader Nikola Tsolov was running eighth, while Gabriele Minì was down in 13th.
Beganovic was one of the first drivers to make progress, passing Kush Maini for sixth at Turn 1 on Lap 4. The mandatory pit-stop window then opened, with Tsolov and Laurens van Hoepen among the first drivers to stop. Tsolov’s stop was slow and dropped him to the back of the field.
Câmara continued to gain positions on track and passed León for third. Stenshorne, León and Boya then made their pit stops, but Boya’s race came to an early end when he stopped at Turn 2. His retirement brought out the Safety Car.
Dunne and Câmara responded by making their mandatory stops, with Dunne returning in second and Câmara in fourth. Oliver Goethe inherited the lead because he had started on the alternative strategy and had not yet stopped, while Colton Herta also remained ahead of the cars that had already made their stops.
Beganovic made his stop and returned to the track in fifth, with Stenshorne behind him. The Norwegian lost some ground during the Safety Car procedure, setting up another fight between the Rodin driver and his rivals.
The Safety Car returned to the pits at the end of Lap 11, but the race was soon interrupted again. A major incident at Turn 3 involved several cars and forced the red flags to come out. Tsolov, Joshua Dürksen, Cian Shields, John Bennett and Rafael Villagómez were among those eliminated, while Van Hoepen and Ritomo Miyata were also involved in separate contact.
The stoppage changed the shape of the race. The event was no longer going to reach the original 29-lap distance and instead became a timed race. When racing resumed, Goethe led Dunne, while Beganovic passed Herta for fourth. Stenshorne then moved back ahead of Câmara, with León also making progress.
Dunne spent several laps behind Goethe looking for a way past. The opportunity finally came on Lap 16. Goethe ran slightly wide at Turn 16, allowing Dunne to use the slipstream and take the lead into Turn 1.
Stenshorne followed his team-mate through a few corners later, passing Beganovic at Turn 3 to restore a Rodin 1-2. Goethe then came under pressure from Stenshorne and locked up at Turn 3. The mistake allowed both Beganovic and León through, while Câmara also passed Goethe shortly afterwards.
The final stages became a close fight between Beganovic, León and Câmara for the remaining podium positions. Dunne and Stenshorne, however, were able to escape from the battle and focus on securing the team’s first 1-2 finish of the Baku weekend.
Dunne crossed the line to complete the final lap and secure his first Formula 2 victory of 2026. The win also continued his run of podium finishes after he finished second behind Beganovic in the Madrid Feature Race and third in the Baku Sprint earlier on Friday.
Stenshorne finished second to give Rodin Motorsport another strong result after the team had locked out the front row in both qualifying sessions. Dunne had been fastest in Qualifying 1 before Stenshorne took pole in Qualifying 2, giving Rodin a 1-2 start for the Feature Race.
Beganovic completed the podium after already winning the Sprint Race earlier in the day. The DAMS driver therefore ended Friday with a victory and a third-place finish, continuing his strong form after winning the Feature Race in Madrid two weeks ago.
The championship battle changed significantly because Tsolov was one of the drivers caught up in the Turn 3 incident. Câmara took advantage of the situation by passing León on the final run to the chequered flag. The move gave him fourth place and the additional points needed to take the championship lead.
Câmara now leads the Drivers’ Championship with 182 points, one ahead of Tsolov on 181. Dunne has moved to 174 points, only eight behind the championship leader, while Minì remains fourth on 161. Beganovic has climbed to fifth with 131 points.
The result also gives Dunne a major opportunity in the title fight with more racing still to come in Baku. The 2026 championship calendar includes a second Feature Race at the Azerbaijan round before Formula 2 moves on to Lusail in November and Abu Dhabi in December.
Rodin Motorsport also strengthened its position in the Teams’ Championship. Campos Racing remains first with 310 points, followed by Invicta Racing on 272 and Rodin on 267. MP Motorsport and DAMS Lucas Oil complete the top five with 198 and 166 points respectively.
With Câmara leading by only one point, Tsolov losing the lead and Dunne now just eight points away, the Baku weekend has brought the championship fight closer together. The second Feature Race will provide another opportunity for all three title contenders to score points before the season moves into its final rounds.
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