Dunne’s first win of 2026. After a season of near-misses, the Rodin driver led almost from start to finish. He also set the fastest lap, adding to the pole points he banked in qualifying.

Câmara takes the lead. Running fifth on the final lap, Câmara used the slipstream down Baku’s long main straight to pass Noel León just before the line. Fourth place was worth 12 points and a one-point championship lead.

Tsolov’s nightmare. The championship leader started tenth, lost time with a slow pit stop, and was then caught up in a multi-car crash at Turn 3 on lap 12. He left Baku’s first Feature Race with no points and a grid penalty for Saturday.

A three-way fight. Câmara leads on 182, Tsolov is on 181, and Dunne is on 174. For the first time this season, three drivers have a realistic chance of the title.

The drama started before the lights went out. Sebastián Montoya spun on his way to the grid and couldn’t take the start, so Prema was already a car down. When the race began, Dunne got away cleanly from pole and quickly built a lead of more than a second over Stenshorne. Câmara gained a place at the start, moving from fifth to fourth.

Strategy soon came into play. Drivers who started on the alternate tyre compound pitted early, around lap 7, to switch to the other compound as the rules require. Then on lap 8 Mari Boya’s car failed, bringing out the safety car. That was the break Dunne and Câmara needed: they made their mandatory stops under the safety car and lost almost no time. Tsolov had a sluggish stop and dropped behind rivals he needed to beat.

The Turn 3 pile-up

The race changed completely on lap 12. At the safety car restart, the field bunched up into the tight Turn 3, and a chain reaction followed. Seven cars were involved. Tsolov tried to avoid the chaos but hit the back of Joshua Dürksen’s car and stalled. Cian Shields and John Bennett were also eliminated, and Laurens van Hoepen and Ritomo Miyata made contact at the same corner.

The race was red-flagged for about 20 minutes while the track was cleared. Because of the delay, it restarted as a timed race, which is why only 23 of the scheduled 29 laps were completed. Enough of the race had run for full points to be awarded.

The restart and the finish

Dunne controlled the restart and pulled away again, finishing 4.3 seconds ahead of Stenshorne, with Beganovic 6.6 seconds back in third. The fight that mattered for the championship was further back. Câmara spent the final laps chasing León, and on the run to the flag he used the slipstream to pull alongside and pass him just metres before the line. For how timed races and the finishing line are measured, see our explainer on how race timing works.

Why could the pass happen so late? Baku’s main straight is one of the longest in motorsport, a flat-out blast along the seafront of more than two kilometres. A car following closely gets a big slipstream advantage, and in F2 there’s also a drag reduction system to help overtaking. León had nowhere to hide, and Câmara timed his move perfectly, pulling out of the tow in the final few hundred metres.

“Super, super happy!” Dunne said afterwards. “I feel like it’s been forever since I last won a race.”

Dunne’s 26 points include one for fastest lap; he also received two points for pole position. Retirements: Nikola Tsolov, Joshua Dürksen, Cian Shields, John Bennett, Laurens van Hoepen, Ritomo Miyata and Mari Boya. Sebastián Montoya did not start.

Rodin’s one-two capped a remarkable weekend for the team, which has now topped both qualifying sessions and won a Feature Race. DAMS also had a strong day, with Beganovic following up his Sprint win with third place and Roman Bilinski seventh. Van Amersfoort Racing put both cars in the points thanks to the chaos around them.

Minì’s sixth place was a quietly important result. The MP Motorsport driver lost out in the Sprint after being taken out by Oliver Goethe, but eight points here keep him 21 behind the lead and still in the conversation. Maini’s single point for tenth also kept ART on the board after a weekend in which its drivers struggled to convert qualifying pace.

For Campos, it was a painful afternoon. León’s fifth place kept the team’s points ticking over, but losing Tsolov in the crash, and losing fourth to Câmara on the line, cost the team dearly on a day it could have strengthened its grip on the championship.

*Stenshorne’s pole points for Feature Race 2 are still to be added.

The swing over one day has been huge. At breakfast time, Tsolov led Câmara by 11 points. After the Sprint penalty that dropped Câmara to 16th, it looked as though the weekend was going Tsolov’s way. By the evening, Câmara had turned an 11-point deficit into a one-point lead. That’s F2 at Baku.

Dunne is the big mover. Across Friday’s Sprint and Feature Race he scored 35 points, including pole, against Câmara’s 12 and Tsolov’s 4. That’s a gain of 31 points on Tsolov and 23 on Câmara in a single day, and with Rodin looking so strong, he can no longer be dismissed as an outsider. Minì, 21 points back, is still mathematically in the fight too. In the teams’ standings, Campos still leads on 310, but Invicta (272) and Rodin (267) are closing in. For the background to the top two’s rivalry, see our Tsolov vs Câmara head-to-head.

How much is left to play for? In Feature Race 2, the maximum any contender can score is 26 points: 25 for the win and one for fastest lap, since Stenshorne already holds the pole points. If Qatar and Abu Dhabi both go ahead, each weekend then offers up to 39 more points per driver, so 78 in total. With the top three separated by eight points, that’s more than enough for the championship to swing several more times before December.

It’s also worth noting how different the three contenders’ seasons have been. Tsolov built his lead through consistency. Câmara has been quick over a single lap, and he out-qualified Tsolov in both sessions here. Dunne’s season had stalled before Baku, but Rodin’s pace this weekend has transformed his chances. Our Madrid results report shows how the order looked just two weeks ago.

Tsolov’s bad day came with an extra sting. During his pit stop he was judged to have crossed the white line at pit entry, and the stewards gave him a five-second time penalty. Because he retired before he could serve it, the penalty is converted into a three-place grid drop for his next race.

That matters a lot. Tsolov qualified eighth for Feature Race 2, so the penalty drops him to 11th. On a street circuit where overtaking in the old-town section is difficult, starting 11th makes a big points haul much harder. His best hope is another chaotic race, with safety cars and a well-timed pit stop.

The penalty also colours how people will judge Tsolov’s weekend. He came to Baku leading the championship and needing only to manage his rivals. Instead, a difficult qualifying left him tenth and eighth on the grids, tyre wear cost him a Sprint win, and a slow stop and a crash he could do little about wiped out the Feature Race. Saturday is now a test of how he responds under real pressure for the first time this season.

The supersized weekend ends with a second Feature Race on Saturday. Stenshorne starts from pole after topping the second qualifying session, with Dunne alongside him on the front row and Câmara third. Tsolov, after his penalty, starts from 11th.

On paper, Câmara and Dunne are in the best positions. A win is worth 25 points, plus one for the fastest lap, and both start in the top three. If Dunne wins and Câmara finishes third or lower, Dunne would leave Baku leading the championship, unless Tsolov produces a remarkable recovery from 11th. Tsolov needs to climb through the field. That’s not impossible at Baku, where safety cars often reshape races, but it’s a tall order.

The bigger picture adds pressure. The final two rounds, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, remain on the calendar, but Formula 1 is expected to decide by mid-October whether those events go ahead. If they are cancelled, Saturday’s race could effectively settle the title. Our F2 finale briefing explains what’s at stake.

Stenshorne’s role is interesting. He’s too far back to win the title himself, but he’s on pole and in the fastest car. If he wins, he takes 25 points away from everyone else, which helps whichever contender finishes closest behind him. Rodin will be keen for a second win of the weekend, and it will also be aware that Dunne is now fighting for the championship, which could shape how it manages the race between its two drivers.

Our prediction

Rodin has been the fastest team all weekend, so another Stenshorne or Dunne win looks likely. Câmara starting third gives him a real chance to extend his lead, especially if he can stay ahead of Dunne. For Tsolov, a points finish would be a good result from 11th. Our view: Câmara is slightly more likely to lead the championship after Saturday, but Dunne is the driver with the momentum, and a Rodin win with Câmara off the podium would make him the new leader.