F2 Briefing: A ‘Supersized’ Baku Weekend and a Seven-Point Title Fight
Formula 2 has expanded its Azerbaijan round to two qualifying sessions and two Feature Races — the only such weekend of the season. Nikola Tsolov arrives seven points clear of Rafael Câmara after a bruising Madrid.
F2’s ‘Supersized’ Baku Weekend
Two qualifying sessions, two Feature Races. Tsolov leads Câmara by seven points into Round 12.
The headline from this week’s Formula 2 news is a format change: the championship has confirmed a “supersized” Round 12 in Baku, running 24–26 September with an extra qualifying session and a second full Feature Race added to the usual programme. It is the only weekend of the 2026 season to carry this expanded structure, and it lands at the sharpest possible moment in the title fight.
After a turbulent Madrid round, Nikola Tsolov leads the drivers’ standings by just seven points over Rafael Câmara, with three rounds — now carrying more points than usual — left to run. Here is what the Baku shake-up means, how the new format works, and where the championship stands going in.
This Week in Formula 2
Formula 2 heads into its Azerbaijan round with the most unusual timetable of the season and a championship that tightened dramatically at the last time of asking. The two stories are connected: an expanded Baku weekend means more points on the table than any other round this year, and a title fight separated by seven points is about to be decided across a format nobody has raced before in 2026.
At the Madrid round, Dino Beganovic won the Feature Race and Ritomo Miyata took his maiden F2 victory in the Sprint, but the defining story was at the front of the championship: leader Nikola Tsolov crashed out of the Sprint and finished only 18th in the Feature, while Câmara scraped a point to close the gap to seven. That result reshaped the run-in — and Baku’s format makes the next 72 hours of racing even more consequential.
Why Baku Has Been ‘Supersized’
The reason for the expansion is straightforward: Formula 2 is the only support category at the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which frees up track time that a normal weekend — shared with Formula 3 and other series — simply does not allow. F2 has used that space to add a second qualifying session and a second Feature Race.
“As Formula 2 is the only support event at the Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix, together with the promoters, we have opted for a supersized F2 race weekend, with one free practice, two qualifying sessions, one sprint race and two feature races.”
“This is the only weekend where the timetable allows the additional sessions, which will increase the level of entertainment even further for the attending crowd and all our fans. The Baku City Circuit always provides us with amazing racing, so we’re very pleased to make the 12th round of our season pretty unique.”
The Baku City Circuit has a long history of producing chaotic Formula 2 races — its combination of long flat-out straights, a tight castle section and unforgiving walls has decided junior-category outcomes many times before. Doubling the number of Feature Races on that layout, at this stage of a seven-point championship, is close to the highest-variance scenario the season could have thrown up.
The Baku Format & Schedule
The weekend runs Thursday to Saturday — itself unusual, because 27 September is Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan, which has pushed the entire Grand Prix timetable forward a day. Here is how the expanded F2 programme unfolds.
| Day | Session | Sets the grid for |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Free Practice (45 min) | — |
| Thursday | Qualifying 1 (20 min) | Friday Sprint & Feature Race 1 |
| Thursday | Qualifying 2 (20 min) | Saturday Feature Race 2 |
| Friday AM | Sprint Race | Reverse-grid from Qualifying 1 |
| Friday PM | Feature Race 1 | Grid from Qualifying 1 |
| Saturday AM | Feature Race 2 | Grid from Qualifying 2 |
The two 20-minute qualifying runs, both held on Thursday, feed different races. Qualifying 1 sets the order for both of Friday’s contests — the Sprint using the usual reverse-grid procedure for the top ten, and Feature Race 1 lining up in qualifying order. Qualifying 2 sets a clean grid for Saturday’s Feature Race 2. It effectively gives every driver two separate shots at pole and three race starts across the weekend.
The Points Maths — Why Baku Could Decide the Title
The expanded format is not just about entertainment — it materially changes the championship arithmetic. Each of the two qualifying poles is worth two championship points, and the standard Feature Race scoring system applies to both of the longer races. That stacks the maximum available haul well above a normal round.
| Session | Winner / Pole Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying 1 pole | 2 | Also sets two grids |
| Qualifying 2 pole | 2 | Sets Feature Race 2 grid |
| Sprint Race win | 10 | Top 8 score, reverse grid |
| Feature Race 1 win | 25 | Full points, top 10 |
| Feature Race 2 win | 25 | Full points, top 10 |
| Feature fastest laps | +1 each | Top 10 finish required |
A driver who maximises the weekend — both poles, the Sprint and both Feature Races with fastest laps — could theoretically bank in the region of 70 points from a single round, against roughly 39 at a conventional weekend. For Tsolov, that is both an opportunity to rebuild his cushion and a risk: a single Baku wall, in a season where he has already crashed out of races, could hand the championship lead to Câmara with two rounds left.
Seven points is nothing across a weekend offering close to 70. Whoever leaves Baku ahead could do so by a distance — or the order could flip entirely. On a street circuit that punishes the smallest error, and with Tsolov’s recent form including a Madrid Sprint crash, this is the least predictable single round of the 2026 F2 season.
F2 Drivers’ Standings Going Into Baku
| Pos | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Tsolov LEADER | Campos Racing | 177 |
| 2 | Rafael Câmara | Invicta Racing | 170 |
| 3 | Gabriele Minì | MP Motorsport | 153 |
| 4 | Alex Dunne | Rodin Motorsport | 139 |
| 5 | Noel León | Campos Racing | 119 |
| 6 | Dino Beganovic | DAMS Lucas Oil | 106 |
| 7 | Joshua Duerksen | Invicta Racing | 90 |
| 8 | Kush Maini | ART Grand Prix | 88 |
Tsolov’s seven-point lead is the headline, but the wider table matters at a supersized round: Minì (153) and Dunne (139) are close enough that a maximum Baku haul could vault either into the title fight, while Câmara has the machinery — an Invicta Racing package that has been the form car of the second half — to overturn the deficit in a single weekend. For the full breakdown of how the Madrid round reshaped this picture, see our F2 Madrid results report.
At the Hungaroring summer break Tsolov led by 20 points. Across Monza and Madrid he added just ten while Dunne scored 31 and Câmara 25. The chasing pack is the one with momentum — and Baku’s expanded points pool is exactly the kind of round that rewards a driver on a roll rather than one trying to protect a lead.
The Calendar Context Behind the Change
The Baku expansion lands on a 2026 calendar that has already been rebuilt once. Earlier in the year, Formula 2 lost its planned Bahrain and Saudi Arabia rounds and inserted Miami and Montreal to restore the season to its intended number of rounds. Formula 1 went through a parallel disruption, with the Bahrain race retaining its identity but relocating to Malaysia’s Sepang circuit for 2–4 October.
F2 has been explicit that the Baku format is a one-off enabled by track-time availability, not a contingency measure — and it has confirmed that its two remaining rounds, in Qatar (Lusail) and Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina), will return to the familiar structure of one practice, one qualifying session, a Sprint and a Feature Race.
| Round | Venue | Format | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Madrid (Madring) | Standard | Complete |
| 12 | Baku (Azerbaijan) SUPERSIZED | 2 quali + 2 features | 24–26 Sept |
| 13 | Lusail (Qatar) | Standard | Upcoming |
| 14 | Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi) | Standard | Season finale |
Those closing two rounds are attached to F1 weekends still under scrutiny amid the unresolved situation in the Middle East, with Formula 1 yet to confirm any change to its Qatar and Abu Dhabi plans. Qatar organisers have maintained that their November event is proceeding. For the wider single-seater picture, our Formula 1 standings hub and Spanish Grand Prix report track the championship F2 supports.
Frequently Asked Questions
A one-off weekend that could settle a season
Formula 2 rarely tinkers with its format mid-season, and the fact that Baku’s expansion is enabled by nothing more exotic than spare track time makes it a genuine curiosity. But the timing is what gives it weight. Two Feature Races and two pole shootouts, on a street circuit that has produced junior-category chaos for a decade, arriving at the exact moment a championship has compressed to seven points.
Tsolov has the lead but not the momentum. Câmara has the form car and a seven-point gap that a single strong Saturday could erase. Minì and Dunne are close enough that a maximum weekend keeps them mathematically alive. Whatever happens across 24–26 September, the shape of the 2026 F2 title race will look very different by Saturday evening.
We update this page as sessions are confirmed. Check back after Thursday’s two qualifying runs for the grids, and after each of the three races for results and the revised championship picture.
