Câmara inherits Baku F2 victory after Dunne penalty and extends championship lead

News Summary

Rafael Câmara inherited victory after Alexander Dunne’s five-second penalty
Nikola Tsolov recovered from 11th to second and secured the fastest-lap point
Câmara leaves Baku seven points clear at the top of the F2 championship

Rafael Câmara won the second Formula 2 Feature Race in Baku on Saturday after a five-second penalty dropped on-track winner Alexander Dunne to third place.

The Invicta driver crossed the line behind Dunne but was promoted to victory when the Rodin driver’s punishment for crossing the white line at the pit entry was applied. Nikola Tsolov completed a remarkable recovery from 11th on the grid to inherit second.

Câmara consequently leaves Azerbaijan with 207 points, seven ahead of Tsolov and 18 clear of Dunne. It was the Brazilian’s third victory of the 2026 season and strengthened his position in a title fight transformed by Baku’s unusual three-race schedule.

Dunne takes control before penalty changes result

Martinius Stenshorne maintained the lead from pole at the start, with team-mate Dunne second and Câmara third. The Safety Car was deployed almost immediately after contact left John Bennett spun around and Rafael Villagómez stopped at Turn 1.

Dunne stopped on lap seven, shortly before a Virtual Safety Car caused by Ritomo Miyata. A second VSC followed when Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak stopped at Turn 16, reshuffling the effective order during the mandatory pit-stop phase.

Câmara briefly emerged ahead of Dunne, but the Irishman warmed his tyres rapidly and reclaimed the lead with DRS into Turn 1. His hopes of completing a Baku Feature Race sweep then suffered a decisive blow when the stewards imposed a five-second time penalty.

Dunne crossed the line first but had not created the necessary margin. Câmara therefore inherited victory, while Tsolov’s late charge moved the Campos driver into second.

Câmara protects lead as Tsolov limits damage

Tsolov delivered one of the race’s strongest recovery drives. After starting 11th because of a grid penalty carried over from Friday, the Bulgarian climbed through the field and passed Stenshorne for third on track.

He also recorded the fastest eligible lap, earning one additional point and limiting the damage inflicted by Câmara’s victory.

Dunne eventually fell to third, 4.310s behind Câmara after the penalty was added. Stenshorne finished fourth, followed by Laurens van Hoepen, Mari Boya and Dino Beganovic.

Câmara had taken the championship lead by one point after finishing fourth in the first Baku Feature Race. Saturday’s result increased that advantage to seven.

“It’s not the way we wanted P1, but overall it was a good race, good points for the championship and I’m very happy with this weekend overall,” Câmara said.

2026 Baku F2 Feature Race 2 results

Pos.	Driver	Team	Laps	Gap
1	R. CÂMARA	Invicta Racing	29 laps	59:57.958
2	N. TSOLOV	Campos Racing	29 laps	+0.747
3	A. DUNNE	Rodin Motorsport	29 laps	+4.310
4	M. STENSHORNE	Rodin Motorsport	29 laps	+5.856
5	L. VAN HOEPEN	Trident	29 laps	+13.521
6	M. BOYA	Prema Racing	29 laps	+13.890
7	D. BEGANOVIC	DAMS Lucas Oil	29 laps	+15.552
8	N. LEÓN	Campos Racing	29 laps	+17.285
9	G. MINÌ	MP Motorsport	29 laps	+24.073
10	R. BILINSKI	DAMS Lucas Oil	29 laps	+24.415
11	O. GOETHE	MP Motorsport	29 laps	+24.637
12	K. MAINI	ART Grand Prix	29 laps	+37.489
13	J. DÜRKSEN	Invicta Racing	29 laps	+39.080
14	H. YAMAKOSHI	Van Amersfoort Racing	29 laps	+42.145
15	C. HERTA	Hitech	29 laps	+44.048
16	E. FITTIPALDI JR.	AIX Racing	29 laps	+44.973
17	S. MONTOYA	Prema Racing	29 laps	+1:17.168
18	C. SHIELDS	AIX Racing	29 laps	+1:45.633
NC	R. VILLAGÓMEZ	Van Amersfoort Racing	16 laps	DNF
NC	T. INTHRAPHUVASAK	ART Grand Prix	8 laps	DNF
NC	R. MIYATA	Hitech	5 laps	DNF
NC	J. BENNETT	Trident	0 laps	DNF