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- Alex Dunne won Feature Race 1 ahead of Martinius Stenshorne and Dino Beganovic<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Rafael C\u00e2mara passed Noel Le\u00f3n at the finish to take fourth place<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- C\u00e2mara now leads Nikola Tsolov by one point<\/strong> after the Bulgarian retired in a seven-car crash<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Alex Dunne won a chaotic Formula 2 Feature Race 1 in Baku on Friday, leading a Rodin Motorsport one-two ahead of Martinius Stenshorne as Rafael C\u00e2mara moved into the championship lead with a last-gasp overtake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dunne stayed clear of the accidents, Safety Car and red flag to secure his first victory of the 2026 season<\/strong>. Stenshorne finished second, with Sprint winner Dino Beganovic completing the podium for DAMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decisive championship moment came on the final straight. C\u00e2mara used the slipstream to pass Noel Le\u00f3n shortly before the finish line, taking fourth place and the 12 points required to move one ahead of Nikola Tsolov<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tsolov entered the race with 181 points, 11 more than C\u00e2mara, but retired in the multi-car accident that stopped the race on lap 12. C\u00e2mara now leads the standings 182-181<\/strong> with another feature race still to be held in Baku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Largada-corrida-2-Azerbaijao-Baku-2026-Foto-Reproducao-F2-1024x576.jpg\")
Race start at Baku circuit (Photo: F2)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Dunne controls start as Tsolov encounters pit trouble<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Dunne retained the lead from pole at Turn 1, followed by Stenshorne and Le\u00f3n. C\u00e2mara made an immediate gain, passing Kush Maini to rise from fifth to fourth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The opening laps remained relatively controlled, with Dunne building a margin of more than one second over his Rodin team-mate. Tsolov, who started tenth, climbed to eighth but became trapped in the midfield group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first mandatory stops began on lap seven. Tsolov entered alongside Laurens van Hoepen, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, Rafael Villagomez and Joshua D\u00fcrksen, but a slow stop dropped the Bulgarian behind several rivals<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tsolov was subsequently given a five-second penalty for crossing the white line at pit entry. Because he retired before serving it, the stewards may convert the sanction into a grid penalty for Saturday\u2019s race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boya retirement changes the strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mari Boya stopped on the circuit on lap eight with a problem on his Prema, triggering the Safety Car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The timing benefited Dunne and C\u00e2mara, who had extended their opening stints. Both completed their mandatory stops under neutralised conditions without losing their effective positions to the drivers who had stopped earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oliver Goethe inherited the physical lead but still needed to make his mandatory tyre change. Dunne therefore remained the net leader ahead of C\u00e2mara and the drivers who had already completed their stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sebasti\u00e1n Montoya had already been eliminated before the start after spinning on his way to the grid and stalling his Prema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seven-driver crash brings out red flag<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The race restarted on lap 12, but C\u00e2mara struggled to generate tyre temperature and dropped to sixth. Moments later, a major collision at Turn 3 blocked the circuit and brought out the red flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Bennett, Joshua D\u00fcrksen, Cian Shields, Rafael Villagomez, Ritomo Miyata and Laurens van Hoepen were caught in the accident. Tsolov attempted to avoid the cars ahead but struck the rear of D\u00fcrksen and stalled<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seven drivers were unable to continue<\/strong>, while race control suspended proceedings to clear the damaged cars and debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of the lengthy interruption, Feature Race 1 resumed as a timed race with approximately 20 minutes remaining rather than completing its scheduled 29 laps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n