Jak Crawford took his first pole since Jeddah with a 1:54.791, edging Leonardo Fornaroli by just 0.019s in a red flag hit session. Gabriele Minì split the pair for PREMA in third as late crashes brought qualifying to a halt.
Crawford delivered when it counted. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver pieced together a clean lap just as the session unravelled. He grabbed control in a fight that saw Fornaroli, Minì, and Dunne all take turns at the top. Red flags repeatedly broke momentum and denied late laps.
Early markers
The session opened in cagey fashion. Roman Stanek was first to show his hand, posting a 1:55.985 for Invicta Racing. Alexander Dunne bettered it with 1:55.843, building on the pace he had shown in free practice.
The tow was already proving critical. Slipstreams on the long Baku straights could be worth half a second. Everyone knew it.
But rhythm broke almost immediately. Amaury Cordeel clipped the wall at Turn 13. His suspension broke and the red flags came out for the first time. It was a reminder of how little margin the street circuit allows.
The contenders emerge
Back to green with 22 minutes on the clock, Dunne improved to 1:55.569 and held provisional pole. Luke Browning then matched that time exactly, slotting into second only on timing order.
The title challengers soon arrived. Fornaroli struck with 1:55.191 to put Invicta on top. Moments later, Crawford hooked up a cleaner lap, lowering the bar to 1:54.791.
Minì immediately split them with 1:54.811. That put him just 0.001s off his PREMA team-mate. Suddenly the top three were covered by less than two hundredths. The fight for pole had found its focus.
Chaos late on
The final ten minutes never settled.
Victor Martins lost the rear at Turn 3 and went into the wall, halting the session again. With just over four minutes left, the restart was frantic. Drivers scrambled for track position and stacked through the final corners.
Then came the decisive blow. Roman Stanek and John Bennett tangled at Turn 1. The crash triggered a third red flag. Time expired. No one could improve.
Final order
Crawford’s 1:54.791 survived the stoppages. Fornaroli stayed second, 0.019s adrift. Minì took third, completing PREMA’s strong showing. Martins salvaged fourth despite his crash. Dunne ended fifth. Browning was left sixth after his early promise.
Josep María Martí put Campos seventh. Rookie Martinius Stenshorne impressed in eighth. Stanek and Sebastián Montoya rounded out the top ten.
Top 10 – Baku Qualifying
- Jak Crawford – DAMS Lucas Oil – 1:54.791
- Leonardo Fornaroli – Invicta Racing – 1:54.810
- Gabriele Minì – PREMA Racing – 1:54.811
- Victor Martins – ART Grand Prix – 1:54.9xx*
- Alexander Dunne – Rodin Motorsport – 1:55.569
- Luke Browning – Hitech TGR – 1:55.569
- Josep María Martí – Campos Racing – 1:55.6xx*
- Martinius Stenshorne – Hitech TGR – 1:55.7xx*
- Roman Stanek – Invicta Racing – 1:55.985
- Sebastián Montoya – Campos Racing – 1:56.0xx*
(*official FIA times will complete exact thousandths.)
What it means
Crawford takes his first pole since Jeddah, a huge boost to his campaign. Fornaroli keeps the points lead but could not quite convert in the shootout. Minì remains in striking range as PREMA continue to pressure Invicta.
With three stoppages and no one able to deliver late laps, Saturday’s Sprint looks wide open. Expect slipstreams, safety cars, and more chaos down the Baku straights.
👉 Read the full F2 Baku Preview for schedule details and title context.
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