Academy Preview: Luke and Victor Braced for Baku

The Baku City Circuit plays host to Round 12 of 14 in this year’s Formula 2 season, as the championship charge enters its decisive final stretch.

Famed for its mix of flat-out straights, tight castle-section walls and safety car-laden races, Baku is a venue where fortune can change in an instant – and where bold moves are often rewarded.

Two Williams Racing Driver Academy contenders are back in action this weekend, and both have happy memories of the streets of Baku as they aim to finish the season strongly.

Fresh from a standout weekend at Monza, where he converted pole position into a hard-fought Feature Race victory, Luke heads to Baku firmly in the title fight.

That win marked his eighth podium of an impressive first full season, adding another crucial haul of points at a key stage of the year.

Currently sitting P2 in the Drivers’ Championship on 153 points, Luke returns to the venue where he made his F2 debut last season, scoring his first championship points with P7 in the Feature after finishing just outside the top ten in the Sprint.

With that experience now under his belt, and a year of growth since, he’ll be aiming to use that know-how to stay in touch at the sharp end of the standings.

Victor will be out to bounce back after a luckless trip to Monza, where promising pace went unrewarded following incidents in both races.

Still, the Frenchman’s raw speed has never been in doubt, and he’ll be looking to rediscover the form that carried him to a superb P2 in last year’s Baku Feature Race.

He currently sits P11 in the standings on 69 points, and with two previous visits to the Azerbaijani capital under his belt, Victor knows how to extract performance from this demanding circuit.

A clean weekend could be exactly what he needs to reignite his season as F2 enters its final three rounds.

Free Practice: Friday, 10:00

Qualifying: Friday, 14:00

Sprint Race: Saturday, 14:15

Feature Race: Sunday, 11:00