Another unfamiliar circuit and another street track lies in wait for Kiwi Formula 2 racers Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong in Baku this weekend.
The two are fresh off debuting at Monaco a fortnight ago, which concluded with a hodgepodge of emotions for both.
Lawson’s weekend was highlighted by claiming his second F2 race win in a wet-dry masterclass.
However, the victory was stripped away mere hours later due to a technical infringement.
Meanwhile, Armstrong executed arguably the overtake of the weekend when he muscled himself past Jehan Daruvala at La Rascasse on the final lap of race one.
The overtake would have given Armstrong reverse top-ten pole for race two, only for his DAMS to suffer a mechanical drama on his way to the grid.
The Kiwi’s weekend then ended prematurely when he crashed out in the points-heavy feature race on Saturday.
Moving on, the Baku Street Circuit will play host to the third round of the championship.
The narrow confinements of the walls and an incredibly long front straight makes the Azerbaijan weekend one of the most exciting of the season.
“It’s exciting to be here, it seems that Baku always provides exciting racing,” Lawson said.
“There’s a massive straight, and there’s normally a lot of overtaking, so I’m very much looking forward to it.
“I like street circuits. I love Monaco, and though this is a completely different type of circuit, I’m very much looking forward to driving on it.
“We’ve done a couple of sim sessions, it’s quite a long lap so putting everything together for the perfect lap will be very important for qualifying.
“The track evolution on a street circuit is always a major factor. There’s a big chance through practice, qualifying and the races that the track gets faster and faster.
“We run low downforce, so that means a different type of driving.
“The car is a lot looser, and this track is also quite low grip. So, it all makes it very different to a weekend on a normal circuit.”
Lawson and Armstrong are fifth and 15th in the standings after two rounds. However, Baku tends to radically shake up the pecking order if a driver can stay out of trouble and finish each race in the points.
There will be three F2 races this weekend. Viewing times are below, and each race is streamed live on Spark Sport.
| Session | Day | Time (NZT) |
|---|---|---|
| FP | Fri | 6.25 pm |
| Q | Fri | 10.30 pm |
| R1 | Sat | 7.25 pm |
| R2 | Sun | 1.05 am |
| R3 | Sun | 10.45 pm |