2016 Baku Sprint Race

The 2016 Baku Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2016 Baku Race 2, was the sixth race of the 2016 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Baku City Circuit on the 19 June 2016. The race would see Antonio Giovinazzi sweep to victory, becoming the first man to claim two victories at the same weekend since Davide Valsecchi in 2012 Bahrain Sprint Race.

Daniël de Jong would start the race from pole, although he would be mugged into turn one by a fast starting Nobuharu Matsushita. Giovinazzi, meanwhile, barely managed to getaway from the grid from eighth, dropping right to the back of the field, although he was able to immediately climb back up the order.

Indeed, Giovinazzi's climb would be aided by the first safety car of the afternoon on lap three, thrown to recover Jimmy Eriksson after he had been broadsided by Jordan King. Matsushita then tried to blast clear at the restart only to catch the back of the SC and slam on the brakes, ultimately allowing Sergey Sirotkin to claim second, while Philo Paz Armand found the barriers.

Matsushita chose to go for a late launch at the second restart, this time resulting in Gustav Malja slamming into the back of Mitch Evans. The Swede then spun Oliver Rowland out of the race, before taking himself and Sean Gelael into the barriers at turn two.

Restart number three and Matsushita finally managed to getaway without issue, although Raffaele Marciello went with him. The two touched at the first corner, sending Marciello wide and Matsushita off, allowing Pierre Gasly to sweep into the lead ahead of Giovinazzi.

The Prema Racing civil war would rage until the end of the race for victory, with Giovinazzi finally making a lunge stick with a lap to go. He duly cruised home to claim victory ahead of his teammate, while Sirotkin survived well to claim third.

Background
The Baku City Circuit was unchanged after the chaotic opening race of the weekend, as was the entry list for the GP2 Series. Indeed, all of the damage from the Feature had been repaired, meaning there would be a full grid for the Sprint, led off the line by Daniël de Jong. There was only one change to the order, with Arthur Pic relegated to the back after causing a collision with Artem Markelov on Saturday.

Into the Championship and the chaotic opening race to the Baku weekend had caused some sweeping changes, although it was still Norman Nato who led the charge. The Frenchman remained a point ahead of Artem Markelov, with both failing to score, while Raffaele Marciello had catapulted into third ahead of Alex Lynn. Elsewhere, Antonio Giovinazzi had smashed through into the top ten from seventeenth, Pierre Gasly dropped out of the top five, and Arthur Pic continued to prop up the scorers list.

It was a similar story in the Teams' Championship, although Russian Time had actually managed to extend their lead to 26 points in spite of the chaos. Racing Engineering had likewise managed to hold onto second, although Prema Racing and DAMS had seriously closed the gap, three and four behind respectively. ART Grand Prix had also made some impressive ground, a further six off DAMS in fifth, with MP Motorsport and Campos Racing also closing on the leaders.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Grid
The grid for the sixth race of the 2016 campaign was formed from the finishing positions of the Feature, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA GP2 Series rules.


 * * Pic was given a five place grid penalty for causing a collision in the Feature.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Rowland was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
 * † Matsushita was handed a two race ban for dangerous driving behind the safety car.
 * ‡ Eriksson was handed a three place grid penalty for the 2016 Red Bull Ring Feature Race for causing a collision.

Milestones

 * Antonio Giovinazzi secured his second victory.
 * Prema Racing claimed their second victory as an entrant.
 * Maiden points finish for Nabil Jeffri.

Standings
Artem Markelov moved to the top of the Championship after the sixth race, five ahead of Norman Nato as the Frenchman made way for the Russian. Behind, the big winner from the Baku weekend would be Antonio Giovinazzi, whose stunning 46 point sweep sent him streaking up the table. His teammate Pierre Gasly ended the weekend in fourth, a point behind, with Raffaele Marciello completing the top five.

In the Teams' Championship it was still Russian Time who led the way, albeit now six ahead of Prema Racing who had shot into second. Racing Engineering dropped to third, 24 points off the leaders, with ART Grand Prix and DAMS completing the top five. at the back, meanwhile, Arden International had finally got on the board, and ended the weekend ahead of Trident.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.