2021 Baku Sprint Race 2

The 2021 Baku Sprint Race 2, formally known as the 2021 Baku Formula 2 Race 2, was the the eighth race of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship, staged at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 5 June 2021. The race would see Jüri Vips secure his maiden victory, in a race peppered with interruptions and retirements due to the nature of the Baku circuit.

Bent Viscaal would start the race from pole position, having finished tenth in the 2021 Baku Sprint Race 1 before the top ten positions in that race were reversed to set the grid for the Baku Sprint Race 2. Vips would start from third behind David Beckmann, while Sprint 1 winner Robert Shwartzman would start from tenth with Dan Ticktum sharing the fifth row.

The start of the race saw those at the front of the field making it off the grid reasonably cleanly, although Viscaal would have a significant lock-up on the brakes for the right-hander. Instead, it was in the midst of the pack behind where the action was to be found, with Guanyu Zhou and Dan Ticktum the first to hit trouble.

Zhou and Ticktum would both manage to lock-up and spin at the first corner, Zhou grazing the back of Ticktum as he did so, resulting in them sliding down the escape road. Ralph Boschung and Théo Pourchaire then tangled on the run to turn two, leaving the Swiss racer stranded, while Lirim Zendeli got himself stuck at the exit of turn two having taken to that escape road.

With Zhou, Boschung and Zendeli all stranded there was little surprise that the Safety Car was required, although it was not scrambled in time for Viscaal. Indeed, the Dutchman would lose the lead to Beckmann before the SC appeared, with the German racer hence leading the field away when the race resumed.

Beckmann made a strong restart and duly secure the initiative out front, as behind Vips darted past Viscaal to claim second into turn one. However, the leaders would once again only make it to the end of the first sector before the SC was scrambled for a second time, as Roy Nissany punted Richard Verschoor into the wall.

Beckmann again aced the restart and secured the lead, while Viscaal's attempts to reclaim second saw him run wide and instead drop to fourth behind Jehan Daruvala, with Marcus Armstrong sizing him up as he rejoined. Armstrong then misjudged his move on cold tyres and slid into the wall, as behind Felipe Drugovich made a mess of his own move on Christian Lundgaard and sent the #9 ART spinning into the wall.

A Virtual Safety Car was called to clear up those two incidents, although this time Beckmann was unable to break away when the race restarted. Indeed, Vips would remain glued to his tail and would make some half moves to try and pass the #14 Charouz, although the Estonian racer would ultimately have to wait until DRS came online to pass the German racer.

With that the race was effectively over, for the second half of the race saw the field settle down and only one significant overtake take place, with Liam Lawson passing Oscar Piastri for seventh. That meant that Vips won the race at a canter from Beckmann, while Daruvala only had to keep one eye on Viscaal to complete the podium ahead of the Dutchman. Shwartzman was next up ahead of Ticktum and Lawson, while Piastri completed the scorers in eighth and claimed the bonus points for fastest lap.

Background
There were no changes made to the Baku City Circuit for the second F2 race of the day, with the conditions remaining dry and warm with no threat of rain. In terms of the entry list there were no changes as all 22 cars were healthy enough to take the start after the 2021 Baku Sprint Race 1, with Bent Viscaal set to start from pole position after finishing in tenth in the Sprint.

Morning Manoeuvres
Guanyu Zhou had managed to eek out his lead atop the Championship after his podium finish in the opening race in Baku, the Chinese ace having moved onto 78 points for the campaign. Théo Pourchaire, meanwhile, was up to second, 23 points behind the leader, while Oscar Piastri had slipped to third after his non-score. Dan Ticktum, meanwhile, had held station in fourth, while race winner Robert Shwartzman was up to fifth, 42 points off the lead.

In the Teams' Championship UNI-Virtuosi had remained at the head of the field, and were the first team to break the 100 point barrier as they moved onto 107 points for the campaign. Their lead had been cut to just ten points however, with Prema Racing having moved onto 97 points after Shwartzman's win. The Italian squad were then ten ahead of third placed Carlin, while ART Grand Prix and Hitech Grand Prix completed the top five.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:
 * * Placeholder liveries are show for the second drivers in each team.

Grid
The grid for the second Sprint Race of the weekend was set via the results of the first Sprint Race, with the top ten finishers reversed as per the new-for-2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship ruleset:

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

 * 100th FIA Formula 2 Championship race to be officially staged.
 * Maiden victory for Jüri Vips.
 * Hitech Grand Prix secured their fifth victory as an entrant.
 * Maiden points finish for Bent Viscaal.

Standings
Guanyu Zhou retained the lead in the Championship as the first day of racing in Baku came to a conclusion, and with his healthy advantage still intact despite a non-score in the second race. Behind, Oscar Piastri had moved back into second and 23 points off the lead, level with Théo Pourchaire but ahead on countback due to having one second place finish to Pourchaire's zero podium finishes. Behind Dan Ticktum had moved to within a point of them in fourth, while Robert Shwartzman had also broken into the 50 point region in fifth.

In the Teams' Championship UNI-Virtuosi would end the first day in Baku still at the head of the table, although their advantage had all but disappeared after their non-score. Instead, Prema Racing had moved to within a point of the British squad, with the defending Champions themselves only five ahead of Carlin in third. Hitech Grand Prix were next up ahead of ART Grand Prix, 25 points behind Carlin, while Trident had moved eight clear of HWA Racelab at the foot of the table.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.