Formula 2
FIA F.2 Championship, Baku, Feature Race Report
Trident Motorsport captures hard-fought fifth place with Verschoor
Richard Verschoor scored fifth place in the Feature Race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship at the Azerbaijani venue despite stalling during the tire change. Calan Williams ended up at the back of the pack due to a driving mistake and to the strategy of starting on Prime tires.
Lining up for the Feature Race that wrapped up the sixth round of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship on the Baku city track, Trident Motorsport returned to the points zone thanks to Richard Verschoor, who delivered fifth place with a brilliant comeback despite losing valuable time when his car went off at the pit-stop. Without that delay, the 21-year-old Dutchman could have easily fought for the podium. Verschoor was off to a good start from the third row, after finishing sixth in the qualifying session, and held the position until he entered the pit lane to switch from Option to Prime tires. Once in the pit lane, the engine of his car went off, plunging him to the back of the pack. Rejoining the track in arrears, the 21-year-old from Benschlap began a solid comeback that ended in fifth place.
Calan Williams finished in 16th place due to a driving mistake and to the strategy of starting with Prime tires, which did not pay off in a race marked by neutralizations and the use of the virtual safety car. The Perth native was holding P1 before his pit stop, but a lock-up under braking forced him to the runoff area and compromised the outcome of his day. After changing tires, Williams finished at the back of the pack. The ten points gained today allow Verschoor to increase his points toll, which stopped running after the second place he got in the Feature Race at Jeddah.
On the other hand, Trident Motorsport gained one position in the team standings. The next round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship season, which will be the midpoint of the series, is scheduled for the first weekend of July at Silverstone.
Giacomo Ricci, Team Manager, commento Feature Race
"We are delighted to be back in the points zone with the fifth place achieved by Richard Verschoor in a comeback run. Today's result is very helpful to his and the team's standings, where there were no points logged since the Jeddah race. Unfortunately, had he not stalled in the pit lane, we would have secured an even better result. Our cars were very competitive in terms of race pace. Calan Williams, who was pushed off the track by another driver in the Sprint race, did not pick up any points due to overshooting a corner and to a strategy call that did not pay off. But Baku is an unpredictable race where it is difficult to make predictions, and it did not disappoint even this year. Now we will work to start the upcoming European stint that will begin in early July at Silverstone."