Sep 13

2024 FIA Formula 2 Azerbaijan Qualifying report

Invicta Racing's Baku F2 race poster

Kush Maini on track for F2 qualifying in Baku

All images ©: Dutch Photo Agency

Invicta Racing drivers Kush Maini and Gabriel Bortoleto both made it into the top six of a thrilling FIA Formula 2 qualifying session on the streets of Baku.

A dusty and dirty track surface made for unpredictable conditions throughout Friday’s FIA Formula 2 running, leaving the drivers with little time to get up to speed in practice and mounting pressure in a qualifying session that went right down to the wire.

The weekend’s solitary practice session was disrupted by multiple red flags – courtesy of Pepe Marti and Oliver Goethe finding the barriers – and an unexpected rain shower. As a result, lap times were far from representative, with drivers desperately searching for valuable track time around the challenging circuit. Kush Maini ended the session in second with Gabriel Bortoleto in 16th.

Gabriel Bortoleto during a track walk for the F2 Azerbaijan round

Despite the lack of running earlier in the day, the Invicta duo exhibited promising pace from the off in qualifying with Gabriel and Kush briefly running 1-2 after the initial runs, but then they slipped back to fourth and sixth respectively.

As the session reached its halfway point, Maini was fourth and Bortoleto seventh and drivers piled into the pits for the usual mid-session hiatus.

Before anyone could improve their lap time, a red flag period halted proceedings and left the drivers with just four minutes to complete their final-run preparations. In the end, both Invicta Racing drivers handled the pressure, and Kush ended the session fifth with Gabriel in sixth.

Invicta Racing's Gabriel Bortoleto on track for F2 qualifying at Baku

Kush Maini Invicta Racing quote banner

KUSH MAINI

“We can be happy with fifth after how little running we managed in practice. It was the same for everyone this morning but as a team, we managed the situation well and finished with two cars in the top six. I'm starting fifth for both races so the aim has to be to move forward."

FREE PRACTICE RESULTS

Position: P2
Fastest lap: 1:58.896

QUALIFYING RESULTS

Position: P5
Fastest lap: 1:55.174

GABRIEL BORTOLETO

“A solid result in qualifying today considering where we were in the morning session. And the crash for Isack [Hadjar] puts us in a great position to gain on him in the points. We have to keep our heads going into the two races as we’ll be in amongst all of the action, but it’s a strong start to our weekend.”