A rollercoaster few days in the City of Winds sees Invicta Racing secure 14 points before the break
The demanding nature of Baku City Circuit resulted in a stop-start Qualifying session. Roman Staněk was quick to get a time on the board, initially going fastest.
The first interruption came shortly after, with Leonardo Fornaroli yet to set a lap. When the session resumed, both drivers returned to the track, and the Italian immediately topped the timesheets.
At the midway point, Leonardo was back out on another push lap – improving on his previous effort and setting the best overall first sector to sit just 0.019 seconds off the fastest time of the session so far.
With under ten minutes remaining, the Invicta Racing duo returned to the track, but a Red Flag with four minutes to go halted their progress. As the session resumed, Leonardo occupied P2 with Roman P9.
With time to set just one hot lap, every driver was giving it their all. Unfortunately, Roman ran wide and collided with John Bennett while rejoining the track, resulting in a five-place grid penalty for both races.
2025 Formula 2 BAKU Qualifying RESULTS
Leonardo Fornaroli: P2 (1:54.810)
Roman Staněk: P12 (1:55.985)
Strong gusts of wind on Saturday resulted in further tricky conditions out on track.
Following his penalty, Roman began the 21-lap Sprint from P17, while Leonardo started from P9. Both drivers made clean starts before two incidents during the opening lap resulted in an early Safety Car.
When the Sprint restarted on Lap 4, Leonardo was P7 and Roman P12. On the following lap, Leonardo made a strong move on Gabriele Minì to take P6. However, now at the front of a train of cars, the Italian would lose several positions down the straight across the next few laps, as drivers behind activated DRS.
A technical issue for Martinius Stenshorne on Lap 8 resulted in a full Safety Car, with Leonardo and Roman up to P7 and P11 respectively. Under the Safety Car, drivers began to report light raindrops, furthering the challenging conditions.
After the Sprint resumed, Roman climbed to P10, as further light rain began to fall. By Lap 18, Leonardo was pushing hard to claim additional points in the Drivers’ Championship battle. One lap later, an issue for Sebastián Montoya moved the Italian up to P6, before what would prove a grandstand finish.
On the final lap, Leonardo had his eyes on P5. A brave move around the outside of Gabriele Minì at Turn 3 saw him brush the wall, but he was able to make the move stick and hold onto the position to claim what could be a crucial additional point in the Championship battle.
Having started P17, a strong recovery saw Roman finish just outside the top ten in P11.
2025 Formula 2 BAKU Sprint Race RESULTS
Leonardo Fornaroli: P5 (4 points)
Roman Staněk: P11 (0 points)
Both drivers opted to begin the 29-lap Feature Race on Supersoft tyres. Leonardo lined up on the front row alongside Jak Crawford, with Roman P17 after the second of his five-place grid drops from Qualifying had been applied.
A great launch saw Leonardo take the lead into the first corner, and while Crawford and Minì battled behind, he built a strong early lead. Roman also gained positions during the opening stages, moving up to P13 by the beginning of Lap 3.
On Lap 15, an incident for Stenshorne brought out a Safety Car that bunched up the pack and lead to the remaining cars driving through the pitlane while the marshals cleared the track.
Most drivers made the decision to pit at the earliest opportunity on Lap 6, including Leonardo and Roman, who both switched to Soft tyres. However, as the race leader, Leonardo was forced to wait a long time in the pitlane, resulting in him losing out to Minì, Crawford and Martí.
When the Safety Car period ended on Lap 7, Leonardo restarted from P4 with Roman P15 – the Czech driver immediately gaining a position and looking to make more overtakes before a Yellow Flag put a pause on his progress.
By Lap 13, Leonardo had lost a position to Alex Dunne but stuck tight to the back of the Irish driver in what would prove a decisive battle – the Italian misjudging the gap to his rival into Turn 1 and running into the back of his car, resulting in a 10-second time penalty.
Looking to minimise the impact of both the penalty and the pit stop loss earlier in the race, Leonardo showed great maturity to remain calm and begin making moves back up the field.
An overtake down the main straight at the start of Lap 20 saw him climb to P4 and, on the following lap, he moved into the podium positions with a pass on Minì. Pushing on, Leonardo had built a big enough gap to by the end of the race to remain within the top five after his penalty had been applied.
2025 Formula 2 BAKU FEATURE Race RESULTS
Leonardo Fornaroli: P5 (10 points)
Roman Staněk: P13 (0 points)
LEONARDO FORNAROLI
“It was a tough weekend, but we still managed to come away with some important points. I was proud to qualify on the front row on my first visit to Baku, and I felt the pace was there to fight at the front in both races. The Feature Race was especially challenging with the penalty, but I was determined to recover and managed to climb enough to secure a top five finish. There are positives to take away, and I’ll keep building from here.”
READ MORE: Getting to know Leonardo Fornaroli
ROMAN STANEK
“It wasn’t the easiest weekend for me. The penalty in Qualifying resulted in the challenge of starting further back, but I tried to make the most of every opportunity and was able to gain positions in both races. Even if I didn’t quite get the results I wanted this weekend, there’s definitely more potential and I’m confident that with a cleaner weekend we can show stronger results.”
READ MORE: Getting to know Roman Stanek
JAMES ROBINSON, TEAM PRINCIPAL
“Baku was always going to be a demanding weekend, with the windy conditions impacting drivers on track. While it wasn’t straightforward, the team still delivered crucial points. Leonardo showed excellent determination, securing a front-row start in Qualifying and fighting for that fifth-place finish in the Feature Race. Roman had a tougher weekend after Qualifying, but his race pace was encouraging, and he made solid progress during both races. Taking 14 points from a challenging event underlines the resilience of the team. Now, we’ll regroup and look to maximise our potential in the next round.”
READ MORE: Getting to know James Robinson
2025 Formula 2 STANDINGS
Invicta Racing: P1 (269 points)
Leonardo Fornaroli: P1 (188 points)
Roman Staněk: P9 (81 points)
READ MORE: See the full FIA Formula 2 2025 Standings
CIRCUIT: LUSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT
ROUND: 13
DATE: 28-30 NOVEMBER
READ MORE: Where to watch F2 in 2025
