Alex Dunne crossed the finish line as the on-road winner, but fate had other plans. A five-second penalty for cutting the line on the pit lane entry handed victory to Rafael Camara in the Formula 2 feature race in Baku. The incident was a bitter blow for the Rodin Motorsport driver, who had been dominant throughout the weekend.
The race was fiercely contested, with the top three championship contenders separated by less than 1.5 seconds at the flag. Dunne fought hard to hold off Camara, while Nikola Tsolov closed in after starting from 11th. With this result, Camara extended his lead over Tsolov to six points, while Dunne lost valuable ground.
The race was initially led by Dunne's teammate, Martinius Stenshorne, who started from pole. However, pit stop strategy proved decisive. The Rodin team called Dunne in at the end of lap six, just before a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed for Ritomo Miyata's stopped car. Dunne took advantage of the momentum, while Stenshorne and Camara chose to stay out.
Camara then used his supersoft tyres and clear track to take the effective lead when he pitted under green, but Dunne, with his tyres up to temperature, quickly reclaimed the position into Turn 1. Meanwhile, Tsolov, who pitted on the same lap as Camara, charged through the field and passed Laurens van Hoepen for fifth, 5.7 seconds behind Dunne.
However, once informed of his penalty, Dunne knew he had to build a gap. Camara, feeling unable to overtake, admitted, "Even if I tried, I couldn't overtake him. I think he was just better overall." Tsolov, after disposing of Stenshorne for third, began to close in, lapping up to 0.6 seconds faster per lap.
With the championship at stake, the Invicta team urged Camara to push. Dunne, having pushed his tyres to the limit to build a gap, was now struggling for grip and brought the pair into Tsolov's range. Tsolov kept pushing, even brushing the wall in a final effort. In the end, the tension did not subside, but the penalty remained the deciding factor.
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