Azerbaijan Grand Prix F2: Vips dominates in Feature Race, Pourchaire retires
Juri Vips, who had imposed himself this Saturday in the sprint race, also pockets the 25 points of the main race at the end of a controlled race from start to finish. Under the checkered flag, he surpasses the two Prema drivers Oscar Piastri and Robert Shwartzman.
The young Estonian driver left only crumbs to his competitors, already a winner in the sprint race 2, the Red Bull protege once again climbed to the top step of the podium in Baku.
Hugtec Grand Prix 🤗#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F2 pic.twitter.com/BsNw0tfQCs
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If he started in the front row alongside his teammate Liam Lawson, the young Estonian managed to avoid contact, unlike Liam Lawson who was penalized by the race officials after attempting a maneuver deemed dangerous on Théo Pourchaire. Similar to sprint race 2, the first lap was eventful due to Dan Ticktum being overly ambitious on Théo Pourchaire and Marcus Armstrong, sending them respectively into the escape route and the wall. Found guilty by the race officials, the young British driver was penalized with a 10-second penalty, which did not prevent him from finishing 8th in this race.
On his side, Théo Pourchaire was forced to retire following this collision with Dan Ticktum, a collision that appears to have injured the Frenchman’s left hand.
The Prema team and its drivers are having a very good race weekend in Baku, allowing their drivers to climb back up in the championship standings. Guanyu Zhou will return from Baku as the championship leader but having lost many points, he finishes this main race in a disappointing 13th place.
Guanyu Zhou still holds the lead in the championship with 78 points. However, he sees Oscar Piastri closing in (73). Robert Shwartzman (66), Jüri Vips (63), and Dan Ticktum (60) are close behind the leaders, while Théo Pourchaire (55) has dropped to 6th place in the standings.
Top 10 of the main race
Our top 🔟 from the Feature Race in Baku!#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F2 pic.twitter.com/Syx1d6ymSw
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