Dino Beganovic takes maiden F2 victory in Baku sprint

BAKU, Azerbaijan – Dino Beganovic launched from the front row of the FIA Formula 2 sprint race in Baku to hold on for a dominant maiden victory.

It was the first win for a Swedish driver in the series and the first 1-2 finish in five years for Hitech TGR as Luke Browning and Alex Dunne completed the podium.

"We knew we had good pace from yesterday and today was all about executing it well," said Beganovic.

"I think it was all very much under control at all times after lap one. Then we just settled into our pace, tried to manage the tyres a bit and be ready for a safety car as you never know here in Baku.

"I think all the restarts were spot on. It was a very good race from inside the car, also good communication with my engineer. It is also great to have Luke doing 1-2 for the team and also Alex in P3.

"A 1-2 for the team is always very good."

There was action from the opening lap as polesitter Rafael Villagómez and Josep María Martí made contact in turn one, before Oliver Goethe spun at turn 2, with Martí then also clipping John Bennett as he made avoiding action.

The pack was well-behaved at the restart, with Beganovic building a commanding lead after storming into P1 off the front row.

Sebastián Montoya was second, with Martinius Stenshore passing Luke Browning from third, while Gabriele Minì made his way back to sixth and title-rivals Leonardo Fornaroli and Jak Crawford battled for seventh and valuable championship points.

Stenshorne suffered an unfortunate mechanical issue on his F2 debut, retiring from third and promoting Browning, who was soon under pressure from Alex Dunne after a brief safety car.

The Irishman was up into third but locked up at turn one and relinquished the position to Browning, while Beganovic held a resounding four-second lead.

Montoya was the next to fall out of the points after a second mechanical failure, with Browning up to third and Dunne holding on for third.

"The last five or six laps I was just chilling and waiting for the race to end," said Browning.

"[I was doing] enough to guarantee that I wasn't going to lock up and go straight on anywhere," he said, perhaps reflecting on Dunne's misfortune but also commenting on the difficult conditions as light rain sprinkled on the track throughout the race.

Behind the leaders and there was more action from the championship contenders, with Crawford passing Minì for fifth before Fornaroli made a brave move on the final lap to also move past his fellow Italian for sixth.

With his sixth-place finish, Fornaroli maintains the lead of the drivers' standings on 178 points, with Browning slightly closing the gap and heading into Sunday on 161 points.

Jak Crawford is on pole with Fornaroli set to line up alongside him on the front row for Sunday's feature race, underway from 5.00pm (AEST).

Watch every race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship on Kayo Sports. Join now to get a 7-day free trial.