Apr 29

Apr 29 Ollie Bearman takes maiden Formula 2 pole in Baku

Oliver Bearman took his maiden Formula 2 pole in Baku as he snatched the fastest lap in the final seconds of the congested qualifying session.

Ollie Bearman on track for pole his maiden pole position in Baku. *(Formula Motorsport Limited)*

Bearman will start Sunday's feature race on pole next to Enzo Fittipaldi after besting the Rodin Carlin driver by just 0.012s with the final time of 1:52.652.

The PREMA driver set the fastest lap even with his obvious bent steering dragging the steering wheel off-line.

Lap times fell quickly as the clock counted down in Baku with every driver crossing the line on their final attempt shaking up the order at the top.

"I knew coming into the weekend we had a fast car," said Bearman.

"The team has always been really strong here in the past, so I knew we would be fighting at the front, just had to put it together, just about…"

"I’m really happy to be going off the front row for the feature race."

"I had a bit of damage on my car, so I was actually ready to pit after my first lap, but I did pole, so thanks to the team for making me stay out."

"It feels great and I’m just looking forward to hopefully doing a good job in the race tomorrow."

Bearman cuts a tight line around the streets of Baku. *(PREMA Racing)*

The session was halted within the first few minutes when Brad Benavides hit the barriers on the exit of turn one, bringing out the red flag. Bearman was the first to set a representative lap when running resumed, with drivers tussling for track position and the best slipstream down the long final straight.

Experienced runners took to the top of the timesheets in the second set of laps, with Dennis Hauger moving to the top of the field ahead of Richard Verschoor.

It was tense in the final laps, with the tight circuit bringing the high risk of a late red flag and suspended session. Frederik Vesti was fastest ahead of Théo Pourchaire, with the benchmark set at 1:53.271 with just enough time for one final lap.

Vesti, Pourchaire, and Fittipaldi all went below the 1m53 barrier and the order was fluid as the chequered flag fell, with Bearman scraping by as one of the very last cars to cross the line.

Team PREMA Racing later confirmed that the British rookie had tapped the wall on his penultimate lap and damaged the steering, making his pole lap even more impressive.

Richard Verschoor finished the session in tenth and will start Saturday's sprint race on reverse-grid pole position, with Bearman on pole for the feature race on Sunday.

Aussie Jack Doohan will start both races from 16th after a more difficult qualifying session for the Invicta Virtuosi Racing driver.

The FIA Formula 2 weekend resumes at 9.00pm on Saturday (AEST) for the sprint race with the feature race at 5.25pm on Sunday.

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2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship - Round 4 Baku Qualifying