Seven Points, 67 on Offer: Formula 2’s Title Fight Hits a Supersized Baku

Nikola Tsolov leads Rafael Câmara by just seven points into Round 12 — and Azerbaijan’s one-off format of two qualifiers, one Sprint and two Features could redraw the championship before the final stretch.

Baku does not do quiet championship weekends. This year, Formula 2 is about to make it louder.

After a week’s break, Round 12 of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 Championship heads to Azerbaijan from September 24–26 with the title fight tighter than at any point since summer — and with a one-off schedule that puts 67 points on the table.

A format built for swings

Formula 2 is the only support category on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix programme, so the championship has borrowed Formula 3’s expanded template: two Qualifying sessions, one Sprint Race and two Feature Races.

Thursday opens with Free Practice, then two 20-minute Qualifying sessions run back-to-back. The first sets Friday’s Feature Race grid and the reverse top ten for the Sprint. The second locks Saturday’s second Feature Race grid. Each Feature pole is worth two points — meaning the fight can move before a race has even started.

Friday packs the Sprint in the morning and Feature Race one in the afternoon. Saturday closes with Feature Race two. Usual Feature scoring remains (25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1), plus an eligible fastest-lap bonus inside the top ten.

Seven points that feel like one lap

Tsolov still leads on 177 after a scoreless Madrid — a Sprint crash and 18th in the Feature. Câmara climbed to 170 despite a 10-second Feature penalty for his clash with Oliver Goethe, cutting an 11-point deficit to seven.

The maths for Azerbaijan is blunt. Câmara must outscore Tsolov by at least eight points across the weekend to leave Baku with the outright lead. A seven-point swing would leave them level. With two poles available on Thursday alone, the gap could shrink — or grow — before Friday’s racing.

It is no longer only a two-car story. Minì sits 24 points off the lead; Dunne is 38 back after Feature second in Madrid. A bad Baku for either title protagonist could drag both further into the frame just as the season approaches its final chapter.

Tsolov’s bounce-back brief — and history’s warning

Earlier in 2026, Tsolov looked untouchable: six wins in the first seven rounds. Since Silverstone’s double, the Campos driver has managed just one podium and two DNFs. FIA Formula 2 still notes strong underlying pace for the Bulgarian and Campos — but the calendar maths has become unforgiving.

After Baku there is a two-month break before Lusail and Yas Marina. In each of the previous nine Formula 2 seasons, the driver leading with two rounds remaining has gone on to take the title. History is not destiny — but it is pressure.

Duerksen, Madrid heroes and the castle walls

Joshua Duerksen returns to the scene of his first F2 win in 2024, now tied on eight career victories with Artem Markelov, Nyck de Vries, Richard Verschoor and Felipe Drugovich. Another win would give him the outright record — and Baku has already shown him Feature podium form from deep in the pack.

Madrid winners Dino Beganovic and Ritomo Miyata arrive with fresh momentum. On a street circuit defined by the long full-throttle run and the castle section’s walls, qualifying form and restart composure will decide who harvests those 67 points.

Formula 2’s supersized Azerbaijan round is not a normal stop. It is the season’s densest scoring window — and the clearest chance yet for the lead to change hands before the final two races.