F2: Hitech’s Sprint 1-2 in Baku

Chaos filled the F2 Sprint race in Baku with yellow flags, safety cars, and overtakes. However, the Hitech drivers, Dino Beganovic and Luke Browning, were the ones to come out on top, achieving Hitech’s first 1-2 finish since 2020 at Mugello with Nikita Mazepin and Luca Ghiotto.

(Image credit to @formula2 on Instagram)

Beganovic started the Sprint Race in P2 and Browning started P6, both getting a good launch, with Beganovic taking the lead into turn 1. After some turn 1/first lap chaos, Browning was able to move up into P4 before a safety car came out. At the restart of this safety car on lap 5, Beganovic had a good launch, quickly building a gap to the car behind. Browning on the other hand had to play defensive, successfully holding off Alex Dunne and keeping P4. 

Then, on lap 8, Martinius Stenshorne, who was running in P2, faced a technical issue and had to retire, bringing Browning up to P3. Stenshorne’s car was stopped on the road, bringing out a VSC that turned into a safety car. Beganovic led the second safety car restart on lap 13; once again, he kept the lead. Browning lost a place to Dunne, going back into P4, but on lap 15, Dunne locked up into turn 1, and Browning took P3 back. 

Beganovic continued to extend his lead comfortably out front. On lap 18, Browning overtook Sebastian Montoya for P2, into turn 1 with the help of DRS. Beganovic and Browning had no problem holding those positions for the remainder of the race, crossing the finish line in P1 and P2, Beganovic with a 6.2-second lead and Dunne completing the top three. The team scored maximum points possible for the sprint, with Beganovic also collecting the fastest lap point and marking five years since the team's last 1-2 finish.

The last time Hitech had a 1-2 finish in F2 was in the Feature Race at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, when Nikita Mazepin and Luca Ghiotto crossed the line P1 and P2. Both drivers qualified out of position, with Ghiotto starting P8 and Mazepin starting P14. Mazepin took an alternate strategy, and when the safety car came out, he found himself in P3 at the restart. Since Mazepin had a fresh set of softs and the two in front of him, Ghiotto and Christian Lundgaard, had on degraded sets of hards, Mazepin was able to overtake the two with ease. Ghiotto was able to maintain second position, bringing home a Hitech 1-2 finish.

Hitech’s 1-2 finish in Baku wasn’t just historic, but also significant for the manufacturers championship, closing the gap to Invicta, Hitech just 17 points behind.

Article written by Haley Hall