Formula 2 has announced an exceptional format for its Baku round, scheduled from September 24 to 26: the championship will hold two qualifying sessions and especially two Feature Races.
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Officially, this change aims to take advantage of a freer schedule in Baku, but it comes amid strong uncertainties surrounding the holding of the last rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
The Formula 2 weekend in Baku will be unlike any other this season. For the 12th round of the 2026 championship, the category has decided to add a qualifying session as well as a second Feature Race to the usual program.
Disrupted timing
The drivers will thus have a free practice session, two qualifying sessions, a Sprint race, and two Feature Races on the spectacular Baku street circuit.
Formula 2 justifies this decision by its particular situation during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. F2 will indeed be the only support category present during the weekend, which leaves enough room in the schedule to organize these additional sessions. This format was already adopted last weekend in Formula 3 in Madrid with success thanks to favorable timings.
“As Formula 2 is the only support category during the Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix, we decided, in agreement with the promoters, to opt for an exceptional F2 race weekend, including a free practice session, two qualifying sessions, a Sprint race, and two Feature Races,” explains Bruno Michel, CEO of Formula 2.
A calendar that raises questions
Officially, the last two rounds of the season, scheduled in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, must still follow the traditional format with a free practice session, a qualifying session, a Sprint race, and a Feature Race.
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But the announcement of this enhanced program in Baku comes in a very particular context. The holding of the two Middle East events is currently uncertain, as F1 and the FIA could be led to modify their calendar. Imola is notably mentioned as a possible replacement solution.
However, Formula 2 does not present its format change as a measure intended to compensate for possible cancellations, even if great uncertainty hangs over the rounds scheduled in Doha and Abu Dhabi at the end of the season. F1 already has a backup Grand Prix reserved, at the Imola circuit where F2 could also take place as a season finale.
Not to distort the title race
Bruno Michel rather emphasizes the opportunity offered by the particularly open schedule of the Azerbaijani weekend: “It is the only weekend where the calendar allows the addition of these extra sessions, which will further enhance the spectacle for the audience present on site and for all our fans.”
The Frenchman also expects the Baku track to be particularly well suited to this new format: “The Baku street circuit always offers us exciting races; we are therefore delighted to make this 12th round of the season truly unique.”
F2 thus currently assures that Qatar and Abu Dhabi remain on the program with their usual format. But the unusual addition of a second Feature Race in Baku comes at a time when the future of these two rounds is particularly uncertain, giving even greater importance to the Azerbaijani event in the fight for the 2026 title.
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