Rafael Villagómez made the most of one of the wildest races of the season. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver started Feature Race 1 in Baku from 16th, got caught up in a multi-car incident and still came away with points for eighth place.

Round 12 of the 2026 season in Baku came with an unusual format – a Sprint Race plus two Feature Races – making it a particularly valuable weekend in the points battle.

Crash, pit stop, fightback

At a Safety Car restart, Villagómez was involved in a multi-car collision at Turn 3. While some of those involved retired on the spot, the Mexican nursed his car back to the pits for a new front wing.

He rejoined in 14th and picked his way forward into the points. He crossed the line ninth, then gained a place when Kush Maini was handed a five-second penalty.

“It was crazy. At one point I was out of the race,” Villagómez told the official F2 website, crediting his team for keeping him in the fight and admitting he was not sure exactly how the Turn 3 incident unfolded.

Pace there, luck missing

Villagómez felt he had been unlucky in both of Friday’s races, but said the race pace was there – and that is what counts. Qualifying was harder work, with 17th in Qualifying 1 and 13th in Qualifying 2. Saturday’s Feature Race 2 brought more misfortune, as he stopped at Turn 1 early on, bringing out the Safety Car.

Key facts

Feature Race 1: started P16, finished P9, classified P8
Front wing replaced after Turn 3 restart crash
Rejoined in 14th after his pit stop
Feature Race 2: early retirement

Source: FIA Formula 2 official website (fiaformula2.com)

Archive photo: Rafael Villagómez, Formula 2, Austria, 26 June 2026. Photo: Lukas Raich / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for web; any adapted image is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.