Hitech driver Jüri Vips is aiming to repeat his “great weekend” of 2021 as FIA Formula 2 returns to Baku for Round 6 of the season.
Vips won two of the three races held on the Azerbaijani streets last year.
Having qualified on the front row, the Estonian won Sprint Race 2 and the Feature Race, as well as picking up an eighth-place finish in Sprint Race 1, but the 21-year-old stressed that he and his team can’t arrive “thinking that will happen” in 2022.
Vips, a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, admitted: “It needs a lot of hard work and we are well aware of that.”
Currently fifth in the drivers’ championship, Vips said he “enjoys” the Baku City Circuit, adding: “There are overtaking opportunities and if you are going fast, you are going forwards, if not you are going backwards.”
Vips has shown good pace this season but has also made costly errors, notably in Imola and Spain.
The two-time F2 winner acknowledges that mistakes in Baku will be “unforgiving.”
Vips, who has scored three podiums in 2022, including a third place in the Monaco Feature Race, could thrust himself closer to title contention with a similar performance to his 2021 weekend.
The 21-year-old, on 49 points, is currently trailing championship leader Felipe Drugovich by 64 points after five rounds.
Hitech team mate Marcus Armstrong is fourth, with 50 points, while the team are third in the teams’ championship, with 99 points, 36 behind MP Motorsport who top the standings.
Image: Redbull Content Pool
