The Safety Car slowly entered the pit lane, and the track lights simultaneously turned green. The race officially restarted.
When the restart signal came on, the leading Alex Sun didn't immediately slam the throttle. Instead, he deliberately slowed the pace, gently weaving left and right to build tyre temperature.
There was a reason for that.
Alex Sun understood the key characteristic of the Baku circuit very well.
The starting straight runs from Turn 20 all the way to Turn 1, stretching 2.2 kilometers in total. It is the longest start-finish straight in F2 and the single best overtaking zone on the entire track.
More importantly, after the Safety Car leaves the track, the rules are clear: until the leading car crosses the finish line, the cars behind are absolutely not allowed to overtake.
Combined with the extremely strong slipstream effect along this long straight, the timing of acceleration becomes critical.
If the leader accelerates too early, a clear slipstream pocket forms behind the car. Drivers behind can use the airflow to dramatically reduce drag, then once they cross the finish line they can easily close the gap or even complete an overtake.
That was an opportunity Alex Sun would never give his rivals.
Behind him, Vips watched everything unfold and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew the typical approach of a leading driver very well, and he also understood the track rules and the characteristics of the straight. In his mind, Alex Sun would certainly keep controlling the pace until just before the finish line before launching a full-throttle sprint.
So Vips slowed down as well, copying Alex Sun's tire-warming weave from side to side, completely unaware that anything was wrong.
What he didn't realize was that this "standard judgment" was exactly the trap Alex Sun had prepared for him.
From the corner of his eye, Alex Sun glanced at the rearview mirror. The moment he saw Vips begin warming his tires, he instantly stopped weaving, straightened the steering wheel, and without hesitation planted his right foot to the floor.
The engine erupted with a thunderous roar.
The car shot forward like a rocket launch, its speed surging rapidly down the long straight and instantly shattering the calm of the track.
The sudden acceleration caught Vips completely off guard.
He instinctively slammed the throttle to chase, but he was already half a beat too late.
F2 cars accelerate incredibly fast. Even a difference of just a few tenths of a second during acceleration can turn into a huge gap across a 2.2-kilometer straight.
Once that gap forms, catching back up becomes nearly impossible.
One step late becomes many steps late.
By the time they approached Turn 1, Vips still hadn't managed to close the distance to Alex Sun. Forget attacking—he could only follow helplessly behind and pass through the corner passively.
It's important to remember that before tyres reach operating temperature, the chemical grip of soft compound tyres is very poor. The car relies almost entirely on mechanical grip, which severely limits performance.
After the corner, Vips watched Alex Sun pull further and further away, completely baffled.
It was only Lap 3, and they had already spent a lap behind the Safety Car. Even if Alex Sun had fresher tyres and managed them better, the gap shouldn't have been this big.
He immediately contacted his engineer over TR.
The answer made his heart sink.
Alex Sun was running brand-new supersoft tyres, while Vips' set had already done six laps.
At this race, each driver was allocated only two sets of supersoft tyres and four sets of medium tyres. Normally, drivers would use supersofts during practice and qualifying, leaving a used set for the race.
Alex Sun had done the opposite.
He used only one set of supersofts to secure pole position in qualifying, saving the brand-new set for the race itself.
That made him the only driver in the field starting on fresh supersoft tyres.
The advantage of those carefully saved fresh tyres was massively amplified after the Safety Car restart. Combined with the Guardian of the Machine trait, his grip was on a completely different level compared to Vips' worn tyres.
After just a few corners, the gap grew larger and larger.
Thanks to this precise tyre strategy, Alex Sun firmly secured his lead. Vips could barely even see his taillights anymore.
Of course, the F2 broadcast wouldn't keep the camera focused on Alex Sun cruising alone at the front.
Compared to his calm solo lead, the intense battles among the chasing drivers were far more exciting for viewers.
The race progressed quickly, and before long Lap 6 arrived.
The mandatory pit stop window for the F2 feature race officially opened.
Jolyon Palmer's commentary immediately filled the livestream.
"Here we go! The mandatory pit window has opened right on schedule, and the pit lane is already getting busy!"
The camera swept across the circuit, making the situation clear at a glance.
At the front, Alex Sun remained rock-solid in the lead, showing no intention of entering the pits. The red car flowed smoothly along the racing line, the supersoft tyres degrading slowly while his lap times remained astonishingly consistent.
Behind him, a group of drivers who had started on supersoft tyres all dove into the single pit entry in quick succession, heading toward their respective garages.
Piastri and Vips were the first to enter the pit lane, one after the other.
Jolyon Palmer continued narrating in real time.
"Look at the pit lane! Piastri and Vips have entered one after another and are heading straight to their garages to switch onto medium tyres!"
"Both pit crews were already prepared. Their movements are incredibly quick—the impact guns are clean and precise, and the tyre changes are flawless!"
But just as Piastri's car completed the tyre change and prepared to leave the garage, his crew made a serious mistake.
They performed an unsafe release, hurriedly sending Piastri's car back into the pit lane.
As Piastri exited his pit box and merged into the lane, he nearly collided with Deledda, who was driving normally behind him.
Fortunately, Deledda reacted extremely quickly and braked in time, barely avoiding the potential crash.
"Dangerous! That was extremely dangerous!" Jolyon Palmer's voice suddenly shot up.
"The Piastri crew's release was very unsafe. Luckily Deledda slowed down in time, otherwise we would've seen a serious accident!"
Behind the command station, René Rosin's expression changed immediately.
He stood up and stared at the screen. Only after confirming that Piastri had safely driven away did he relax slightly before angrily speaking into the radio.
"That was a serious unsafe release! Luckily Deledda avoided it. The stewards will definitely give a penalty. If this happens again, someone will be held responsible immediately!"
The broadcast returned to the track.
Although the unsafe release had put Piastri in a difficult situation, thanks to his faster tyre change and the advantage he had built earlier, he still managed to hold onto second place among the front runners.
At the same time, another dramatic moment occurred.
Deledda's crew also committed an unsafe release.
When his tyre change finished, the team mistimed the moment they released the car.
Fortunately, Deledda reacted quickly, adjusting his speed and narrowly slipping past the front of Samaia's car before safely merging into the pit lane.
Jolyon Palmer's voice rose again in disbelief.
"My goodness! Two unsafe releases in a row! Deledda's crew also made a mistake releasing the car. Luckily there was no contact anywhere, and Piastri managed to hold onto second place under pressure. The pit lane has been full of incidents today—but somehow we've avoided disaster!"
The brief drama in the pit lane didn't affect the bigger picture.
Alex Sun continued calmly leading at the front. His supersoft tyres remained stable, his lap times unaffected, while the fighting behind him only increased the gap between him and the rest of the field.
By Lap 10, Alex Sun was still far ahead and had yet to pit.
At this point the leading drivers had clearly formed three separate groups, the gaps on the timing screen stark and obvious.
The first group contained only Alex Sun alone in the lead.
The second group consisted of Ticktum and Aiken. The two were far behind Alex Sun—almost as if they were in a different race phase entirely. Ticktum led Aiken by three seconds but was still ten seconds behind Alex Sun.
The third group consisted of front-row drivers like Vips and Piastri who had already completed their pit stops. They were another twenty seconds behind Aiken.
Ticktum and Aiken ended up between Alex Sun and the pitted drivers for different reasons.
Aiken's car had failed to start on the grid. After repairs, he had to start from the pit lane, making him the only driver who began the race on medium tyres.
Ticktum, meanwhile, damaged his front wing in the first-lap incident and had to pit immediately at the end of Lap 1 to switch to medium tyres.
Because of this, the two of them ended up in the same group, perfectly positioned between the leading Alex Sun and the front-running drivers who had already pitted.
Jolyon Palmer's commentary exploded with excitement.
"My goodness! The gap has completely split the field! Alex Sun is leading alone. Ticktum and Aiken are already ten seconds behind him, and the drivers who have pitted—like Vips—are nowhere close!"
"And the most unbelievable part is his tyre management! Ten laps on supersoft tyres and he's still maintaining this pace. Alex Sun's Resource Management is on a completely different level in F2. No one can match it!"
Behind the pit wall, René Rosin stared at the timing screen showing the massive gaps.
He knew the moment to pit had arrived.
He immediately signaled Mark to relay the instruction to Alex Sun.
The next second, Mark's calm voice came through Alex Sun's headset.
"Box, box. Pit this lap."
He quickly added more details.
"Alex Sun, the gap is large enough. Pit now for medium tyres and complete the mandatory stop."
"The pit crew is ready. After the stop, you'll rejoin 16 seconds behind Aiken and 14 seconds ahead of Piastri. You'll have plenty of clean air."
"Copy."
Alex Sun immediately stopped conserving the tyres and pushed the car to the limit, blasting through the remaining section of the lap.
At the end of Lap 10, he turned the steering wheel and dived into the pit entry at high speed.
Just before the pit lane white line, he slammed the brakes precisely at the limit, bringing the car perfectly down to the pit lane speed limit. He pressed the limiter button and smoothly entered the pit lane.
Alex Sun's time leading the race paused briefly, dropping him to third place.
But the two drivers ahead had not yet completed their mandatory pit stops, so they posed no threat to him.
With fresh medium tyres now fitted, all he had to do was drive steadily.
And the victory in this historic 100th race would be his.
...
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