Here's the thing, Kush Maini meant business right from the get-go in Baku. The ART Grand Prix machine was hooked up, and Maini topped the opening practice session of Round 12 with a blistering 1:56.532 on his final lap.
Early on, the track was green and slippery, but the ART talent laid down an initial marker with a 2:02.639. The action hit a brief pause when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed with 15 minutes elapsed. Joshua Duerksen found the runoff area at Turn 3, and Oliver Goethe ran deep at Turn 5, with both drivers left stranded on the sidelines and unable to rejoin the circuit.
Once the green flags flew again, Maini lowered his benchmark to a 2:00.442 to stretch his lead. Martinius Stenshorne briefly took a turn at the front before Maini fired back with a 1:58.102. Championship leader Nikola Tsolov then slotted into P2, sitting 0.3s down on the ART driver's lap.
The timing screens kept shifting as the session matured. Stenshorne and Rodin Motorsport teammate Alexander Dunne both took turns at the summit, the Irishman grabbing the spot on a 1:57.478. Title rival Rafael Câmara filtered through in third, half a second back, before Maini squeezed past the Brazilian to reclaim third.
As the tarmac rubbered in and gripped up, Dunne pushed his personal best down to a 1:57.044, with Maini and Câmara slotting into second and third, two-tenths back from the Rodin machine. Then, into the final six minutes, the timing screens exploded into life as everyone went for broke.
Gabriele Minì briefly grabbed the top spot before Dunne snatched it right back with a 1:56.810, later improving that to a 1:56.736. But Maini had one final, stunning effort left in the tank, dropping a 1:56.532 to finish the session exactly where he started: right at the top.
Dunne had to settle for second, finishing 0.2s back ahead of late charges from Tsolov and Colton Herta, while Minì rounded out the top five. Behind them, Câmara, Laurens van Hoepen, Stenshorne, Ritomo Miyata, and Mari Boya completed the top 10.
Now, the FIA Formula 2 grid turns its attention to a crucial Thursday Qualifying double-header. The first session kicks off at 14:00 local time to set the grid for the Sprint and Feature Race 1, followed immediately by the second session at 14:30 to sort the order for Feature Race 2.
