Formula 2: Victor Martin won the Silverstone race.
The qualifying at Silverstone for Formula 2 started as usual, with the leading drivers immediately declaring their intention for pole position, including experienced Viktor Marten, who has yet to turn his potential into strong race results.
On Fridays, during youth series qualifying, he usually posts top times, and today it was French ART driver who first set a decent lap. Just a few hundredths behind in early attempts was championship leader Richard Vershor, while Jack Crowford, a swift American racing for DAMS, posted the third best time towards the end of the session.
It was Crowford who, after penalties imposed on others, inherited third place in Austria last Sunday, although he didn't make it onto the podium after the race finish.
A couple of minutes later, the session was halted by red flags due to Amori Cordil stopping his car in the middle of the track, which led other drivers to return to the pit lane. Belgian driver Rodin Motorsport self-inflicted an error, resulting in his elimination from further contention. Meanwhile, not all drivers managed to set a time yet.
After marshals removed Cordil’s car, qualifying resumed. Alex Dunn, one of the championship contenders currently holding second place overall, posted the third-fastest time, bumping Crowford down, but there remained a possibility that the order could still change.
It seems technical issues prevented Ritam Miata from rejoining the track, as he exited his Dallara, which sports Toyota Gazoo Racing livery—the Japanese automaker's racing division that provides him with financial support.
Later in the session, both drivers improved their performance, and the track conditions also improved. Initially, Crowford was fastest, but his time was immediately surpassed by Marten, who clocked a lap in 1:39.731. Alex Dunn then moved to second, a week after being disqualified for his car not complying with technical regulations. Now, the Irish driver aimed to recover, and his time was just 0.065 seconds slower than Marten’s.
In the end, Viktor claimed his second pole of the season and his sixth in his career, while alongside him on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s race will be Alex Dunn—second in the standings. Marten remains ninth despite his experience and qualifying speed.
Starting from the second row in the main race of the weekend will be Crowford and Roman Staneck, while Sebastián Montoya, son of a former Formula 1 driver, moved up to third, showing that as he gains experience, he's driving faster.
The Saturday sprint race will see Leonardo Fornaroli of Invicta Racing, the Italian driver currently fourth in the standings, starting from pole position.
Qualifying Results
Driver
Team
Time
Diff
Laps
1. V. Marten
ART Grand Prix
1:39.731
–
10
2. Alex Dunn
Rodin Motorsport
1:39.796
+0.065
13
3. D. Crowford
DAMS
1:39.971
+0.240
10
4. R. Staneck
Invicta Racing
1:40.065
+0.334
10
5. S. Montoya
Prema
1:40.138
+0.407
10
6. D. Dürksen
AIX Racing
1:40.169
+0.438
11
7. R. Vershor
MP Motorsport
1:40.326
+0.595
10
8. D. Beganovic
Hitech GP
1:40.337
+0.606
11
9. K. Maini
DAMS
1:40.380
+0.649
11
10. L. Fornaroli
Invicta Racing
1:40.428
+0.697
12
11. A. Lindblad
Campos Racing
1:40.500
+0.769
12
12. L. Brawning
Hitech GP
1:40.735
+1.004
11
13. S. Megetunif
Trident
1:40.835
+1.104
12
14. M. Esterson
Trident
1:40.942
+1.211
12
15. R. Villagomes
Van Amersfoort Racing
1:40.996
+1.265
10
16. G. Mini
Prema
1:41.068
+1.337
11
17. A. Cordil
Rodin Motorsport
1:41.069
+1.338
4
18. D. Bennett
Van Amersfoort Racing
1:41.180
+1.449
10
19. O. Göte
MP Motorsport
1:41.211
+1.480
11
20. H. Marti
Campos Racing
1:41.333
+1.602
12
21. K. Shields
AIX Racing
1:41.987
+2.256
11
22. R. Miata
ART Grand Prix
No time
–
2
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