F2: Jack Crawford achieved his third victory of the season
On Sunday at Silverstone, relentless rain poured down, and it was not just a typical English summer shower but a real downpour, forcing the Formula 3 race to be stopped with red flags after 12 laps, meaning the drivers completed just over half the distance.
The drivers were accustomed to this, and British fans are experienced, so they had prepared reliable umbrellas, raincoats, and appropriate footwear, as advised by the race track's official website. Of course, those in covered grandstands were luckier, not to mention the special-category spectators watching the events from guest zones and the Paddock Club.
Amidst the bad weather, the natural question arose about the fate of the Formula 2 race scheduled immediately after the interrupted F3 race.
However, the weather conditions appeared to improve visibly, although the start had to be postponed slightly due to the weather. The sky remained overcast with dark clouds, but radar forecasts indicated that the rain front was gradually moving away from the circuit.
By the start of the race, precipitation had ceased, but all drivers started on wet tires, with discussions already underway that as the track dried, slick tires might also be useful. The race was to cover 29 laps, and according to F2 rules, the pit window opened after six laps.
The typical Silverstone wind helped dry the track surface, leading the race director to decide that the start would be from the grid.
Experienced Viktor Martin took pole position. Having seen much in his career, it seemed unlikely that he would not try to maximize the opportunity, as when the track is clear in such conditions, it provides a significant advantage.
But things turned out differently: for some reason, Martin’s start was outright failed, while Jack Crawford, starting from third, made an excellent beginning: the American immediately took the lead, also passing Alex Danna. Viktor Martin lost two positions and was running third.
Sebastian Montoya also failed to hold his starting position—he was overtaken by Joshua Durksen. More interesting events unfolded in the midfield, where Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad battled for eighth place: both pushed the limits, but ultimately British Hitech driver Browning emerged victorious. However, this incident drew the attention of the stewards. Unfazed, Luke made a bold move on the next lap, overtaking Richard Fershor to climb to seventh place.
The championship leader then radioed his team, complaining that the rear tires were completely worn and the car was not gripping the track. To confirm this, he allowed Dino Beganovic to pass him, dropping to ninth.
It seemed that Montoya simply lacked the experience necessary to handle such conditions; he struggled to resist pressure from opponents, and by the seventh lap, Browning and Beganovic had overtaken him.
After eight laps, the top ten looked like this: Crawford led with an advantage of just over 1.5 seconds, followed by Danna, Martin, Roman Stanek, Durksen, Browning, Beganovic, Montoya, Fershor, and Lindblad.
No one was in a hurry to pit, firstly because such conditions always carry the risk of a safety car, and secondly, because the rain could restart.
On lap 9, Durksen attempted to overtake Stanek, and the battle was evenly matched. Stanek was not willing to yield, but Paraguayan driver Fershor was more confident and moved into fourth place. Taking advantage of the situation, Browning also managed to overtake the Czech and began to pressurize Durksen. On the 11th lap, he launched an attack, but Joshua defended his position, although both drove very aggressively. The next lap, Luke made another attempt, which also ended unsuccessfully.
However, Durksen’s tires on his Dallara were no longer gripping well: on lap 13, the car skated off the racing line, and Browning simply drove past. But to reach the podium and delight his fans, his team, and Williams—his partner in racing—he still needed to catch and overtake Viktor Martin, who was two seconds ahead.
Approaching the race midpoint, Luke Browning’s engineer warned him that switching to slicks wouldn’t be feasible because similar conditions were expected to persist until the finish.
By lap 14, Montoya had adapted to the difficult conditions and was driving with much more confidence, attacking Stanek, clearly aiming to steal seventh place. But he hadn’t succeeded yet.
On lap 15, the race director authorized the use of DRS, which was expected to spice up the race. By then, Browning was close to catching Martin, and it was clear that the French driver’s tires were performing poorly, making it harder to keep up the pressure. Both Viktor and Luke were in the Williams Junior Academy.
Browning was shadowing Martin in every corner, but Viktor positioned the car correctly on the track, preventing an overtake, even as he struggled to keep his Dallara on the track. With ten laps remaining, the situation grew more intense.
On lap 18, Browning finally forced his way past at Luffield and moved into third—seemingly the maximum he could hope for today, as Alex Danna was already five seconds ahead. Catching up under normal circumstances would be impossible.
Fewer laps remained until the finish, and the Hitech team provided Browning with an updated forecast: rain might restart near the end of the race.
Meanwhile, Danna was close to overtaking Jack Crawford, aiming to seize the lead from the American. The first pit stops had begun, but the top ten were still on their heavily worn wet tires. Gabriele Minì was the first to risk switching to slicks but immediately paid the price—the car spun out just after exiting the pits.
On lap 23, Browning pitted into the lane and received a fresh set of wet tires, rejoining the race in tenth position.
On lap 24, Crawford followed suit, heading into the pits, while yellow flags were displayed on the track, later switching to a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) mode—significantly increasing the Italian’s chances of rejoining the front runners.
The VSC was triggered by Roman Stanek’s car stopping on track—he spun and his engine stalled.
Danna remained on track for now, followed by Martin, then Durksen, but all pitted on lap 25 as the VSC switched to a full Safety Car.
Crawford, of course, led the peloton behind the orange Mercedes driven by Bernd Maylander—the safety car driver. The unhappy Danna was in second, openly frustrated about his sharply reduced chances of victory, and Browning was third.
By the way, those expecting rain to resume were right: a few laps before the finish, as the restart approached, rain did start again. But the yellow flags immediately reappeared—this time due to Durksen’s spin. Maylander had to re-enter the track, and it looked like the race would end behind the safety car, which would diminish the excitement.
Under these conditions, Jack Crawford’s victory was assured, and the 25 points earned today moved him ahead of Alex Danna in the championship standings. It became clear why the Irish driver was so upset—he’s now only third. Richard Verschoor managed to finish seventh, enough to maintain his lead in the championship.
Crawford and Danna were joined on the podium by Luke Browning, who was probably a bit dissatisfied but didn’t complain—third place was still a good result.
Race results
Driver
Team
Time/Gap
1. J. Crawford
DAMS
1:03:05.304
2. A. Danna
Rodin Motorsport
+0.227
3. L. Browning
Hitech
+0.838
4. D. Beganovic
Hitech
+1.369
5. S. Montoya
Prema Racing
+1.753
6. L. Fornaroli
Invicta Racing
+2.215
7. R. Verschoor
MP Motorsport
+3.035
8. A. Lindblad
Campos Racing
+3.779
9. H. Marti
Campos Racing
+4.186
10. R. Villagomez
Van Amersfoort Racing
+4.467
11. O. Gote
MP Motorsport
+4.905
12. D. Bennett
Van Amersfoort Racing
+5.333
13. M. Estrada
Trident
+6.284
14. K. Shields
AIX Racing
+6.502
15. R. Miata
ART Grand Prix
+8.929
16. K. Maini
DAMS
+20.277
17. A. Cordil
Rodin Motorsport
+24.874
18. S. Megetunif
Trident
+1:15.614
19. V. Marten
ART Grand Prix
+1 lap
20. D. Durksen
AIX Racing
+1 lap
Did not finish: R. Stanek (Invicta Racing), G. Minì (Prema Racing)
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