Silverstone shake-up: F2 Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a weekend that changed the complexion of the 2023 Championship fight but who is looking strong leaving Silverstone and who has work to do ahead of Budapest?

Here is a team-by-team rundown of the Formula 2 grid ahead of Round 10.

A SETBACK

Frederik Vesti was in a class of one in the wet weather conditions in the Sprint Race but there was not a lot to be happy with on Sunday. A retirement for the Dane in the Feature Race put a huge dent in his Championship lead. Home hero Oliver Bearman was hit with a post-race penalty for causing a collision following his scrappy albeit exciting efforts from the Sprint in a prolonged fight with Jack Doohan.

PREMA Racing have proven extremely quick this season and the evidence from Silverstone only proves that continues to be the case. Vesti’s ill-timed retirement meant that with a podium result, he is now only six points clear in the Drivers’ Championship having been 21 after his Saturday win. Bearman pulled off some spectacular overtaking manoeuvres across the weekend but perhaps overexuberance in front of a home crowd was his undoing. Still, he remains the highest-placed rookie in the Championship, though he is now tied with a certain Frenchman…

FINALLY

He’d been so close before, but it was finally Victor Martins’ day, winning his first Formula 2 race in impressive fashion. He overcame a five-second time penalty earned in his opening lap battle with Ayumu Iwasa to streak clear by the end, lifting him all the way up to fifth in the Drivers’ Championship. It has been quite the turnaround for Martins, who spent the early rounds of the 2023 season well outside of the top 10 in the standings. If he can keep his current form up and show the same Qualifying speed that has earned him back-to-back pole positions, he’s in great shape heading into the summer break.

Teammate Théo Pourchaire took a major step in his Championship fight with Vesti, securing back-to-back podiums at Silverstone and a fastest lap point. At this stage in the season, every single point will count in pursuit of the 2023 Drivers’ crown, and the British weekend was a big one for Pourchaire. Three podiums from a possible four means ART Grand Prix has also taken a huge chunk out of PREMA’s lead in the Teams’ Standings. The Italian team is now only six ahead of ART, 223 points to 217. All to play for then going into Budapest in both Championships.

KEEPING A POSITIVE MINDSET

It wasn’t a fantastic weekend for DAMS either who, like PREMA, suffered a non-scoring result with its highest-placed driver in the Championship. Ayumu Iwasa’s Sprint DNF looked like a costly result with Vesti going on to win that race, but a reversal in fortunes on Sunday brought the Japanese driver right back into contention, making up the lost points from Saturday at the first time of asking. He is 24 points back from the top spot, but he has finished in the top five in each of the last three Feature Races, something both Vesti and Pourchaire have failed to do. There is a route to the title for Iwasa if he can keep that kind of record going.

Teammate Arthur Leclerc suffered with the soft tyres after a gamble in the Feature Race didn’t pan out. Lightning fast after the Safety Car was withdrawn, the Monégasque was looking like a strong contender for victory until his red-walled tyres gave up the best of their performance. From there, he dropped down the order like a stone, unable to do anything with those behind on tyres with more grip left in them. Still, it was a solid effort from Leclerc, who managed to take points in P9 despite his late fall down the order.

TOP 10s

Both Rodin Carlin drivers were able to finish inside the top 10 this weekend in the same race, the first time that has happened since the Sakhir Feature Race back in March. Zane Maloney claimed his third podium of the season and best Formula 2 result of his rookie campaign in Sunday’s race with second, while Enzo Fittipaldi claimed his third consecutive top eight finish in P7.

The team was able to secure its biggest total points haul from a single weekend with 29. Both drivers will need to be able to improve their consistency. Maloney’s P2 finish was his first points since the Monte Carlo Feature Race in what has been a difficult first season in F2 so far. Fittipaldi has only finished outside of the top 10 once all year, but four non scores have proven costly for the Brazilian.

SCRAPPY

P6 for Jehan Daruvala in the Feature Race was as good as things got for MP Motorsport in Silverstone. The Indian driver brought home his seventh points finish and third in a Feature Race so far in 2023, while teammate Dennis Hauger was caught up in a clash that meant he was left with a fightback on the Sunday.

The Norwegian driver has slumped to three scoreless races in a row, having been fifth in the Drivers’ Championship not too long ago. He is now down to 10th and aiming to fightback when racing resumes in Budapest.

THE STREAK IS OVER

Richard Verschoor’s incredible Feature Race points-scoring streak came to an end at Silverstone in what was a tough weekend for the Dutchman. Unable to replicate his Spielberg form around the British circuit, Verschoor couldn’t add to his points tally, and lost out on arguably one of the most impressive Formula 2 streaks. Prior to the weekend, Verschoor had scored points on Sundays going back almost an entire calendar year.

Juan Manuel Correa had the better weekend of the Van Amersfoort Racing teammates and was unfortunate to miss out on a points-scoring finish in the Feature Race on Sunday. He was a point scorer in Budapest in Formula 3 last year, finishing sixth with ART. A repeat would be a very welcome result for Correa and the team.

ROUGHER TIMES

It was Kush Maini’s strongest Qualifying performance in his rookie campaign, but the Silverstone weekend did not go the way the Indian driver wanted. A front row start from P2 was a great achievement but after a very consistent start to the season, Silverstone was the third consecutive race weekend in which Maini has failed to score. He has shown great speed all year, but he’ll be targeting a confidence building points finish in Budapest to right things quickly.

Ralph Boschung was out on the spot in the Feature Race after contact with Maini, though neither Campos Racing driver was at fault for the collision. It has been a tough phase of the season for the Spanish team, but 2023 remains a big step forward for the squad compared to last season.

FIGHTING FIT

It was like watching the Jack Doohan of 2022. The Australian was in fine form around Silverstone, putting on quite the show with PREMA’s Bearman in the Sprint Race. The Invicta Virtuosi Racing driver has been hitting his stride as of late, a points scorer in six consecutive races and seven in the last eight. His wheel-to-wheel racing was sublime, pulling off arguably the move of the race in the Feature, rounding Leclerc at Stowe in the latter stages. Early season form has made for a frustrating season, but a win appears to be closer and closer with each race weekend.

Amaury Cordeel’s recent Qualifying form had looked promising, but he struggled around Silverstone. From there, the Belgian had a tough time of things, capped off with a shunt in the Feature Race in the opening laps. He’ll be hoping for a better time of things in Budapest.

SCORES ON THE DOORS

Isack Hadjar was shocked to learn that his lap in Qualifying left him only 9th on the Feature Race grid after being just under two-tenths off the pole position time. The Frenchman secured P5 in the Sprint Race after falling away late on in the race, losing peak performance in the tyres. His Feature Race was also tough, ending up 15th having started from P9 on the grid. He’ll be targeting a rebound in performance at the Hungaroring.

Jak Crawford added a point to his and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s total on Sunday, finishing the Feature Race in 10th position. The American moved forward five places from 15th on the grid, a decent gain although he will have much higher targets come Budapest.

TWISTS AND TURNS

It was a tough weekend for Trident in Formula 2 as the team couldn’t add points to the ’23 total, but there were promising signs for both Clément Novalak and Roman Stanek. The Frenchman had been fighting in the points in the Feature Race, but he faded after the Safety Car to end up finishing 12th.

Stanek was taken out of contention at the Safety Car restart in a clash that was not his fault whatsoever. An innocent party in the clash Roy Nissany was eventually penalised for, the Czech driver will hope to replicate a points-scoring result in Budapest as he did one year ago in Formula 3 with the Italian team.

TOUGHING IT OUT

Roy Nissany narrowly missed out on a points’ scoring result once more in 2023, adding to his previous near misses so far this season. While the Sprint was a solid effort, his Feature Race clash with Hauger, Vesti and Stanek ended up costing him post-race with a penalty.

PHM Racing by Charouz teammate Brad Benavides was taken out of contention right away in the Sprint Race after early contact with Novalak, but the American driver recovered well to achieve one of his best results of the season, with P13 a good effort after a lack of track time the day before.