Confidence grows with improved pace: DAMS Lucas Oil pre-season roundup

DAMS Lucas Oil’s 2024 campaign was very good. They scored one victory and eight podiums in total, achieved 178 points, and finished sixth in the Teams’ Standings. However, they want more.

For that to happen, the French outfit have made it known that they have to improve in a few areas, the main one being their Qualifying performance.

Speaking at the Abu Dhabi post-season test, their returning driver Jak Crawford said: “The progress for me that we need to make is in short run performance, so in Qualifying spec, which has not been an amazing this year.

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“I think in the long run stuff we can improve, we can always improve, but obviously we are taking a lot of time with the short run stuff.

“We can work fast and change things, so, it's not specific setup things, but it's more just about understanding the tyres a bit more. It’s about understanding how they work and how they warm up.”

The American driver, his new teammate Kush Maini, and their entire DAMS team were hard at work over the winter and at pre-season testing looking to take strides forward in that area.

Across the test, DAMS completed 359 laps, and while that may not be as many as some of their rivals, the team were very calm throughout the test, running their program with confidence.

In terms of laptime, DAMS did not chase the fastest laps on the opening two days, instead looking to see what they had been working on in the winter was correlating to the track.

On the final morning on Day 3, when they did show their hand on a drying track that had been hit by rain the night before, Crawford and Maini finished third and fourth.

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They both wound up about nine-tenths off the leading time set by ART Grand Prix driver Victor Martins, but a late Red Flag at the end of the session prevented them from going quicker.

So, while the timesheets may not say much, DAMS will be quietly confident that the work they have done across the three days should help them start the season well in Melbourne.

What will also fill them with confidence is the experience they bring to the grid. Crawford is returning for a third season, but a second with the team, while Maini is also set to start year three in the Championship.

For Crawford, this is the first time he has stayed with a team for two consecutive seasons during his single seater career, and he does this as the highest returning driver from 2024 having finished fifth in the Drivers’ Championship.

He recently said: “This is actually the first year that I’ve gone back to the same team two years in a row in motorsport. So, I’m happy to be back with them and I enjoyed last year a lot with DAMS.

“I just want to build on what we had last year and just fix the little things that went wrong because we were already quite competitive.

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“If we can fix those little things then we can still be just as competitive but with even more consistency.”

As for Maini, he was part of a Championship-winning team in 2024, so his knowledge of the Formula 2 car will definitely be helpful for DAMS.

The Alpine Academy member is already working had to ingratiate himself within the team, revealing the sacrifices he has made to get up to speed ahead of the new season.

“A good few days with the new team,” said Maini after pre-season testing. “We tried loads of different things, loads of different tests, as testing is meant for, and we feel very confident going to Melbourne.

“I think both quali and race pace feels very good and strong, and I am feeling very good within the team. As a team we've done a lot of work, I've even moved to Le Mans. It's a lot of sacrifice, but it's paying off slowly and we will get there eventually.”

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With just over a week until Formula 2 goes racing for the first time in 2025 in Melbourne, things certainly seem to be trending upwards for DAMS.

A strong winter program, a good few days of testing have put them in a good position heading into Round 1, and their experienced drivers will certainly be feeling good ahead of the new season.