Feature
A race of fine margins: Jak Crawford's Jeddah Weekend Debrief
Jak Crawford entered Round 3 in Jeddah having not scored a point this season, but he left with 20 points in the bag and a 12th Formula 2 trophy to add to his collection.
It all started with a first Pole Position in DAMS Lucas Oil colours on Friday, beating Victor Martins by just 0.022s. What followed was an epic race to the line between Crawford and Richard Verschoor, in a battle of two different strategies.
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He may have lost out to the MP Motorsport driver, but a first podium of the campaign is still a fine consolation for the American. It also gives him a lot of confidence heading into the European leg of the season.
QUALIFYING ON POLE
“It was a great session, a great lap. I think looking back I wouldn't say it was the greatest lap of my life, it was just the situation I was in.
“We were quite far down the order, quite far off after the first run, and then out of nowhere I improved by 1.4s on my lap time to put in on pole.
“So, I think all in all, it just brought out all the emotions. I was honestly expecting us in the first run, which was quite tricky, to be at the back of the top 10, that was my expectation. Obviously when I crossed the line and they told me I did pole, I was beyond happy, and it was amazing.
“I knew we had the speed from Free Practice to do that, that's why I was a bit confused after the first run. To finally get that pole, first pole with DAMS was a great feeling.
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FINISHING SECOND TO VERSCHOOR
“I've looked at the race a lot, how I could have done it better, how the team could have done it better, but it's a really tricky situation. All we needed was one or two more seconds of race time to beat Richard, but unfortunately, we just missed out on that.
“I could go in on all the little things that happened, but there is not a lot of point of doing that. I think it was a very strong race, to get points on the board as well. It was my first points of the year because we've had a rough first two rounds.
“To do it with a P2 in the Feature Race and two points for pole is great and it's a great way to start my season. Also to do it at such a tricky track as well gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.”
SHARING A PODIUM WITH MARTINS AND VERSCHOOR
“I think our experience definitely helped. Physically I knew what to expect, so I prepared a lot during the offseason to prepare for those conditions. It's probably one of the hottest races I've ever been in.
“If I look back on my rookie year it would have been tough to push that hard in that heat, so glad I have the preparation for that on that side.
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“Having more experience definitely helps you in the race, especially when managing the race better. All three of us on the podium were experienced, and I'm sure we all knew what to do and how to execute our races the best we could.
“I think we all knew it was going to be about the fastest race times. Victor and I were basically going in a timed race against Richard who was on the other strategy, so you definitely need experience in some of the races to make a difference.”
RETURNING TO EUROPE
“I’m very excited to get back to Europe, some shorter flights now, so I am super excited. I can't think of one track I dislike on the calendar for the rest of the year, so very much looking forward to the rest of the year, and the team has done a great job so far.
“I've qualified on pole once, I've qualified P3 in Melbourne. Bahrain was a bit of a struggle, but I wouldn't expect us to be that way for the rest of the year.
“Very much looking forward to it and hopefully taking home a few more points.”