Crawford keen to take Championship lead into the summer break ahead of Budapest weekend

31 July 2025

Jak Crawford is looking forward to bouncing back from a difficult weekend at Spa-Francorchamps with a strong performance at Budapest, the final round before the summer break.

The DAMS Lucas Oil driver went into the last weekend fresh from a Feature Race victory at Silverstone, and second in the Standings.

However, a point-less couple of outings meant he lost ground to title rival Leonardo Fornaroli especially, but Crawford is confident of returning to form in Budapest.

What to Watch For: The key topics to look out for at Round 10 in Budapest

“I’m looking forward to it for sure,” said Crawford previewing the weekend. “I think rain or shine, we have a good chance to be competitive.

“Spa was not a good weekend, but we feel like we know why, so at least that’s good. It’s not too much of an issue, going into this weekend, looking forward to putting more points on the board.

“I feel like Spa was a tough one. It kind of worked in a way that it didn’t fall our way and we didn’t have the pace. It’s a shame but I don’t think it really affects the long term. It’s been quite easy to continue back the way we are going.”

Crawford is coming off the back of a difficult weekend at Spa

Attention turns to Budapest though and Crawford gave a preview of how we can expect things to go this weekend, from the nature of the track to the Qualifying plan for each driver.

“I think just the technicality of the circuit, you have to set up the car well for the circuit,” said Crawford. “There are lot of corners, and a lot of different types of corners as well, so finding the right setup can be the key to getting around here.

PREVIEW: Budapest plays host to Round 10 before the summer break

“In Qualifying everyone is going to try to get as much clear track as possible, and the track is not quite big enough. It’s a very short track and everyone is trying to get a four or five second gap to the car in front.”

After Budapest, there will be four rounds left in the 2025 campaign, and the title race is now heating up with just 12 points separating the top five coming into the weekend.

Crawford, who currently has 116 points is trailing leader Fornaroli by nine and is hopeful a good couple of races will give him the Championship lead heading into the summer break.

Crawford is looking to take a lead of the Championship going into the summer break

“I know who I am racing,” continued the American. “I’ve been racing the same guys all year anyway. I feel like I qualify around the same guys, I race against the same guys, I’m on the podium with the same guys.

“So I feel like at the moment we are just matching each other, going back and forth. So watching what the other is doing, but at the same time focusing on myself and make sure we stay as consistent as possible and do our jobs, and the rest will come with it.

“It would be great to win here and go into the summer break with a win under our belts and with the Championship lead as well with that, that’s the goal.

“It’s always better to be in front than behind, so I am looking forward to this weekend to get that win to go into the bigger break on a high.”