Round 8 Post Feature Race Press Conference

FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to Silverstone for the press conference of our top three finishers in today’s FIA Formula 2 Feature Race. In third place we have Luke Browning for Hitech TGR, in second is Alexander Dunne for Rodin Motorsport and your race winner is Jak Crawford from DAMS Lucas Oil. Jak your third win of the season, but was that maybe the most stressful? Jak Crawford: You know I wish it was a lot more straight forward, if it was just a wet race the entire race. But we knew it was going to start to dry out. We knew it was going to be a long race and that we needed to save the tyres. Obviously, the end was super stressful, what tyre to go on, all of that. I had Alex behind me as well within half a second the last couple of laps before I boxed. I had to make all those decisions with the pressure from Alex. It was definitely quite a chill race until the last five laps

FIA Formula 2: You set that up though with a rocket start off the line, talk us through that launch and taking the lead.

Crawford: On the formation lap I knew that I was going to be quite strong at the start. I felt good grip, I had the perfect launch, Victor barely moved, Alex had a decent start and I just had to split the gap. I already positioned my car ahead of time. I felt I was going to have a good start. I did and that sets you up the best. When you are out front leading the race.

FIA Formula 2: With this win you are just six points off the Championship lead now, you’ve had such a strong run since the Jeddah Feature Race, just how are you feeling about the title fight?

Crawford: Yeah great, I’d say I am properly in it now. After Austria I knew it was changing every weekend, I am racing the same guys every week, Luke and Alex here are also fighting for the Championship, so it seems like we are always racing each other which is keeping it close. It is just about getting the wins like today that separates you a part a little bit.

FIA Formula 2: Congratulations on the win. Alex, second place from second on the grid, but it looked like you had every chance of winning in those closing stages, what’s the reaction to that one?

Dunne: I think towards the end when the deg properly started kicking in that the pace was really good. It was kind of difficult to time when to box coming out of Stowe my engineer came on the radio and said, ‘if Jak boxes follow him in’ but it was already too late at that point, I had to stay out. Also, if I had followed him in, he probably got in just in time with the VSC, but I don’t think I would have made it in on time, so it was probably a good thing that I stayed out. I think it was a good race, it’s my first time driving this car in the rain. There was a couple of things to adjust to at the beginning, and I think we adapted to it well and the pace was strong. Overall, I’m pretty happy.

FIA Formula 2: How tough was it to make decisions in race in terms of pitting or not pitting, especially with the fact that the track was drying but not that quickly and the risk of rain as well.

Dunne: It was tricky, but I was pretty chilled to be honest. I think my plan was just to go as long as possible. I felt like the pace was good and the tyres felt like they were in a relatively good window. For me the decision making wasn’t too tricky, I knew when I wanted to pit, and we pitted at the right time, I think. It was just that we lost a bit of time under the VSC because Amaury Cordeel was in front of me on slicks going really slowly, which isn’t his fault but it’s just one of these things that we got caught out with unfortunately. Overall, it was a good race, the start was good once again, made up one place. Of course, Jak’s start was a little bit better.

FIA Formula 2: We looked like we were going to have a two-lap shootout there with everyone on new wet tyres. How aggressive were you planning on being at that stage, were you going all out for the win or were you looking to bank the points?

Dunne: I was pushing pretty hard at the restart. I think we probably would have had a good race, of course it wouldn’t have been easy to get past even if I felt like I was quicker. It would have been a good battle, and I wish we could have had the opportunity to race until the end but unfortunately these things happen. It was tricky conditions and that showed today, especially at the end when it started drying and people started to push a little bit more and people started to consider changing to slicks. That’s when it became difficult, that’s when the race almost flipped on its head. It would have been nice to have a fight but in the end the result is still pretty good. To score good points after what happened last week is good for the Championship.

FIA Formula 2: Thanks, well done. Luke from 12th to third for you today, you looked like you had a lot of fun out there.

Luke Browing: Yeah it’s bittersweet, that’s the way to put it. You go so fast in qualifying, picked up some damage coming into the second run and it was major, so I couldn’t fight in the second run in qualifying. But we knew we had pace coming into the race weekend. We were very fast yesterday in the dry and we were very fast today in the wet. Equally we look at these weekends and go, these are the weekends that maybe we could win, but equally we got as many points as we could from it. I am very happy with the overtakes and the pace we showed today. Overall, you need this perception to get to Formula 1 and that is the goal.

FIA Formula 2: You were very much in the frame for the win then as you were climbing through the field, were you always planning on making that late pit stop, before we got those interruptions or was that a late call?

Browning: No honestly, we were planning on doing it earlier. We were unsure about the risk of it drying and then if people boxed for slicks and did us at the end. We were trying to cover all aspects, when you go from twelfths to third you want to cover the positions. Maybe we could have boxed five or four laps earlier than we did for a new set of wets and maybe undercut massively but it wasn’t to be today. I am very happy with third, the team did a fantastic job. This second half of the European season I am really looking forward to. Pace is coming to us, direction is good, confidence is growing evermore. We are ready to fight for this now.

FIA Formula 2: It is your home race here at Silverstone. I know you have been on the podium in other categories before but how special was it to be out on that podium today? Browning: Yeah, it alluded me last year. Formula 3, it feels like it’s scarred me. It is one of those… I don’t need to go into it but basically the weather took it away from me. But also, I have been rewarded with the weather in the past and I doubt I would have got to third today on a normal strategy so maybe it rewarded me today.

FIA Formula 2: Well done Luke, congratulations everyone.