SPRINT RACE: Vesti unassailable in lights-to-flag Silverstone victory

Championship leader Frederik Vesti led all the way through a wet Silverstone Sprint Race to take his third win of the 2023 Formula 2 campaign. The PREMA Racing driver was in a league of his own, beating Théo Pourchaire by over 13 seconds, with the ART Grand Prix driver finishing second. Jack Doohan claimed third after a back-and-forth battle with Oliver Bearman.

AS IT HAPPENED

Reverse pole sitter Vesti got things underway with a rolling start, pulling well clear of Isack Hadjar, Pourchaire and Bearman, who dispatched Enzo Fittipaldi with a brave move around the outside of Becketts.

Further back, Brad Benavides spun off at The Loop after being tagged by Clément Novalak, as the pair tried to avoid a slowing Ayumu Iwasa. The Trident driver was later awarded a five-second time penalty for causing a collision, and the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the lap.

Once the Safety Car peeled in at the end of Lap 3, Vesti once again nailed his getaway, steadily began building his advantage out front. Teammate Bearman wasted no time dispatching two cars in one lap, passing Pourchaire at Turn 3 and Hadjar after a dummy into Stowe for second.

His efforts were undone on Lap 6 after a spin at Club, allowing Hadjar to get back past. Pourchaire also took advantage, able to pull off his own switchback to regain third at the same corner one lap later.

Fittipaldi and Victor Martins were locked in battle over sixth. From The Loop, the pair were side-by-side until #4 Rodin Carlin driver was able to sweep into Copse to keep the position.

As conditions slowly improved, Doohan caught Bearman on Lap 11 to set up fight for the remaining laps of the Sprint Race.

Up ahead, Pourchaire utilised his better traction out of Club to snatch second from Hadjar on Lap 12. He then began trying to close down Vesti’s 8.1s gap out front.

Beaman and Doohan’s battle raged on throughout the latter stages. The #14 Invicta Virtuosi looking to have got the move done but was squeezed onto the run-off at Stowe.

It gave Bearman some breathing room and he began to close in on Hadjar, who had dropped back from Pourchaire. A dive up the inside at Copse on Lap 15 gave Bearman third position, and Doohan followed through one lap later.

Doohan and Bearman resumed their battle on Lap 17. Desperate to keep the place after Doohan got alongside him out of Stowe, Bearman locked-up into Vale, running into the gravel to drop behind the Australian, as well as Fittipaldi and Hadjar.

There was nothing anyone could do to deny Vesti his fifth victory in Formula 2, as he breezed to victory by 13.4s. Pourchaire had to settle for second and Doohan rounded out the podium.

Fittipaldi secured fourth ahead of Hadjar in fifth and Bearman sixth. Martins and Arthur Leclerc rounded out the top eight points scorers, with the DAMS driver climbing from P11 on the grid.

KEY QUOTE – Frederik Vesti, PREMA Racing

“Just won the Sprint Race here in Silverstone, it’s a good recovery from P10 yesterday. Obviously, we started on pole today, so it was good to convert that pole into victory. It’s important points for the Championship, it gives us a lot of confidence for tomorrow where hopefully we can fight through the field starting from P10.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Adding 10 points to his tally, Frederik Vesti now holds a 21-point margin over Théo Pourchaire in second, 135 points to 114. The top five remain unchanged with Ayumu Iwasa in third on 101, Oliver Bearman in fourth on 84 and Richard Verschoor rounding out the top five on 75 points.

In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA Racing retain their 43-point lead over ART Grand Prix, on 219 to the French team’s 176. DAMS remain third on 138 points, as Rodin Carlin close in to within 28 points in fourth.

UP NEXT

Victor Martins will be looking to convert his second consecutive pole position into a maiden victory when he lines up in the P1 spot for Sunday’s Feature Race. Lights go out at 09:55 local time.