RACE ANALYSIS: How Crawford’s quick thinking put him on path to victory

We had just about everything in the shortened Monte Carlo Feature Race on Sunday, from drama at the start to a sting in the tail right at the end, nobody could guess what would happen next.

Apart from maybe one driver who wound up on the top step. DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford was self-admittedly fortunate to end up the winner on Sunday in the Principality, but the American’s performance wasn’t without its merits.

On a day in which keeping out of trouble was crucial, Crawford’s quick thinking and strategic-minded driving eventually made him the Feature Race winner.

Let’s look at how he put himself in a position to capitalise on the slimmest of winning opportunities.

AVOIDING THE MELEE

Crawford went from seventh on the grid and had a clear view ahead of him when it all kicked off at Turn 1 following Sebastián Montoya’s stalling from fifth on the formation lap.

The American driver had a nose alongside Arvid Lindblad heading to the first corner but opted to back out of any potential move and utilise the free space around him, something that paid off immediately moments later.

As Richard Verschoor and Gabriele Minì committed to the outside line ahead, Crawford braked far earlier than anyone around him and was able to tuck to the inside and avoid getting caught up in the Alexander Dunne/Victor Martins incident.

REMAINING PATIENT AT THE RESTART

From there, Crawford’s race was one of patience as he trailed the leading trio headed by Leonardo Fornaroli, Montoya and Lindblad.

The gap ebbed and flowed, but the top three were able to begin building a buffer over the fourth-placed DAMS car approaching the pitstop phase. On the 13th lap of racing, Dino Beganovic crashed at Casino Square, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car initially.

This meant that nobody could complete their mandatory stop, and everybody had to run to a set delta time without exceeding it, or else face a time penalty later on.

So long as a driver does not exceed the delta time, they are safe from a penalty. However, drivers do not have to remain right on the edge of that set time, and Crawford with some heads-up driving, was about to use this to his advantage.

DON’T STICK TO THE DELTA

With the VSC out, the top three continued around hitting their minimum delta time or as close to it as possible in order to get around the lap once again, with the hope of getting an opportunity to pit next time around.

Crawford however made an inspired decision to slow down even more in the final sector coming into Rascasse, just in case that opportunity arose for him that lap. Well above the delta time, he lost several seconds to the car ahead but that was about to pay dividends.

Fortunately for the Aston Martin Development Driver, the Safety Car was then deployed as he approached pit entry.

Cranking in near full steering lock, Crawford made pit lane entry while the top three had to continue round after being picked up by the Safety Car.

This meant the trio yet to pit ran at a reduced pace, while Crawford was able to get in and out of the pitlane before he had to adhere to Safety Car speeds.

By the time Fornaroli, Montoya and Lindblad got back around to pit entry, the pack were closing back up to the Safety Car, adhering to the new delta time, and it meant they were caught and passed by Crawford in the process.

“THE CRAZIEST TWO LAPS EVER”

After the race, Crawford explained his quick thinking:

“I'd seen the crash on TV, and I was entering the last sector, so I was literally in Turn 18, right before the Pit Entry. I'd slowed down like two or three seconds to see if I could go in before the Safety Car or VSC.

“I was thinking it was going to be a Safety Car, and then it didn't go. So I just kept going, and literally, as I just passed, they put VSC and then I did the same thing the next lap.

“I saw the crash, I was like, this could be a Safety Car, I told the team on the radio, 'be ready, be ready in case of a Safety Car, I'm just going to pull in,' and I did the exact same thing, slowed down right before the Pit Entry, and I saw Safety Car flashing on the board I pulled right in. Barely made it into the pits but oh my gosh, it was, I mean, the craziest two laps ever.”

Some quick thinking under pressure that helped Crawford to the top step and into the top five in the Drivers’ Championship heading to Barcelona.