DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford believes the championship momentum is with himself and his DAMS team after winning the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race in Great Britain.

The American grabbed the lead at the start despite starting third, rocketing past ART’s Victor Martins and Rodin’s Alex Dunne, securing himself perfect visibility on a soaked Silverstone circuit.

Crawford, 20. held off Irishman Dunne, timed his pit stop perfectly to be in the pit lane when a Virtual Safety Car was called, and led the field over the line as the race finished under caution. 

It’s the second year in a row the Aston Martin Development Driver has taken the chequered flag first on Sunday in Silverstone, but he lost the victory in 2024 thanks to a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release in the pit lane, handing the win to Frenchman Isack Hadjar.

“It was a really strong weekend for the team and I’m proud to deliver the Feature Race win at Silverstone,” Crawford said.

The American had told InsideF2 on Saturday, after finishing sixth in the Sprint Race, that he would prefer a dry race on Sunday because the car had performed well. 

But his excellent start gave him track position and his pace was still formidable, saying “the car felt great in the changing conditions”.

The 28 points collected over the Silverstone weekend see Crawford rise to second in the Drivers Standings, six points behind leader Richard Verschoor of MP Motorsport.

The Dutch driver endured a tricky weekend and now the momentum has swung towards another driver, having previously been with Verschoor and Dunne earlier this season.

“The team nailed the strategy, especially with the timing of the pit stop before the Virtual Safety Car, which helped seal the deal,” Crawford said. “We’re building great momentum now and I’m looking forward to carrying that into Spa and the rest of the season.”

Maini rues tough weekend

While there were celebrations aplenty on the Crawford side of the DAMS garage, team mate Kush Maini was left to ponder what might have been for him.

The Indian driver, who won the Monaco Sprint Race in May, was on the front row for the reverse-grid Saturday race.

He beat Leonardo Fornaroli’s Invicta off the line, but a small mistake allowed the Italian to snatch the lead back on the exit of the Luffield corner on the opening lap.

Despite a staunch defence of second place, the Alpine Academy driver couldn’t hold off Sebastian Montoya for second and was later passed by the second Invicta of Roman Stanek, who pulled off a daring pass on the outside of Stowe corner.

Stanek did leave the track in making the move, but the stewards ruled his car had been far enough alongside Maini’s at the apex and was entitled to space on the exit of the corner and thus did not hand the Czech driver a penalty.

In Sunday’s Feature Race, Maini was one of the drivers who gambled on slicks as the track dried out, but it was not yet ready for a dry tyre, with those who fitted new wets gaining the advantage.

Maini eventually came home in 16th.

The 24-year-old said: “It was a difficult weekend for us at Silverstone. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to hold on to the podium on Saturday, and then had a tough day in the Feature. Time to re-group and work harder with the team to be ready for Spa.”

Following the weekend, Team Owner, Charles Pic, said: “Jak’s start was incredible and he did a brilliant job in the first stint to hold the lead. We delayed the pit stop as we didn’t know whether to stay on wets or switch to slicks. Luckily we pitted just before the Virtual Safety Car and Jak was able to bring back the win.

“On Kush’s side, we took a gamble on slick tyres, but it didn’t pay off as the rain returned and he had to pit again for wets. We clearly have good pace in the car and we’ll be looking to build on this at Spa and Hungary before the summer break.”

IMAGE CREDIT – Photo by Malcolm Griffiths – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images