The Silverstone Sprint Race brought action as always, as championship contender Alex Dunne retired, and Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli won, and had the Italian national anthem play for himself for the first time in 1491 days.
Making his home Formula 2 debut, John Bennett crossed the line in 15th, as he tussled for position throughout the 21 Lap Sprint.
Unlike some of the other drivers on the grid, Bennett hasn’t had experience in a Formula 2 or Formula 3 car on home soil – though he has had experience on the demanding Silverstone circuit previously in GB3.
The Van Amersfoort driver has won in front of his home crowd before, but unfortunately today, it wasn’t the case, as he still chases his maiden Formula 2 points finish.
InsideF2’s Aaron Harper got the chance to speak to the home-hero after the bustling Sprint Race, and the Brit embraced his excitement about racing at home, as he said:
“It was really, really cool. I raced here all the years I’ve done in motorsport and to come here in F2 is really cool. First time actually racing from the F1 pit lane, so a race start there was pretty special. And then, obviously you have the experience of this track – but it’s quite different doing it at Formula 2 speeds.”
With a 22-car grid packed with talent, tensions are high and it’s easy to slip away from those running further up the field. Bennett analysed his race, identifying where he may have started to see his chance of scoring points slip away, but nevertheless he was happy with his race.
“Decent race. We had quite a strong race start, but then on lap one I just went for a move on the Trident in front, which didn’t quite pay off and fell back a little bit. And then from then on, it was just about chasing the guys in front.
“I was quite happy with the race. So far this year, we’ve really struggled with tyre deg and the tyres falling off, but I managed to keep them under control for the whole race. You know, we were actually strong at the end too.”
With Silverstone not only bringing great racing but also great rain it’s inevitable that it will make an appearance this weekend. Whilst for some, rain would be a nightmare, Bennett sees the positives, and has an open mind at the possibility of a wet Feature Race:
“I’ve never driven the F2 car in the rain, so that would be a bit of a new one for me. But you know, I think this is the best track to drive in the wet for the first time. You know, I’ve actually had some very strong results around here in the wet, getting a double pole and race wins here in the wet.
“I think, no matter what happens, we should have a strong result. And yeah, a bit of chaos could be fun. It’d definitely be fun to watch.”
Finally, as motorsport legend Nigel Mansell once said: “racing in front of the home crowd gives me an extra few tenths”, Aaron asked Bennett how the home support has impacted him. He answered:
“It’s super special. You know, I’ve really looked forward to this weekend all year. And, to have all the fans here is really, really cool.
“You really feel the support. I mean, sadly qualifying wasn’t as strong as we were hoping for. But, like I said, the race is quite good and tomorrow we’ll see what we can do.”
With lights out at 11:05 local time on Sunday, it will be all or nothing for John Bennett as he lines up for the last race in front of his home crowd.
Image: Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images
