FIA Formula 2

Jak Crawford wins "insanely tough" Formula 2 sprint race in Austria

Andrew Rickert

01 Jul 2023 — 3 min read

Jak Crawford held the lead in difficult conditions at the start of the FIA Formula 2 sprint race to take line honours in Austria for his maiden victory.

Jak Crawford celebrates his maiden FIA Formula 2 victory on the podium in Austria. *(Formula Motorsport Limited)*

Crawford started on reverse-grid pole position ahead of a grid split between wet and slick tyres, holding his lead as Jehan Daruvala fell back through the field from second.

He lost the lead to Arthur Leclerc after the first safety car but moved up as the leader pitted to make the change onto slick tyres.

In the lead after a second safety car period, Crawford held a confident lead as fierce battles erupted behind him for the final podium positions, taking the chequered flag with a three second advantage.

"The conditions were insanely tough, obviously the first couple of laps were wet and I struggled at the beginning of the race on the slick tyres," said Crawford.

"We knew we had to be on the slicks and it was really tough to manage. Then with the long stint on the tyres, it was tough to manage them through the race as well."

"There was lots of preparation for this event, we did a lot of work back at the factory and it's good to finally come out with a win after all that hard work," said the eighteen-year-old American.

Jak Crawford leads the FIA Formula 2 field around the Red Bull Ring. *(Formula Motorsport Limited)*

Arthur Leclerc was the fastest driver in damp conditions at the race start, easily passing the slow MP Motorsport car of Jehan Daruvala before passing Crawford for the lead.

Jack Doohan slipped off the track at turn four, with Daruvala off in the following downhill section and bringing out the safety car.

The first handful of drivers on wet tyres pitted for slicks, before Richard Verschoor speared into the wall at the restart and brought out the safety car once again.

Leclerc peeled off into the pits as the remaining wet-shod runners changed to dry tyres, with Crawford inheriting the lead for the restart.

Juan Manuel Correa was in second, with Zane Maloney up to third, in the lead of a five-car battle for the final podium position.

Victor Martins was the next through onto the podium, past Maloney and challenging Correa for second as the Van Amersfoort Racing driver began to struggle. A bold move into turn three at the halfway mark put Martins into second, with Clément Novalak and Isack Hadjar soon past Correa as well.

A brief virtual safety car neutralised the race as Enzo Fittipaldi spun off, forced off the track by Kush Maini while battling for ninth position.

A tight battle for the final podium positions in the final laps allowed Crawford to run away with the lead, as Martins took second and Novalak completed the podium.

Jack Doohan was eighth after his first-lap foray into the gravel.

The top four drivers in the championship finished out of the points, with Frederik Vesti maintaining his lead on 110 points ahead of Théo Pourchaire on 99 points. Ayumu Iwasa is third, with Oliver Bearman in fourth.

Victor Martins moves up four places with his podium position, now sixth in the standings on 56 points.

The Frenchman lines up on pole for the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race, with lights out at 5.55pm on Sunday (AEST).

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2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship - Round 8 Austria Sprint Race Result