Dams racer takes his maiden F2 victory in thrilling rain-hit Silverstone sprint race
Richard Verschoor secured his first Formula 2 victory of his career after overtaking polesitter and leader Enzo Fittipaldi during a red-flagged Sprint Race at Silverstone.
The race started under tricky wet conditions, and few drivers opted to start on the dry compound. Jake Hughes took an early lead from the reverse grid pole, while Verschoor climbed into second from eighth on the grid through the opening corners.
Fittipaldi, who started 12th on the grid, soared through the field and claimed the lead from Hughes on Lap 3. The Brazilian was able to gap the chasing pack but Verschoor managed to close the gap to under a second by the time the Safety Car was deployed when Cem Bölükbasi crashed out at Turn 1.
With conditions worsening, Race Control decided to red-flag the race. When the race restarted, Verschoor made a lightning getaway to head into Copse ahead of Fittipaldi. The Dutch driver then went on to control the race from the front and secured his maiden F2 victory by 1.5s from Fittipaldi.
Jehan Daruvala inherited third from Hughes, who relinquished the position after running wide. Hughes would eventually finish sixth behind Logan Sargeant and Ralph Boschung.
Ayumu Iwasa finished seventh ahead of championship leader Felipe Drugovich, with Liam Lawson and Olli Caldwell rounding out the top 10.
Verschoor’s victory makes him the 14th different winner from the opening 14 races so far this season, which is a new record for the F2 Championship.
Key quotes
Richard Verschoor, 1st
It’s an amazing feeling. I was a bit worried about the start, especially on the wet tyres, but I managed to make up a couple of places. The Safety Car came at the perfect time. Once we re-started, I had good pace at the beginning and I was able to get past Enzo which was really good. From there on the car was really fast, and we managed to bring it home.
Enzo Fittipaldi, 2nd
It was a difficult race, and I’m a bit disappointed to lose the win especially after starting so far back. But to come from 12th to second, I think it was a good result. We were lacking a bit of pace in the last couple of laps but we were quite strong in the beginning. But overall, I’m happy to be back on the podium.
Jehan Daruvala, 3rd
We made some good decisions today. We started on the wets, which was the right choice. It was such a difficult race, especially when it started to rain more heavily. We boxed at the right time to change to slicks and it all worked out well. I think we got the most out of the race today.
Kind regards A. Guthof.
