Kiwi driver Marcus Armstrong has finally stepped up onto the FIA Formula 2 Championship podium after finishing second to Richard Verschoor in the second Sprint Race at the Silverstone Circuit overnight.
“I’d say a bit of relief, it’s been a long time coming,” commented Armstrong. “Unfortunately, we ran into a few issues in Monaco and also in Baku we were a bit unfortunate. So, it’s sort of been a podium that’s been taking its time.
“Obviously, I would have preferred the middle step and I genuinely thought it was possible seeing as Richard didn’t have a very good start this morning.
“I think the car was extremely strong today, it was also strong yesterday but I ran into a few issues, and we couldn’t really extract all the performance but I genuinely feel we should be a lot further up the grid than what we’ve shown so far.
“Going to circuits like Sochi and Monza where I’ve had great success in the past it gives me a lot confidence. Also, it boosts the team morale a bit because we all deserve a result, and hopefully this a the start of a good run of results.
Armstrong finished ninth in the opening Sprint Race while fellow Kiwi Liam Lawson finished seventh and fifth in the two races.
Sprint Race 1
For the second time in as many rounds, Robert Shwartzman was the Sprint Race 1 winner in Formula 2. The Russian put in the hard yards at the start to jump from fourth to first, before going on to control the race at Silverstone.
Reverse polesitter Christian Lundgaard fell to third after a tricky start, watching on as both Shwartzman and Jüri Vips clambered ahead of him when the lights went out. The trio crossed the line in that order, carefully navigating four Safety Cars.
Finishing fourth, Felipe Drugovich took UNI-Virtuosi’s only points of the morning after Guanyu Zhou spun out on Lap 1 – a retirement that cost the Chinese driver the Championship lead. Piastri moves to first in the standings after he followed up his pole lap in Qualifying with a sixth-place finish, behind Théo Pourchaire
Sprint Race 2
Scoring not just a maiden Formula 2 victory, but also a first career win since the 2019 Macau Grand Prix, MP Motorsport rookie Richard Verschoor enjoyed a serene drive to victory in a sunny Sprint Race 2 at Silverstone, beating out experienced duo Marcus Armstrong and Dan Ticktum.
The Dutchman controlled the race from lights-to-flag, with the DAMS and Carlin drivers in tow. A late move on Liam Lawson earned Oscar Piastri fourth and further strengthened his Championship lead.
It wasn’t such a productive afternoon for his teammate, Robert Shwartzman. The Russian failed to follow up his Sprint Race 1 win with further points, spinning from ninth on the penultimate lap. While Guanyu Zhou lost further ground in the title fight, despite making up nine places to 11th.
Sprint Race 1 Results (Top 10)
Class. | Name | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Robert Shwartzman | 42m34.300s |
2 | Juri Vips | +0.971s |
3 | Christian Lundgaard | +2.534s |
4 | Felipe Drugovich | +5.041s |
5 | Theo Pourchaire | +5.594s |
6 | Oscar Piastri | +8.403s |
7 | Liam Lawson | +11.640s |
8 | Dan Ticktum | +12.365s |
9 | Marcus Armstrong | +12.795s |
10 | Richard Verschoor | +13.640s |
Sprint Race 2 Results (Top 10)
1 | Richard Verschoor | MP Motorsport |
2 | Marcus Armstrong | DAMS |
3 | Dan Ticktum | Carlin |
4 | Oscar Piastri | Prema Powerteam |
5 | Liam Lawson | HitechGP |
6 | Jüri Vips | HitechGP |
7 | Felipe Drugovich | UNI-Virtuosi |
8 | David Beckmann | Charouz Racing System |
9 | Lirim Zendeli | MP Motorsport |
10 | Theo Pourchaire | ART Grand Prix |
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