Jak Crawford’s 2025 Spielberg F2 Round weekend began in frustration but ended in celebration, as the DAMS Lucas Oil driver surged from 14th on the grid to third in the Feature Race. Although he crossed the line in fourth, post-race disqualification for a rival elevated him onto the podium—marking an impressive recovery after a difficult start to Round 6 of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Reflecting after the race, Crawford offered an honest assessment of his weekend and explained how quick adaptation helped salvage a strong result.
Setup missteps and Sprint misfortune
Practice at the Red Bull Ring gave Crawford hope of a strong showing, but setup decisions in Qualifying ultimately hampered his chances for the 2025 Spielberg F2 Round. With the field separated by tiny margins, a slight misjudgement made a major difference. He qualified 15th—just outside the crucial top 10.
“It was not amazing to be honest, from a pace point of view. Practice was good, we were strong, and I thought we were going to be quite strong in Qualifying, but we just got it wrong,” he admitted.
“With the margins being so tight at this racetrack, it really hurt us a lot. It was unfortunate to be so close to being in that top 10, but we were down in 15th in the end, so it was not great. But we know where we went wrong with the setup. We have been quite on it at the last couple of rounds and we really struggled here last year in Qualifying. We thought we had fixed it but we missed some spots that came up with what we changed. Just slightly missed it, but going forwards I am not too worried.”
Crawford’s luck went from bad to worse on Saturday. He never got the chance to take part in the Sprint Race due to a technical failure.
“The Sprint Race did not happen for me, it did not start. My alternator broke about 10 seconds after we started the car for the Formation Lap, so I did not even get to race.”
Adaptation and tyre management crucial for Feature Race fightback
With no Sprint Race running and limited race data, Crawford entered Sunday’s 2025 Spielberg F2 Round Feature Race with a degree of uncertainty, particularly in terms of tyre behaviour and car balance. Yet, as the race unfolded, he steadily picked his way through the field.
“That means we went in kind of blind into the Feature Race, especially with tyre management and car setup. But it was a great race, although it was definitely a slow burner. The first stint was good, I made up some positions, but I did not feel that I was very fast.”
Crawford and the DAMS Lucas Oil team opted for an undercut strategy in the pit cycle. While the raw pace was not outstanding, the American managed his tyres exceptionally well and made the most of late-race opportunities.
“I did an undercut to gain some track position in the pit stop, and then I think the pace was not even amazing during the race, but I was just able to kind of manage my tyres. Even though I did not have great pace, I was able to manage things, so when some fighting started at the end, I had better tyres and better grip than the guys around me, and of course was able to finish fourth somehow. I was able to pick them all off one by one and then we ended up gaining 10 positions.”
Following the disqualification of another driver, Crawford was officially promoted to third—his first podium of the 2025 season and a result that significantly boosts his points tally.
Eyeing the title and a Silverstone surge
With championship leader Richard Verschoor holding a points advantage, Crawford knows there is work to do. However, the 19-year-old remains firmly in the hunt and believes a race win would put him right back into contention.
“We definitely have the pace to compete with the guys at the front. Verschoor has a bit of a gap at the moment but there is still a long way to go. One race win puts me up there in the fight, so it is not too far.”
Next up is Silverstone—one of Crawford’s favourite circuits and, arguably, his most competitive venue in 2024. He won the Feature Race there on the road last season before a time penalty demoted him to third. Now, he is determined to deliver again at a track that feels like home.
“I love Silverstone, it is one of my favourite tracks. I won the Feature Race on the road there last year before getting a five-second penalty which dropped me down to third.“
He continued, “I love the track, it is a bit of a home race for me because I live close to there. It is the closest thing I have to a home race. One of my favourite tracks, I love it and we did really well there last year.”
