F2 Austria: Crawford scores maiden victory in mixed conditions

The Hitech driver started on the slick tyres despite a damp track, slipping back off the line as those on wet tyres profited.

But as the Red Bull Ring dried and those ahead pitted for primes, he was able to claw back positions and retook control on lap five.

From there, the Red Bull junior was able to build a 2.5s lead to take his maiden win ahead of 2022 F3 champion Victor Martins (ART) and Trident driver Clement Novalak, who lined up 20th before charging through the field for his first podium since Zandvoort last year.

Despite wet conditions, the field lined up for a standing start on a mix of wet and slick tyres, with Crawford and Jehan Daruvala (MP Motorsport) opting for slicks with third-place starter Arthur Leclerc on the wets for DAMS.

Leclerc benefited from the additional grip to take second by Turn 1, while Crawford’s slicks proved ineffective and he fell to sixth, with Daruvala suffering a similar fate.

Championship leader Frederik Vesti started ninth on the wet tyres and was up to third by midway through the first lap, though his good fortune would soon run out as he was forced to pit for slicks.

Jack Doohan took a trip into the gravel at Turn 4 in his Virtuosi-run car before the safety car was deployed as Daruvala did the same at Turn 7, becoming beached.

Enzo Fittipaldi, Carlin (Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd)

Theo Pourchaire, who was running second, Vesti, Dennis Hauger (MP), PHM driver Brad Benavides and Ollie Bearman all pitted for slicks under the safety car, with Pourchaire handed a five-second penalty for an unsafe release between the two Prema cars.

The safety car ended on lap five but was almost immediately redeployed as Richard Verschoor, who had inherited the lead, spun out at Turn 1 and into the wall.

This left Leclerc to lead before the Monegasque driver and team-mate Ayumu Iwasa both pitted, handing the front spot back to Crawford, leading from Juan Manuel Correa (VAR) and Rodin Carlin driver Zane Maloney.

The 2022 F3 runner-up was then swamped on his wet tyres, with Martins taking his position as he fell back through the field.

Novalak, who had made an incredible charge through the field, taking advantage of pitstops and incidents ahead, passed Isack Hadjar (Hitech) for fourth on lap 13 at Turn 4, as further back Bearman made it past Kush Maini (Campos).

Martins took second from Correa the following tour, using DRS to pass up the inside of Turn 3, though Crawford was still two seconds clear at the front.

Correa and Novalak then tussled for third over the closing stages, with both Novalak and Hadjar making it past the VAR driver, who fell to fifth.

Enzo Fittipaldi then spun his Rodin Carlin entry on the straight down to Turn 4 while running in 10th, having been forced onto the grass in his battle with Maini, prompting a virtual safety car.

Hadjar took fourth in his best result of the season so far, with Correa in fifth and Trident’s Roman Stanek in sixth, having also made a superb charge from 17th.

Hauger made it past Bearman and then Doohan in the final few laps to finish seventh, with the Australian rounding off the points-paying positions.

Clement Novalak was disqualified after the race after it was found his car’s rear tyre pressures were below the limit required.

As a result, Isack Hadjar was promoted to the podium in third, with Ollie Bearman moving up to claim the final points-paying position in eighth.

F2 Red Bull Ring Sprint Race Results

Cla	Driver		Team	Time	Gap	Interval
1	Jak Crawford		Hitech Pulse-Eight	39'36.231
2	Victor Martins		ART Grand Prix	39'38.517	2.286	2.286
	Clement Novalak		Trident	39'40.141	3.910	1.624
3	Isack Hadjar		Hitech Pulse-Eight	39'40.597	4.366	0.456
4	Juan Manuel Correa		Van Amersfoort Racing	39'45.755	9.524	5.158
5	Roman Staněk		Trident	39'46.406	10.175	0.651
6	Dennis Hauger		MP Motorsport	39'46.859	10.628	0.453
7	Jack Doohan		Invicta Virtuosi Racing	39'47.632	11.401	0.773
8	Oliver Bearman		Prema Powerteam	39'48.689	12.458	1.057
9	Frederik Vesti		Prema Powerteam	39'49.154	12.923	0.465
10	Roy Nissany		PHM Racing by Charouz	39'49.769	13.538	0.615
11	Ayumu Iwasa		DAMS	39'53.989	17.758	4.220
12	Brad Benavides		PHM Racing by Charouz	39'55.321	19.090	1.332
13	Arthur Leclerc		DAMS	39'56.838	20.607	1.517
14	Theo Pourchaire		ART Grand Prix	39'58.261	22.030	1.423
15	Amaury Cordeel		Invicta Virtuosi Racing	39'58.436	22.205	0.175
16	Kush Maini		Campos Racing	40'12.718	36.487	14.282
17	Ralph Boschung		Campos Racing	40'13.127	36.896	0.409
18	Zane Maloney		Rodin Carlin	40'37.709	1'01.478	24.582
	Enzo Fittipaldi		Rodin Carlin	10 laps
	Richard Verschoor		Van Amersfoort Racing	23 laps
	Jehan Daruvala		MP Motorsport	27 laps
View full results