Sprint Race success for Doohan at a wet Silverstone
Sunday, 3 July 2022
The Aussie was most comfortable in tricky conditions.
Jack Doohan made the most of wet conditions to claim his maiden FIA Formula 2® race victory at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.
Doohan seemed most comfortable with his car in Saturday’s Sprint Race, where he was able to progress through the field to claim the race win.
Before the Sprint Race, drivers got a sense of the track conditions with two formation laps. Once it did get underway, most drivers played it safely except for Jake Hughes, who gained a position.
Virtousi Racing’s Doohan found a rhythm as the track began to dry and moved into third after passing Jüri Vips.
By Lap Seven, Doohan was on the move through the Village-Loop section of the track and took the lead from Enzo Fittipaldi.
Doohan claimed victory by just 0.9s across the line over Ayumu Iwasa, having led by four seconds at the midway stage.
Although once the Australian got into the lead, he didn’t relinquish it, he was still challenged by Iwasa making a late-race charge.
“Ayumu made a great charge towards the end, but luckily, we managed it just right, and I was able to take the win,” said Doohan.
“I just won my first Formula 2 race, so I’m absolutely stoked!”
“Difficult day yesterday but we kept cool and stayed positive. The conditions were tricky, but it was key those first few laps to keep it smooth and calm because we knew the track was going to be drying, there was going to be a lot of track evolution and luckily, we did that. I had a great car underneath me so big thank you to the Virtuosi boys.”
Doohan tried a different strategy in the Feature Race, opting for hard tyres at the start of the race.
After losing five places on the opening lap, it was a matter of points mitigation for the team.
A slow pit stop didn’t help his fight for points, although he was able to cross the line in P9.
Formula 2® action continues at the Austrian Grand Prix next weekend.
#F2 sprint race winner! 🏆
— F1 Australian Grand Prix (@ausgrandprix) July 2, 2022
Congrats, @jackdoohan33 🇦🇺#BritishGP pic.twitter.com/rsFTkO6fyg
