Jak Crawford made it a weekend of podiums, taking third place in both the Sprint Race and the Feature Race for Hungarian GP. However, despite the strong weekend for the DAMS Lucas Oil driver, he admitted he left the track ‘frustrated’. With better results left on the table.
In the last round before the summer break, the American driver was determined to take a step closer to the F2 championship lead. Especially after leaving the Belgian GP weekend with no points.
Crawford started the Hungarian GP weekend with am impressive charge to the podium, getting past Victor Martins to take the final step. He was impressed with his own performance in the Sprint Race. Confessing that he didn’t think a podium had been possible starting from sixth on the grid.
However, Crawford’s sights were on the Feature Race. Where full points are awarded and the American’s best chance at jumping through the order was presented.
An up and down race
Crawford praised the pace in his DAMS machinery, that allowed him to close the gap to Roman Staněk in second. Unfortunately for the American despite lighting up the timing sheets. A slow stop left Crawford having to claw back the gap he had spent the first stint closing.
In the post-race press conference, Crawford told media, “Yeah quite frustrated to be honest. I felt I had really good pace. I had a really slow stop, which hurt me a lot. Because I came quite close to Roman on the pit entry. But I came out losing two seconds or three seconds, so had to gain that gap again.”
By the final laps Crawford found his DAMS alongside Staněk’s Invicta but with the wet track and tricky conditions the American was unable to pass the Czech driver. He confessed he suffered a slight lock up that hindered his chances.
He said, “Just frustrated because I only had one opportunity, and it was a bit dirty on the inside, and just had a small lock up which put me a bit off-line. But yeah, I mean tricky to pass in these conditions as we know.”
Despite his disappointment, Crawford acknowledged that a double points finish was important for his championship campaign. The American leaving Hungary second in the championship fight, just 17 points away from Fornaroli in first.
He told media, “But still really happy with the points even though it’s not exactly what we wanted.”
With the championship fight heating up and the lead changing from race-to-race, consistent weekends like Hungary are vital for Crawford’s chances of winning the title.
