In the Formula 2 Feature Race on Sunday, the Silverstone crowd saw the first American win in the second tier since Alexander Rossi won in the GP2 Series in 2015. Logan Sargeant was victorious after starting from pole, with Théo Pourchaire and Liam Lawson joining him on the podium.

By Tyler Foster

At the start of the race, Pourchaire vaulted straight up to second place, with Lawson also moving from fifth to third by Turn 1. After a safety car period caused by a heavy crash between Roy Nissany and Dennis Hauger, strategy came into play, with drivers pitting at different points in the race.

Regardless, the top three stayed in formation following their pit stops and finished in the same order. Championship leader Felipe Drugovich had his lead cut by seven points over the weekend as Pourchaire performed well in both races to finish fourth and second. The Brazilian still had a good weekend to take fourth in the Feature Race via a last-lap pass on Pourchaire’s ART teammate, Frederik Vesti.

With the end of the events at Silverstone over the weekend, we have officially reached the halfway point of the Formula 2 season. After the race, F1 Feeder Series asked Sargeant, Pourchaire and Lawson for their thoughts on their performances in the first seven races of the season.

Sargeant reigns supreme at Silverstone

Despite being a rookie, Sargeant is proving himself and showing that he firmly belongs in Formula 2 amongst the best junior drivers in the world. Having joined Carlin for this year, the American managed two podiums prior to this weekend, including a second place in Baku in the previous round. However, this result is the greatest achievement of his F2 career thus far.

With his victory, Sargeant has improved his chances of being in the title fight, but he is still 60 points off Drugovich in the lead.

“Considering the pace we’ve had over the season, the results are starting to come. We can definitely be happy, especially where we’re sitting in the championship. If you look at it as a whole, we did miss opportunities, but I think that’s the same for everyone. We just … need to limit those in the future and keep putting big points on the board.”

Pourchaire closes the gap

Though he is 42 points behind Drugovich, Pourchaire is still in the title fight, which has looked from early in the year like a two-way battle between the two. Speaking to F1 Feeder Series, Pourchaire said he was satisfied with what he’s achieved so far this season.

“It was a good first half. I think I can be happy. I’m P2 in the championship. I know there is a lot of expectation of my shoulders, a lot of pressure, but now, as I said earlier this weekend, I just want to take it race after race. I enjoyed so much driving around Silverstone this weekend, and I am already smiling because we will drive in Austria next week, one of my favourite tracks,” Pourchaire said.

“It’s still seven rounds to go, so a long way. It’s far from the end.”

Lawson makes it a Carlin 1-3

Carlin’s Liam Lawson should have been in the fight after taking a victory and two podiums in the first two rounds of the season. But he has struggled for consistency since, which has left him fifth in the standings behind his teammate Sargeant.

“Considering the first half, I would have liked to be further up,” Lawson said about his season thus far. “Like Logan said, considering the speed that the car’s had this year, we should be further up, but it’s nice to again score good points this weekend and put some points on the board. The goal is obviously to have a better second half.”

Header photo credit: Carlin