F2: Martins holds onto maiden Feature Race victory at Silverstone despite penalty

Victor Martins got his sought-after first Formula 2 win in a dramatic Silverstone Feature Race. After lining up on pole for the second consecutive Sunday race, the ART Grand Prix driver overcame three Safety Car restarts and was handed a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

Forced to push to pull a gap, the Alpine junior eventually crossed the line seven seconds up the road from Rodin Carlin’s Zane Maloney. Meanwhile, Theo Pourchaire recovered ground in the title fight with third, after championship leader Frederik Vesti retired.

F2: Vesti dominates in wet Silverstone Sprint Race

Ayumu Iwasa got the better start to take the lead from third, but Martins fought back, diving up the inside of The Loop. However, he went beyond the track limits in the process, earning him a penalty.

The Safety Car made three appearances, firstly after Amaury Cordeel spun off at Stowe on Lap 7. This handed the soft-tyre runners, like Martins, a chance to pit. Alternative strategy runner Hadjar assumed the lead for the Lap 11 restart, but the Safety Car returned that same lap after Vesti was clipped by Dennis Hauger, tagging Roman Stanek ahead.

A third appearance was needed to recover the two Campos Racing cars on Lap 17 after Kush Maini made contact with his team mate, Ralph Boschung, whilst trying to pass Oliver Bearman at the Vale chicane.

Jack Doohan fought hard for fourth ahead of Iwasa, Bearman and Jehan Daruvala. Enzo Fittipaldi was eighth, demoting alternative strategy runner Arthur Leclerc to ninth ahead of Jak Crawford.

F3: Goethe takes maiden win in Trident 1-2 at Silverstone

Vesti’s championship advantage has now been reduced to just six points ahead of Pourchaire, as F2 heads to Hungary after a week break from July 21-23.

For a full report on the Formula 2 Silverstone Feature Race, visit the official F2 website.