2019 Silverstone Sprint Race

The 2019 Silverstone Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2019 Silverstone Formula 2 Race 2, was the fourteenth race of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on the 14 July 2019. The race would see Jack Aitken sweep to a popular home victory for Campos Racing, as Championship leader Nyck de Vries extended his lead.

It was Aitken's compatriot Callum Ilott who started the race from pole, although a poor getaway from the Brit allowed Louis Delétraz, Aitken and de Vries to all charge past into turn one. The trio subsequently fought with one another for the lead on the run to turn three, with Delétraz ultimately emerging ahead.

Those three quickly established a small gap ahead of Ilott, with Aitken subsequently scything past de Vries on the brakes for Brooklands, selling the Championship leader a dummy. de Vries tried to respond but couldn't, succeeding only in tapping the back of the Campos, although both continued without issue.

A few laps later and Aitken was on the back of Delétraz, having set fastest lap after fastest lap in his quest to catch the Swiss racer, who had broken away as Aitken and de Vries duelled. Ultimately, however, Aitken would have too much momentum behind him for Delétraz to respond, with the Swiss racer forfeiting the lead into Stowe.

With that the fight for victory was over, with Aitken powering away while Delétraz held onto a lonely second. Elsewhere, Ilott briefly challenged de Vries for third in the aftermath of Aitken's lunge on the Dutchman, while Feature winner Luca Ghiotto battled his way past Nicholas Latifi, only for a puncture to send him into the pits.

Out front, meanwhile, Aitken was able to cruise across the line to claim victory, somewhat surprised at the response he got from the home crowd. Delétraz and de Vries duly held on to complete the podium, with the latter extending his Championship lead to 31 points.

Background
There were no modifications made to the Silverstone Circuit ahead of the FIA Formula 2 Championship Sprint Race, with the third DRS zone completely abandoned on safety grounds. Elsewhere, there would be a change to the entry list, with Sean Gelael withdrawing from the entire weekend in protest of his penalty prior to the Feature Race. That, however, would have no effect on the actual starting grid, with Callum Ilott set to start from pole position courtesy of the reverse-grid rule.

Feature Formations
Victory in said Feature Race had moved Luca Ghiotto back into the top three of the Championship, although the Italian was still 48 points of the Championship leader. Indeed, Nyck de Vries had managed to maintain his lead at the head of the field after claiming a handful of points, with Nicholas Latifi able to chip the gap down to 27 points in second. Elsewhere, Sérgio Sette Câmara had slipped to fourth to make way for Ghiotto, while Guanyu Zhou had claimed a spot in the top five at the expense of Jack Aitken.

In the Teams Championship, meanwhile, there had been very little change as a result of the Silverstone Feature, although UNI-Virtuosi had managed chip away at DAMS' lead at the head of the field. Indeed, the British squad would head into the Sprint race just 28 points behind their French rivals, having started the weekend 40 off the early-season pace setters. Elsewhere, ART Grand Prix had lost more ground in third, as had Campos Racing in fifth.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Race
Conditions were still good ahead of the Sprint Race on Sunday morning at Silverstone, although it was overcast to bring a small threat of rain. Regardless, it was completely dry ahead of the race, with Callum Ilott set to start on pole position after finishing eighth in Feature Race, while Sean Gelael sat out the race in protest after his post-practice penalty.

Report
Unfortunately for Ilott he would make a miserable start from pole, with Louis Delétraz and Jack Aitken instead firing past on the opposite side of the grid. Delétraz duly swept across to prevent Aitken from lunging past into turn one to secure the lead, while Nyck de Vries also managed to blast past Ilott for third. Behind, Nicholas Latifi would just fall shy of passing Ilott through the right-hand flick, with the rest of the field making it through without issue.

Aitken made another bid for the lead into turn three, although his over-under attempt on the exit would instead allow de Vries to nose alongside into turn four. Fortunately for Aitken he would just manage to hold the position, although de Vries was able to slipstream the Brit down the Wellington Straight, before lunging around the outside into Brooklands. Aitken attempted to defend but was forced to lift-off as he was right behind Delétraz in the braking zone, allowing de Vries to sweep around the #15 Campos to claim second.

Aitken did his best to reclaim the position, challenging de Vries around the outside of both Woodcote and Copse, before a brave lunge into Maggotts was blocked. The Anglo-Korean racer would challenge again around the outside of Stowe, which was again swatted aside by de Vries, before settling in behind the Dutchman. Their fight had hence allowed Delétraz to escape into a two second lead, while behind Ilott was under attack from Latifi, who threw a late lunge at the Brit into Vale, but could not force his way through.

The fighting continued onto the second tour, with Aitken eyeing up a move on de Vries, while Latifi was likewise harassing Ilott for fourth. Elsewhere, Mick Schumacher and Guanyu Zhou were engaged in a furious duel, running side-by-side for more than half a lap with Zhou trying to run right around the outside of the #9 Prema through Woodcote and Copse before finally relenting. At the back, meanwhile, Giuliano Alesi would get spun around at Woodcote by Arjun Maini after losing power, triggering a Safety Car as he was left stranded in the middle of the circuit.

After two laps the race resumed, with Delétraz once again able to escape as Aitken again launched a tirade against de Vries for second. On lap seven the Brit managed to pull off an over-under manoeuvre through turn three to lunge down the inside of the Dutchman through turn four, briefly getting into second. However, de Vries would get a better exit and draft back alongside the Brit down the straight, before Aitken won a duel on the brakes into Brooklands on the outside to finally reclaim second.

With that the race began to settle, with Aitken pulling away to hunt down Delétraz, who had gained a three second lead due to the fight for second. Behind, Ilott had somehow managed to escape from Latifi to secure fourth, with Latifi himself falling to Luca Ghiotto mid-race when the Italian lunged around the outside of Stowe. Elsewhere, Tatiana Caldéron went for a spin at Stowe while fighting with Dorian Boccolacci at the back of the field, although she was able to get back up to speed.

Spots of rain began to fall as the race entered it final five laps, resulting in Ghiotto falling back into the sights of Latifi, having failed to catch Ilott. The Canadian racer would successfully throw the #6 DAMS down the inside of the #8 UNI-Virtuosi into the Maggotts-Becketts complex to reclaim fifth, although the lost momentum would allow Schumacher and Zhou to close right onto their tail. Schumacher duly streaked past Ghiotto to challenge Latifi for fifth around the outside of Stowe, while Zhou lunged inside his teammate prompting Ghiotto to stop for fresh soft Pirelli tyres.

Schumacher almost managed to get ahead of the #6 DAMS through the right hander, although Latifi would elbow him out wide on the exit. Schumacher would keep his foot on the throttle despite being off-track, and would subsequently get airborne after clipping the grass on the edge of the circuit when Latifi refused to move over. Fortunately the #9 Prema would escape without damage, although it would allow Zhou to close right onto his tail.

Out front, meanwhile, Aitken had now destroyed the rest of Delétraz's lead, and would line-up the #15 Campos for a lunge at the #1 Carlin into Brooklands. However, the Anglo-Korean racer would throw a dummy at the Swiss racer, feinting to the outside before lunging to the inside of the right-hander, with Delétraz unable to block the move. Aitken duly made the apex and secured the position, with Delétraz having to open out his steering to avoid the barnstorming Campos.

The Zhou-Schumacher fight would rumble on in the aftermath of their fight with Latifi, with the pair squabbling so hard through Vale and into the final two corners that they both ran off circuit. Zhou was delayed more than Schumacher having been elbowed wide, and hence was left vulnerable to Nobuharu Matsushita, who had been stalking the duo as they fought. The #2 Carlin duly slipstreamed the #7 Virtuosi down the start/finish straight, before elbowing his way down the inside of the Zhou through turn two to grab seventh.

With that the race was run, with Aitken escaping from Delétraz at an impressive rate to secure his third career F2 victory. de Vries was next up in third, having just kept a resurgent Ilott at bay in the closing stages, while Latifi was a distant fifth. Schumacher was next up with Matsushita and Zhou finishing right on his tail to round out the scorers in sixth, seventh and eighth.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Gelael withdrew from the race in protest of a penalty handed to him after qualifying for the 2019 Silverstone Feature Race.

Milestones

 * Third career victory for Jack Aitken.
 * Campos Racing secured their second victory as an entrant in Formula 2.
 * This was also their fourteenth win a GP2/F2 level.

Standings
Nyck de Vries would leave Silverstone still in command of the Championship, heading to the Hungaroring with 170 points to his name. Nicholas Latifi, meanwhile, had remained his closest challenger, but was still 31 points behind the Dutchman as the season plunged into its second half. Behind, Luca Ghiotto and Sérgio Sette Câmara had both lost ground, while Jack Aitken had moved into the top five with his victory.

DAMS had also ended up extending their grip on the Teams Championship, leaving the British Isles with a 33 point advantage. Their closest challengers remained UNI-Virtuosi, sat on 227 points, while ART Grand Prix had solidified their grip on third. They had, however, lost ground to fourth placed Campos Racing across the weekend in Silverstone, while Carlin completed the top five.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.