2017 Silverstone Feature Race

The 2017 Silverstone Race 1, otherwise known as the 2017 Silverstone Feature Race, was the eleventh race of the 2017 FIA Formula Two Championship staged at the Silverstone Circuit on 15 July 2017. The race, staged in support of the 2017 British Grand Prix, would see Charles Leclerc win yet another race from pole, increasing his stranglehold on the Championship.

As had become expected in 2017 the Monegasque ace had claimed pole during qualifying extending his streak to six in the first six rounds. Home hero Oliver Rowland came closest to topping Leclerc, but fell four tenths off his pace, with Norman Nato and Jordan King sharing the second row.

Leclerc duly aced the start to grab the lead off the line, aided by the fact that Rowland made a mess of his getaway. Nato duly surged ahead of the Brit into the first corner, leading Rowland to fend off King through the flatout opening curves.

With the Monegasque quickly pulling out of reach with his soft Pirelli tyres, all of the attention focused on the pack behind. Indeed, Artem Markelov was the man on the move, vaulting past Nobuharu Matsushita for fifth at the start of lap two, only for the Japanese racer to counter on the following lap.

The first stops came and went on lap six, with Leclerc staying out a lap later than everyone, only to suddenly have fluid burst from his car. The Monegasque duly stopped for his tyre change next time by, with Prema unconcerned about the sudden eruption after a very quick inspection.

Indeed, Leclerc rejoined ahead of everyone else whom had stopped despite his dramas, and duly sprinted away again despite having a potential mechanical issue. His pace was so strong that he caught the first of those who had yet to swap their hards for softs with ease, and duly passed without issue.

From that moment on the race was all but decided, with the only man to escape Leclerc's attentions being Matsushita when he stopped from the lead. That left the Monegasque to cruise home to victory ahead of Nato, with Rowland just falling shy of the Frenchman at the line.

Background
The 2017 British Grand Prix would provide Formula Two with its next pair of races, with the junior series once again partnering F1 for one of the oldest races in the World. The series arrived at an unchanged Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire for the sixth round of the season, with no modifications to the DRS zones. There would, however, be yet another change to the entry list, with Callum Ilott the latest driver to join Trident in place of Raffaele Marciello.

Into the Championship and despite failing to score at all in the Red Bull Ring Sprint it was still Charles Leclerc who had complete command on the Championship, ending the afternoon with a 49 point lead. Indeed, the Monegasque ace could now afford to miss an entire race weekend and still head the Championship, with Oliver Rowland, his closest challenger, only able to score a maximum of 48 across a weekend. The Brit was therefore set to duel with Artem Markelov for second in the Championship, with the pair on 102 and 99 points respectively.

In contrast the Teams' Championship was far from a forgone conclusion arriving in the UK, with Prema Racing and DAMS having ended the Austrian weekend tied on points. Russian Time were also in contention, just nine points behind, with ART Grand Prix also within striking distance if they could muster a perfect weekend. Elsewhere, Rapax had retained fifth despite failing to score, with Pertamina Arden closing the gap in sixth.

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

Results
The final qualifying result for the are outlined below:
 * * Albon was given a three place grid penalty for impeeding Jeffri.
 * † Vișoiu was handed a three place grid penalty at the previous race for causing a collision.

Grid

 * * de Vries was unable to start after a fuel system issue.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * de Vries was unable to start after picking up a fuel system failure.

Milestones

 * Callum Ilott made his debut in the FIA Formula Two Championship.
 * Fifth career victory for Charles Leclerc.
 * Prema Racing secured their fifth F2 victory.
 * The Italian team also registered their fourteen victory at GP2/F2 level.

Standings
Yet another pole-victory combination ensured that Charles Leclerc extended his lead in the Championship, moving 63 points clear of second placed Oliver Rowland. Indeed, the Brit's third place in the Feature only really reinforced his hold of second, moving him six ahead of Artem Markelov. They seemed set for a private duel for second, with fourth placed Nicholas Latifi some 35 points further back.

Leclerc's fifth win of the season had also re-established Prema Racing's control of the Teams' Championship, moving them ten points clear of DAMS. Indeed, the French squad had arrived level with the Italians at the start of the weekend, but had been unable to beat Prema's tally. Russian Time were now closer to them then they were to Prema, eight points back, with ART Grand Prix losing ground in fourth.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.