2018 Silverstone Feature Race

The 2018 Silverstone Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2018 Silverstone Race 1, was the thirteenth race of the 2018 FIA Formula Two Championship, staged at the Silverstone circuit on the 7 July 2018. The race, held in support of the 2018 British Grand Prix, would be the second of the season to be staged on a circuit with three DRS zones.

Qualifying would see George Russell claim his third straight pole position start for ART Grand Prix, an early run from the Brit edging out quali-specialist Alexander Albon. Behind them came the two Charouz Racing System entries of Antonio Fuoco and Louis Delétraz, while ex-Championship leader Lando Norris would start alongside teammate Sérgio Sette Câmara in sixth.

Russell duly led the field away at the start of the race behind the safety car, blasting clear of Albon into turn one with the rest of the field charging in behind them. Elsewhere, Artem Markelov moved up the order with an excellent lunge through Becketts on Arjun Maini, only for the Indian racer to retake seventh at the start of the second lap.

Russell drove hard in the early stages to try and escape out of DRS range of Albon, and duly pulled out a 1.5 second lead as DRS became active. Behind, the two Charouz were fighting hard for third, while Lando Norris, Russell's main Championship rival, began to slip down the order with a lack of pace.

It was an early pit-window for those whom started on the soft Pirelli tyres, with the majority of the field slithering into the pits at the end of lap six. It was here that Russell lost out, a slow stop for the Brit allowing Albon to sweep into the lead as the duo shot out of their pitboxes. Russell was later struck by a five second time penalty for speeding in the pits, while Norris lost time after stalling during his stop.

Albon would therefore assume control of the race once those whom started on the hard Pirelli tyres made their stops. His progress was aided by a series of VSCs to remove Nirei Fukuzumi and Sean Gelael from the track, the latter having smacked into Norris at Brooklands while fighting for tenth.

Indeed, bar a late engine fire for Câmara the race was run, with Albon cruising home to claim his second victory of the season. Russell set fastest lap on the penultimate lap to secure second, while Fuoco claimed third ahead of late charge from teammate Delétraz.

Background
The Formula Two campaign of 2018 headed to the UK for its thirteenth race of the season, with the familiar sights of the Silverstone circuit on the boarder of Northamptonshire greeting the field. Indeed, there was little change at Silverstone ahead of the F2 and Formula One visit, although a late modification to the circuit would see a third DRS zone added at the end of the lap. This zone extended from the middle of the start/finish straight until the entry to turn three, meaning drivers had the option of leaving their DRS open through turns one and two at the expense of less rear downforce.

Into the Championship and yet another strong performance from George Russell last time out had seen the Brit finally oust Lando Norris from top spot in the Championship, the Brit having left Austria with a ten point advantage over his compatriot. Behind, and still twenty-eight points away, would be sprint race winner Artem Markelov, with Alexander Albon having to make way for the Russian racer as Markelov moved into the top three. Next up were Sérgio Sette Câmara and Antonio Fuoco, while Nyck de Vries lost ground in seventh.

Carlin had managed to retain their lead in the Teams Championship during the double header in Austria, although ART Grand Prix had managed to chip away at their advantage. Indeed, the pair were split by 27 points heading to the former's home round in Silverstone, with those two set to duel for the title for the rest of the season. Behind sat Charouz Racing System, falling adrift in third, with DAMS, Russian Time and Pertamina Prema all within striking distance of the Czech squad.

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

Results
The final qualifying result for the are outlined below:
 * * Gelael was handed a three place grid penalty after causing an avoidable collision in Austria.
 * † Nissany failed to set a time within 107% of the pole time, but was allowed to start at the stewards discretion.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Russell and Aitken awarded five second time penalties for speeding in the pitlane.

Milestones

 * Third pole position for George Russell.
 * Alexander Albon claimed his second victory in Formula Two.
 * DAMS earned their fifth victory as an entrant in F2.
 * Also the French squad's 30th triumph at GP2/F2 level.

Standings
In spite of missing out on a victory in front of his home fans, Championship leader George Russell managed to extend his lead in the Championship, moving 23 points clear of Lando Norris at the top of the field. The latter had endured a miserable day at Silverstone, and was now under threat from race winner Alexander Albon. Indeed, the Thai racer had leapt back ahead of Artem Markelov to move into the top three, with those four all in triple figures for the season.

Carlin had seen their lead in the Teams Championship slashed apart by ART Grand Prix during the first race of the weekend, the French squad heading into the Sprint Race just four points behind the British effort. Behind, Charouz Racing System had pulled marginally closer, as had DAMS thanks to Albon's victory. Russian Time were next ahead of Pertamina Prema while, at the back of the field, BWT Arden had moved ahead of Trident.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.