Virtuosi Racing continued their home race winning streak in FIA Formula 2 last weekend, as Jack Doohan claimed the Norfolk-based outfit's first win of the season at Silverstone Circuit.
Friday's Qualifying session had mixed results with Virtuosi racers Jack Doohan and Marino Sato qualifying P7 and P19, respectively.
Following the session, the Alpine F1 team junior told F2:
I'm confident that we'll be good in both races. It should be a good race. I hope to get on the podium.
The Virtuosi duo lined up for the Silverstone Sprint in P4 and P19. Sato was unfortunately forced to retire from the race due to engine issues, but a confident and quick Doohan made moves on Juri Vips, Jehan Daruvala, and Enzo Fittipaldi to climb from fourth to first. The Australian racer cruised across the finish line for the win, before fellow Aussie Alex Thew of Virtuosi joined him on the podium for a celebratory shoey!
In the post-race press conference, the brand-new race winner said:
It's an amazing feeling, to say the least, and really nice to finally get that first win after having pace for so long… I'm just really happy with the Virtuosi boys for giving me an amazing car. We've kept the spirits up all year, despite a bit of bad luck and some mistakes from me - you know the highs and lows. We've really had it this year, so to finally give myself a win and also give the boys a win, because they deserve it more than anything.
Doohan's win makes it four successive victories for Virtuosi at the iconic British circuit, with Luca Ghiotto winning in 2019, Callum Ilott – who has since stepped up to IndyCar - in 2020, and now-F1 racer Guanyu Zhou in 2021.
For the Feature Race, Jack Doohan and Marino Sato started from their qualifying positions of P7 and P19, respectively. The race started smoothly for both, with Sato avoiding trouble, running long, and maintaining his tyres well. Doohan also managed to manage degradation to remain out longer than many of his competitors. The Japanese racer's mandatory pit stop went well and he was able to finish P15, having made up four positions. However, Doohan ran into trouble when an issue with a tyre gun during his pit stop cost him positions. Despite dropping out of the points after his stop, the Australian battled back up to ninth, pulling off three moves in the final three laps.
There is a quick turnaround for Virtuosi Racing's F2 team, who return to the track for back-to-back weekends - this time at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
