Alex Dunne rebounds at sodden Silverstone with podium finish to boost F2 title hopes

RTÉ News​

a day ago

Alex Dunne bounced back from a Saturday sprint setback to boost his Formula 2 title hopes with a provisional second place finish in the British Grand Prix feature race at a rain-sodden Silverstone.
Having failed to finish the sprint race the previous day following an early collision that dropped him back to fourth in the drivers' championship standings, the Offaly teenager put that in the rearview mirror with a podium finish on Sunday after taking the chequered flag second, just behind US rival Jak Crawford.
However, with doubts about whether Crawford made it into the pitlane before a late Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was called, an infringement which could result in a penalty, the provisional classification could still be subsequently altered and Dunne upgraded to the top step of the podium at the American's expense.
Dunne, who had qualified second on the grid for the feature race, was around 1.5 seconds behind Crawford for much of the grand prix until it entered the final ten laps and by the end of lap 21 of 29, the Irishman had closed that gap to just half a second.
He then assumed the lead on lap 24 when Crawford came in for his mandatory pit stop following a VSC period - although it was unclear if the American had got to the pitlane before it was called - it ultimately was upgraded to a full safety car a lap later.
Dunne came in for his mandatory pitstop shortly after, dropping behind Crawford as a result, although the 19-year-old crucially just held onto second place ahead of British driver Luke Browning.
The safety car ended on lap 27 but any hopes that Dunne had of overtaking Crawford on track was ended following another safety car on the penultimate lap.
However, there could still be a sting in the tail for Crawford, which would allow Dunne to claim his third F2 victory of the season after previous feature race triumphs in Bahrain and Imola.
Earlier this month, Dunne .
The McLaren development driver impressed on the day, setting the fourth fastest time overall, whilst sitting in for Lando Norris, who is currently second in the F1 drivers' championship.