Crawford has near perfect weekend, takes third Feature Race victory of season at Baku

Win from pole propels 20-year-old American to second in F2 title chase with two weekends remaining
BAKU, Azerbaijan (21 Sept. 2025) – American Jak Crawford roared back into FIA Formula 2 Championship title contention this weekend, capturing the Feature Race victory from the pole at the Baku City Circuit in the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan.

The Feature Race victory was the third of the season for the 20-year-old Texan, and has moved him to second in the standings with only two race weekends remaining. He has six career F2 triumphs, including this season’s Sprint Race at Imola and Feature Races at Monaco, Silverstone and Baku.

“It was a great weekend for points and some good highlights,” Crawford said. “It’s never easy around this track, with the slipstream and [Drag Reduction System] DRS effects, so I really had to work for it. I’m quite satisfied. Near maximum points, my best weekend of the year so far, and I’m super-happy with the points this weekend.”

Crawford took the lead on the 10th of 29 laps and ran out front the rest of the way, with the DAMS Lucas Oil driver staying out front despite intense pressure in the closing laps to win by 0.216-seconds.

“It was a crucial day,” he said. “Obviously, the points leader was starting right beside me, and we managed to beat him and close the gap. That’s what I have to do to win – qualify on the pole and win the Feature Race, and that’s what I managed to do. I feel it was perfectly executed for me and the team this weekend.”

Crawford was second in opening practice, coming to within 0.049-seconds of the fastest speed on his final lap. He was fifth in the opening portion of qualifying, before the session ended with a lengthy red flag. He went to the top shortly after the session resumed with a lap of 1:54.791-seconds, and that stood up for his second pole position of the season and third of his career as the 30-minute session ended early with another incident.

“It was a good lap. I felt very comfortable since the first laps in free practice. I had a good feeling for the car, and everything went really smoothly. Qualifying was crazy. We had good speed straight away, and I felt we could definitely fight for pole. I had a great first lap right after the red flag, and at the end with all the chaos, we stayed on pole with that lap.”

The inversion saw Crawford start Saturday’s Sprint Race in 10th. He charged to eighth at the start and worked his way up the order. Running sixth with two laps remaining, he gained two more positions in the closing laps and was challenging for third at the finish, missing out on another podium by just 0.393-seconds.

“The goal was to stay out of trouble and do a good job, bring home the points, and that’s exactly what I did,” he said. “I had moments to overtake, but no need to do anything crazy. A lot was happening around me, so I was able to pick off people as the race went on. If we had a few more laps, it would have been nice to see what we would have been able to do.”

Sunday’s Feature Race began with several slick areas on the 3.730-mile, 20-turn street circuit. He got off the line quickly, but lost two positions going into turn one. Crawford regained second on the following lap, and held that position when a safety car period began just before teams had the option of making their mandatory pit stop to change tires.

“There was a wet spot right in front of my grid box, and it was unfortunate that I had to deal with it at the start,” he explained. “But I knew it was a long race and I had to be patient. There would be opportunities to come.”

With the field following the safety car through the pits, competitors were able to quickly change tires during the chaotic drive down pit road. Crawford rejoined the race in second.

He quickly took the lead on the lap nine restart – only to lose it the moments later. Taking advantage of the strong draft, Crawford retook the lead on the following lap. From that point, it was a matter of managing the gap and trying to gain a one-second lead to negate DRS opportunities.

“It was a mess on the pit on the pit lane,” he said. “I was just trying to find a gap to release into and keep my position. I felt I was very strong on restarts, so I knew that was my best opportunity. We had good speed straightaway, and I knew I was able to attack.”

Crawford put in the laps to break free of DRS, as two competitors surged in the closing laps looking to take the lead. But with his well-established racecraft and raw pace, Crawford held strong to keep the advantage as well as the gap.

“I wasn’t worried,” Crawford admitted. “I was just managing my tires. I didn’t want to get too far out in front, because I wanted to be able to fight at the end of the race. The slipstream was very big, and it came down to the end. I managed to defend. I didn’t risk it too much. There was one lap I had to defend quite hard, but the rest of it was just about keeping it on the racetrack.”

The Aston Martin Aramco Young Driver Development Program driver now has to wait two months as the season now enters a two-month “winter break” before closing with back-to-back weekends. Competition resumes at Lusail International Circuit in Qatar Nov. 29-30, setting up the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in the United Arab Emirates Dec. 6-7.

“Now I have two months of preparation for those two runs,” he said. “I’m up to second in the championship, and I think the gap is close enough. It’s 19 points, and anything can happen at those last two races. I’ll be busy preparing in the simulator, but also with Aston Martin driving in the F1 sim. I’ll also be at the Grands Prix in Austin and Las Vegas, so I’ll be quite busy.”