Jak Crawford Wins Monaco

Moves to top-five in standings after double-points weekend as American Anthem plays in Monaco

MONACO (25 May 2025) – Jak Crawford added a significant race victory to his record on Sunday, using a great start and timely pit stop to win the chaotic Grand Prix of Monaco in FIA Formula 2 Championship competition. The victory marks the first time for the American national anthem to be played at the event, which has hosted races since 1929.

The 20-year-old American Formula 1 hopeful used the victory plus a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Sprint Race to move to fifth in the F2 standings, only 14 points behind the leader.

“Monaco is the best race to win – it’s the race every driver wants to win,” Crawford said. “To win this one is very special, even if it feels as though we got a bit lucky! But we’ve also been on the other side of the luck this year as well.”

Crawford’s fourth-career F2 victory also gave DAMS Lucas Oil a weekend sweep, with teammate Kush Maini winning the Sprint Race.

The Texan’s “luck” included dodging a multi-car incident moments after the start, and then putting himself in position to take advantage of a full-course caution late in the event.

“It was the luckiest day of my life,” said the Texan. “A perfect scenario happened. It just happened at the right time. This was the most Monaco weekend ever. I can’t believe yet. Between yesterday, driving half a broken car and finishing fourth, and then today, having one of the luckiest races of my entire life and winning. It’s insane.”

Gridded seventh for the scheduled 42-lap Feature Race, Crawford drove to the outside to avoid a melee in Turn 1 started by the front-row starters, getting through in third position. He was gridded fourth for the full restart after a lengthy red flag that shortened the race to 30 minutes. Crawford held that position, and then slowed following an incident in the closing minutes. Seeing his opportunity when the safety car was called out, he dove to the pits – emerging with the lead as the top-three cars made their mandatory stop on the following lap. Significant barrier damage brought out another red flag, with the race ending as time expired.

F2 rules mandate no pitting under a Virtual Safety Car, while drivers can pit if the safety car is called out.

“I saw the crash, and I was surprised there was a VSC,” Crawford explained. “I kept saying on the radio, ‘This could be a safety car, this could be a safety car,’ to be ready. I actually backed off three or four seconds off my delta just in case, and a perfect scenario happened at just the right time. As soon as I was about to pass [the pit entrance] I saw the safety car board, and I pulled a hard right. I almost hit the wall, but I barely made it. Perfect timing. I had really good speed prior to the incident, and I was catching the guys ahead of me. Either way, I think we would have had a good result today.”

Sunday’s race saw seven cars eliminated in the Turn 1 melee.

“I was super lucky with my positioning, and I barely avoided the crash,” he said.

On Saturday, Crawford’s Sprint Race also nearly ended seconds into the race when he was clipped from behind in Turn 1 and nearly spun. He had a great launch at lights-out and was third when he was hit early on the opening lap. Recovering quickly after losing two positions, he was able to continue.

“I had a good start and I was in a good position to be on the podium,” he explained. “Then an aggressive move from behind sent me into a bit of a half-spin, and I was carrying damage for the whole race. I had some floor damage, and my floor was touching the ground.

“My pace was still not bad, even though I missed a lot of downforce on the car. Of course, being Monaco, I didn’t get overtaken, so I guess it was a good thing that it happened in Monaco.”

After a promising practice session, Crawford qualified fourth in his group and seventh overall, putting him in the second row for the 30-lap Sprint Race on the tight, demanding circuit.

“We felt pretty competitive in practice, but with the red flags it was hard to see where we were,” he said. “I really didn’t get an opportunity to show everything. Qualifying was OK. We missed a bit, but it was still good to be in the top 10.”

Crawford now has only a few days of simulator preparation before F2 returns to action at Barcelona – where he scored his first Feature Race victory a year ago.

“Barcelona is a track I won at last year, and I’m super-excited to hopefully do it again. It’s been back-to-back-to-back, and then straight into a Formula 1 test. It’s going to be great.”