Formula 2 report: Browning shines at rain-soaked Silverstone

With the same hazardous weather conditions as the British Grand Prix that took place later that afternoon, Formula 1's support act didn’t let the rain-drenched fans down. Initially, it looked like Arvid Lindblad would be the leading British driver after he stormed past Browning into Copse.

But Browning fought back over the next half a lap to grab eighth, then switched back on Richard Verschoor and sailed past the likes of Josh Durksen and Roman Stanek on a soaking wet track. Bravery on the throttle eventually allowed him to tiptoe around Victor Martins for a well-earned podium.

Crawford hung on after Alex Dunne inched to within just two tenths in the closing laps, but Browning was unquestionably the driver of the day. After the race, he described the result as “bittersweet,” suggesting that he could’ve competed to win without damage in qualifying.

Browning said: “We were very fast yesterday in the dry, and we were very fast today in the wet. We look at these weekends and go: ‘These are the weekends that maybe we could win,’ but equally we got as many points as we could from them.

“I am very happy with the overtakes and the pace we showed today. Overall, you need this perception to get to Formula 1, and that is the goal,” he added.

Lando Norris’ run to a home victory made for enthralling viewing on Sunday — and F2’s Feature Race wasn’t too shabby either. As the drivers lined up on the grid, the last three feature winners at Silverstone had come from pole, but Crawford changed all that, taking the lead from third off the line.

While Dunne stuck to his task, tailing the American for the rest of the race, Martins suffered a now-familiar fall down the field. He took one place back off Stanek near the start but slipped back to the tail end of the points and ended up retiring after damage under a late safety car.

Though Browning was carving through the field, bravely overtaking Martins around the outside at Luffield after they clashed in the Sprint, conditions only got trickier. Lindblad ran into Verschoor on the Wellington Straight — not his finest moment after appearing in FP1 for Racing Bulls. Gabriele Mini then gambled on slicks too soon, spinning on the pit exit into Oliver Goethe.

This triggered a VSC that prompted more drivers to gamble, including Stanek, who spun on the restart. In turn, the 21-year-old's accident caused a race-ending safety car that gave Crawford a vital victory, one that he was relatively lucky to get as he pitted right before the VSC under huge pressure from Dunne.

In the post-race press conference, Crawford said his great start set him up for “quite a chill race” until the closing laps. Though he admitted that the end was “super stressful,” he added that he’s “happy to be fighting for the championship” with F2 stars like Browning and Dunne each week.

Leonardo Fornaroli’s bid for a first win since his days in Italian Formula 4 didn’t get off to the best of starts. The reigning Formula 3 champion slipped behind Kush Maini from pole, but he was able to cut back at Woodcote and take him into Copse.

There were shades of 2021 Hamilton vs. Verstappen as they went side-by-side, but Fornaroli held on to claim back the place, and he went on to break free of DRS at the front. Critically for Sebastian Montoya, he also managed to hold Stanek off at the start — this set him up for a charge on Maini. After a dozen or so laps, he picked his way through, reflecting the young Columbian's growing maturity.

Further down the field, contenders Verschoor and Dunne had nightmares. While Verschoor slipped to tenth off the start and burned his tires up trying to fight back, Dunne suffered a puncture defending against Mini, who was later hit with a 10-second penalty.

The final lap brought even more drama as Stanek overtook Maini off-track but was allowed to keep the position, and Crawford tried to take Durksen in the very last few meters. However, the Sprint win ultimately went to a delighted Fornaroli, who grabbed his very first F2 victory.

Fornaroli said: “I am very happy, very satisfied with the race. It wasn’t a very good start, and Kush passed me. Then I said, ‘Please, I have to regain that P1.’ We fought quite a bit going to T7 and then luckily managed to repass him.

“There was no safety car, so it was like a qualifying race. I knew what to do to have a nice gap to keep P2 behind before the big DRS zone; otherwise, they would pass me. It was fun.”

No doubt, F2’s title contenders will have hoped for a better weekend. But Crawford and Fornaroli’s wins have thrown the cat right amongst the pigeons in this year’s title fight.

Verschoor had a dominant lead in the championship; now he’s ahead of second-placed Crawford by just six points. Dunne has had a troublesome few rounds, but he’s still only 14 points behind, and Fornaroli is just 18 points back himself — so he’s definitely in the mix.

Lindblad is a good 38 points behind, meaning that he’s going to need to play a blinder if he’s going to get into contention, even if he is being tipped for an F1 seat. However, that’s not to say opportunities will only come to title winners. The likes of Montoya are now showing potential, and when you consider that stars like Norris got promoted without the F2 crown, there’s plenty still on the table.

Just like F1, F2 is taking a two-week break until the next race at Spa. From there, there will be three races left, with Budapest up next and Monza rounding off the season on September 7.