Crawford eyes F2 title charge as Aston Martin F1 work ramps up

Aston Martin junior Crawford recapped: “I’ve driven the AMR23 at Zandvoort and Monza as part of my development. Being in a Formula 1 car is still fairly new to me, but now I’m more confident when I drive one. I’ve driven all the team’s cars from this current era – bar this year’s – and it was insightful to try the same car at two circuits which require very different setups.”

The American has also been heavily involved in simulator work for Aston Martin, contributing to the development of next year’s AMR26 under design guru Adrian Newey's watch and, crucially, the all-new 2026 F1 car: “It’s been cool getting to grips with the 2026 models in the simulator.

Crawford continued: "As you’d expect, it’s a bit different to the current cars, with new aspects like active aero to get used to. There’s been a lot of evolution with both the power unit and the chassis. I’ve never helped develop a power unit before, so it’s been fascinating to see the progress we’re making based on our wind tunnel data and the work with Honda.”

Crawford has finished in the top six in 10 of the last 11 F2 races, a consistent run that included a standout wet-weather victory in the Silverstone Feature Race.

“Silverstone goes down as one of my favourite races this year, not only because I won but because we performed so well in variable conditions,” he said. “It was a tough race, but the team and I had good communication and everything came together.”

After a frustrating start to the season, Crawford said the DAMS team took a deliberate approach to reset their focus: “From Saudi Arabia onwards we had a mentality change across the entire team."

“It’s been about getting everything right, from pitstops to strategy to setup, and in my driving as well. I’ve tried to be more calculated, not taking risks with overtakes when I don’t need to. We’ve tried to polish little bits that make a difference, and the culmination of that is very consistent, smooth performances," Crawford explained.

The 20-year-old is approaching the championship battle in segments, rather than looking too far ahead: “We’ve had Austria and Silverstone, now we’ve got Spa and Budapest, and then Monza and Baku before Qatar and Abu Dhabi. It’s about maintaining the consistency we’ve established.”

While a move to Formula 1 remains the ultimate target, Crawford is staying grounded: “Of course, the aim is to win the championship and stake my claim for a seat in Formula One, but I’m not thinking about that too much. There’s still nearly half the season left.”

Spa, the site of the upcoming F2 round, is one of his favourite tracks — with one caveat: “It’s in my top five racetracks. The only reason it’s not higher is because a lot of times we go it’s raining! Even so, it’s still great to drive and a super iconic circuit. And, if it rains, Silverstone has shown that we have the pace in the wet to compete.”