Silverstone F2: Shwartzman wins opener from Vips

The Prema Racing driver claimed victory in a race which saw three safety cars, his second in as many rounds after winning the first sprint race in Baku.

Shwartzman leapt into the lead off the line, passing the three cars in front of him to lead the pack into Turn 1.

Oascar Piastri also got a good start, jumping three places at the start to move up to seventh.

Championship leader Guanyu Zhou spun at Turn 3 after catching his UNI-Virtuosi on the kerb and losing the rear, prompting a safety car.

Seconds later, Roy Nissany’s race was also ended when the DAMS went into the gravel after contact with Christian Lundgaard in an incident which will be investigated after the race.

The safety car ended on lap 3, leaving Liam Lawson, Piastri and Dan Ticktum to battle for sixth into lap 4, tussling into Maggots and Becketts, with Marcus Armstrong catching up to the back of them for DAMS.

Ticktum was left struggling to overtake after suffering a crack to the front wing.

Alessio Deledda (HWA Racelab) then prompted another safety car after spinning and ending up in the middle of the track.

Shwartzman led the pack away from the second safety car on lap 6, before Piastri passed Liam Lawson on the inside for sixth.

Marino Sato of Trident pitted under the safety car and remained in the garage for four laps with a mechanical issue before returning back out on track behind the pack.

There was another safety car on lap 12 after the Charouz Racing System car of Guilherme Samaia went off into the gravel in sector two.

Jack Aitken pitted under the safety car for HWA Racelab but was hit with a slow stop after his front right wheel locked.

Racing resumed on lap 14, with the midfield battle between Lawson, Ticktum and Armstrong continuing, while Lirim Zendeli of MP Motorsport and the Carlin of Jehan Daruvala also approached for a look-in on the action.

Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) swept past David Beckmann’s Charouz Racing System car into 12th on lap 16, having pitted for fresh tyres under the last safety car, before passing his teammate down the inside with three laps to go.

Up ahead, Shwartzman crossed the finish line having led every lap ahead of Vips, with Lundgaard (ART Grand Prix) completing the podium.

Felipe Drugovich finished fourth for UNI-Virtuosi, with the ART Grand Prix of Theo Pourchaire, returning from suffering a fractured arm at the last round in Azerbaijan, in fifth.

Piastri finished sixth for Prema Racing, with Lawson in seventh for Hitech and Ticktum finishing his home race eighth for Carlin

With the top 10 reversed for this afternoon’s second sprint race, Verschoor will start on pole, with Armstrong in second, Ticktum in third and Lawson in fourth.

Piastri now leads the championship standings after taking the two bonus points for fastest lap, with Shwartzman in second and Zhou in third.

Results

Cla	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Gap
1	Robert Shwartzman	Prema Powerteam	21	-
2	Jüri Vips	HitechGP	21	0.900	0.900
3	Christian Lundgaard	ART Grand Prix	21	2.500	2.500
4	Felipe Drugovich	UNI-Virtuosi	21	5.000	5.000
5	Theo Pourchaire	ART Grand Prix	21	5.500	5.500
6	Oscar Piastri	Prema Powerteam	21	8.400	8.400
7	Liam Lawson	HitechGP	21	11.600	11.600
8	Dan Ticktum	Carlin	21	12.300	12.300
9	Marcus Armstrong	DAMS	21	12.700	12.700
10	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport	21	13.600	13.600
11	Lirim Zendeli	MP Motorsport	21	14.200	14.200
12	Jehan Daruvala	Carlin	21	16.600	16.600
13	David Beckmann	Charouz Racing System	21	17.200	17.200
14	Ralph Boschung	Campos Racing	21	19.300	19.300
15	Matteo Nannini	Campos Racing	21	20.100	20.100
16	Bent Viscaal	Trident	21	21.000	21.000
17	Jack Aitken	HWA Racelab	21	22.600	22.600
18	Marino Sato	Trident	17	4 laps
19	Guilherme Samaia	Charouz Racing System	11	10 laps
20	Alessio Deledda	HWA Racelab	3	18 laps
21	Roy Nissany	DAMS	0
22	Guanyu Zhou	UNI-Virtuosi	0
View full results