DAMS secured a double points finish in the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race at Silverstone, with both Ayumu Iwasa and Arthur Leclerc taking the chequered flag in the top-10.

A strong qualifying performance from the Japanese racer saw him claim third on the grid, while Ferrari Driver Academy member Leclerc narrowly missed out on reverse-grid pole in 12th.

During Saturday’s race, the Monegasque driver made some impressive overtakes in tricky conditions to secure a point in eighth. Meanwhile, an unexplained brake issue for Iwasa meant he would go a lap down early on, ending his chances of a strong result.

The Red Bull Junior got a lightning start in the Feature Race, moving up to second on the first tour of the track. In a messy 29-lap event, Iwasa was involved in several battles, eventually finishing fifth. Leclerc benefitted from a mid-race Safety Car to vault up the order, taking third at the restart before his tyres degraded and he dropped back, finally claiming ninth.

Ayumu Iwasa: “We had good pace immediately in Free Practice, unfortunately in qualifying I made a mistake, pole position was definitely possible as we had incredible speed. On Saturday we had a strange issue with the brakes at the start of the race so we had to pit straight away. The pace was really good afterwards, I set the fastest lap but there wasn’t anything we could do to score points. Today in the Feature Race it was a bit more difficult, we didn’t have the performance we hoped for, especially on the hard tyres. We’ve got two more race weekends before the summer break so we’ll look to push hard for them.”

Qualifying: 3rd |  Sprint Race: 21st, FL  |  Feature Race: 5th (+10 points)

Arthur Leclerc: “Qualifying was really tight, I found it tough to have full confidence in the high-speed sections, which prevented us from starting in the top-10. Our pace was really good in the wet on Saturday and I was able to move into the points. Today we opted to go long at the start, we got the Safety Car intervention that we hoped for but it was just a bit too early, meaning I couldn’t make the tyres last long enough and dropped back towards the end. It’s still promising to score points in both races, but we’ll be looking for more in Hungary.”

Qualifying: 12th  |  Sprint Race: 8th (+1 point)  |  Feature Race: 9th (+2 points)

Charles Pic, Team Owner: “Qualifying was a bit frustrating for us, Ayumu clearly had the speed for pole, although third was still a strong result. Arthur struggled a bit for confidence, he couldn’t find the grip needed for the car set-up, so ended just outside the top-10. We had a very strange brake issue on Saturday with Ayu’s car, he had to pit early and by the time we fixed the problem he had lost a lap. The pace afterwards was fantastic in the wet, he recorded the fastest lap but obviously points were not a possibility. Arthur also had good speed to make his way into the top-eight, which was very promising. Today, we decided to split the strategies, unfortunately Ayumu didn’t have the performance to go for the win, while we ran long with Arthur hoping for a late Safety Car. Frustratingly, the intervention came a few laps too early, and although Arthur had great pace after the restart, the tyres quickly went off and he did well to hold on in the final laps for points. We’ve got some positives to take from this event, so we’ll look to improve during the week off and come back stronger for the double-header before the summer break.”

Image: Dutch Photo Agency