DAMS Lucas Oil displayed positive pace in both races as Formula 2 travelled to Australia for Round 3 of the 2024 season, with Jak Crawford putting in an excellent recovery drive to take two points for 10th and the Fastest Lap in the Feature Race.

Both Crawford and Juan Manuel Correa had issues during the 30-minute session, meaning they would start near the back of the field for the two events. During Saturday’s Sprint, the duo stayed out of trouble in a dramatic race to rise through the field, with Crawford one place outside the points in ninth, just ahead of Correa in 11th.

The team opted to put both drivers on the alternate strategy for the Feature Race, starting on the yellow-walled medium tyres and running long into the 33-lap event. The pair once again showed great speed, but an unfortunately timed Safety Car allowed the majority of the field to catch up, having already completed their mandatory pit stop.

Hoping for a late Safety Car intervention to minimise the time lost in the pit lane, the American racers remained on track for as long as possible, eventually pitting in the final laps. Despite this, some late overtakes on the supersoft tyres saw Crawford cross the line in 11th, which became 10th after a post-race disqualification for another driver, and also picking up a bonus point for the Fastest Lap. Correa was classified 14th.

Jak Crawford: “We had a lot of speed this weekend, but frustratingly were let down by qualifying. I tried too hard to find the perfect lap and made mistakes during the session, so I’m sorry to the team for that. Our race pace was really good, we came through the field in the Sprint Race and finished really close to points, which gave us a lot of encouragement for the Feature. We were unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car today, but we did the best we could and managed to take two points. There are several positives we can take with us for the rest of the season, and we’ll look to put those into action at Imola.”

Qualifying: 21st |  Sprint Race: 9th  |  Feature Race: 10th, FL (+2 points)

Juan Manuel Correa: “This weekend showed just how important qualifying is. I had a technical issue in Free Practice, which was no fault of the team, and then we didn’t get it right in qualifying. During both races, the car felt really good and I was comfortable on track, and we were unfortunate not to score points. The strategy didn’t quite fall for us today, which was frustrating because we definitely had the potential to be in the top-10.”

Qualifying: 20th  |  Sprint Race: 11th  |  Feature Race: 14th

Charles Pic, Team Owner: “We had a tough start to the weekend in Free Practice and qualifying was really frustrating. Jak struggled with the setup and made a few mistakes, and JM had difficulties with grip and tyre temperatures. In the Sprint Race, both drivers recovered well, moving through the field and they were happy with the car balance. And then today, we again showed strong speed. We opted to go for the alternate strategy, quickly making up places as others’ tyres faded. We were in a good position after the supersoft runners stopped, but unfortunately a few laps later the Safety Car came out, backing up the entire pack. The car was strong, JM showed great pace until his tyres started to wear and Jak had good consistency as well. We hoped for another Safety Car, but it never arrived so we pitted late on. Jak did really well at the end to make some overtakes, and was eventually rewarded with 10th and the Fastest Lap. JM also had a really strong weekend, which proves how important qualifying is, so we’ll look to improve on that for Imola.”

Image: Dutch Photo Agency