Following his win in the Formula 2 Feature Race, Aston Martin Aramco Young Driver Jak Crawford reveals how it felt to secure his sixth F2 victory around Baku City Circuit.
Mastering the streets of Baku, Aston Martin Aramco Young Driver Jak Crawford managed challenges and tricky weather conditions to claim pole and secure victory in the F2 Feature Race.
Over the course of the weekend, Jak added 32 points to his tally and moved into second place in the Drivers' Championship, only 19 points away from championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli.
Here's what Jak had to say...
On the stop-start Qualifying
"It was a chaotic one. I almost ran into Victor [Martins] when he had the crash. I was literally the next car behind him.
"I had enough pace that I knew we would be fighting for pole. I kept my nose clean, got a good lap in after the first Red Flag, and it was good enough for pole. In the end, it came down to the first run."
On the Safety Car and vital pitstop
"I lost out at the start and unfortunately dropped to third. I was quickly back up to second and slowly catching [Leonardo] Fornaroli. I was ready for the pitstop phase and then the Safety Car came.
"It was not a simple one. In the pitlane, I jumped Leonardo, but Gabriele [Minì] jumped me. Coming straight out of the pits on cold tyres was tricky, but I knew I had the pace on Gabriele and that I could pass him.
"I pushed quite hard to pass Gabriele. Once I overtook him, I pushed hard to break out of his DRS, but that probably also hurt me a bit by the end of the race when I struggled more with my tyres."
I was getting into a rhythm and then all of a sudden I started feeling massive wind gusts.
On managing Baku's many challenges
"The slipstream was really strong. Every time I felt like I was breaking Gabriele's DRS, I felt like he was coming back with the slipstream before even the DRS detection.
"It was a bit unfortunate that there was a massive headwind down the main straight. I felt like I was being pulled back a bit, but on the other hand, it helped me do some overtaking.
"I was getting into a rhythm and then all of a sudden I started feeling massive wind gusts in the last sector. It felt like it was picking up a bit, but I managed it well."
On defending until the chequered flag
"When Josh [Dürksen] got behind me, I had to push flat out because he was very fast. From then on, I knew it was just about defending and making sure I had six-to-seven tenths of a gap going onto the main straight.
"I managed to place my car well and take the win."
We could have very easily been out of the fight, but now we've managed to close the gap.
On the championship battle
"It was a crucial day, and I feel like it went perfectly for me and the team this weekend. We managed to close the gap to Leonardo.
"Two points for pole, fourth place in the Sprint Race and first in the Feature Race. We know what we need to do if we want to win the Championship. We could have very easily been out of the fight, but now we've managed to close the gap to Leonardo and are properly back in it.
"I'm looking forward to a bit of a break and good last few rounds."
After a two-month break in the the F1 campaign, Jak returns to action in at the Qatar Grand Prix on 28-30 November for the penultimate round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship .
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