Piastri Snatches Championship Lead from Zhou!

Formula 2 returned to Silverstone this weekend. But on the whole, despite some big Championship shake-ups, it fell it bit flat. Despite this, there's still plenty to analyse and sink your teeth into. So without any further ado, here are the Key Takeaways from Formula 2 in Silverstone.

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Proficient Piastri

Consistency is always key in Formula 2 and Formula 3 to succeed. One young chap who remembered that this weekend is Aussie talent, Oscar Piastri. A sixth place in Sprint Race I set things up nicely for him for the rest of Saturday. He went on to finish in fourth place in Sprint Race II, collecting some more valuable Championship points in the process. Despite starting on pole position for the Feature Race after a sublime qualifying, Piastri couldn't quite convert it into a win. In the end, he had to settle for third place - still not too shabby - and consequently, Piastri now finds himself on top of the Driver's Standings. That's a nice place to be as F2 goes into a mega long break ahead of the next round in Monza.

Photo Credit: Alpine Media Centre

Photo Credit: Alpine Media Centre

Zhou on the Ropes

But Piastri's good foturne wasn't all down to his driving. His main Championship rival, Guanyu Zhou had a very topsy turvy weekend which ultimately unseated him from the top of the standings. He took himself out of the first Sprint Race with a bizarre spin, not having contact with any other drivers in the process. Sprint Race II saw him down in eleventh place which didn't do him any favours either. He qualified in second place for the Feature Race and then was able to salvage his weekend by claiming the win. But even with this much needed resurgence in the most important part of the weekend, it's still a weekend that's put Zhou on the ropes. The Championship is on now and Zhou will need to ensure that he delivers in every single race.

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Verschoor 2.0

There were safety cars aplenty in Sprint Race I but this didn't end up being a bad thing for Richard Verschoor. Changing tyres in an unneeded pit stop gave him tremendous pace and allowed him to climb up the pack to tenth place and reverse grid pole for Sprint Race II. It was an inspired piece of strategy that paid dividends for both Verschoor and MP Motorsport when he converted reverse grid pole into his first Formula 2 win with a dominant drive. He then managed to get a very solid fourth place in the Feature Race to top off a successful weekend. Surely this will be enough to guarantee Verschoor a seat at MP Motorsport for Monza and beyond, won't it?

Robert's Rollercoaster Weekend

To quote Lando Norris, Robert Shwartzman's 2021 season has been "up and down, like a rollercoaster". Following an absolutely blistering start in Sprint Race I off the line, the Russian was able to set the pace and control the race from beginning to end. Safety cars, race re starts and other drivers combined couldn't bother him and he won comfortably. But come Sprint Race II and he found himself spinning around and losing out on any more points as he finished down in fifteenth place. In the Feature Race, Robert was able to finish in fifth which - due to the bonkers nature of the weekend - has propelled him up into second place in the Driver's Standings, just eight points behind Piastri. A late charge for the 2021 title may have just begun - and as fans of Formula 2, we're in for a treat.

Photo Credit : Alpine Media Centre

Photo Credit : Alpine Media Centre

Lungaard's Curse Continues

If someone ever offers you the chance to drive in the second seat of the ART team in Formula 2, you might be tempted to take it. But be warned, it might be cursed! Heading into the 2021 season, Christian Lungaard was on the list of possible Championship favourites. Fast forward to the halfway point in the season and he sits down in twelfth place in the Driver's Standings. What's worse, about 90% of the reasons for this are down to just plain old bad luck - more of which followed him to Silverstone.

At the start of the weekend though, it looked like things might change. Lungaard finished the first Sprint Race in third place which was fantastic to see. But the good times didn't last long. A thirteenth place in Sprint Race II brought him crashing back down to Earth. A loose tyre flying off his car in the pits combined with an unfair time penalty on Lungaard himself then ruined the Feature Race for him. Things don't look good for Lungaard moving forwards but I definitely hope that all his bad luck is finally over.

What did you think of the Formula 2 races at Silverstone? Let me know in the comments below