Albon beats Russell to claim second F2 win of 2018
DAMS driver Alexander Albon took advantage of a botched pitstop for Formula 2 points leader George Russell to record his second win of 2018 at Silverstone.
Russell, looking to convert pole position into a feature race victory for the third straight race, retained his lead at the rolling start and pulled nearly three seconds clear in the opening stint until the pitstop phase.
DAMS driver Alexander Albon took advantage of a botched pitstop for Formula 2 points leader George Russell to record his second win of 2018 at Silverstone.
Russell, looking to convert pole position into a feature race victory for the third straight race, retained his lead at the rolling start and pulled nearly three seconds clear in the opening stint until the pitstop phase.
But a slow pitstop cost the Mercedes Formula 1 protege and ART Grand Prix driver dearly, as Albon jumped the Briton in the pitlane. Russell and teammate Jack Aitken also received five-second time penalties for speeding in the pitlane.
Following the pitstop window, Albon managed the gap to Russell and reclaimed the lead of the race once the long-running Tadasuke Makino made his mandatory stop at the end of Lap 19, before going on to take his first win since the Baku feature race.
Russell retained second place despite his time penalty and was still able to extend his championship advantage over Carlin’s Lando Norris - who dropped down the order following a slow pit stop - while Antonio Fuoco claimed his second podium finish from three races to complete the rostrum.
Louis Deletraz snatched fourth place from Campos Racing’s Luca Ghiotto on the final lap, as the Charouz Racing System driver bounced back from a double retirement at the Red Bull Ring with a strong result.
Just behind the squabbling pair came Spielberg sprint race winner Artem Markelov, who finished sixth for Russian Time, ahead of Prema driver Nyck de Vries and Arden’s Maximilian Gunther, who secured reverse grid pole for Sunday’s sprint race with eighth.
MP Motorsport’s Ralph Boschung crossed the line in ninth, ahead of Norris, who recovered from his earlier issue to secure the final point on offer in 10th.
