Zhou gets F2 title charge back on track with Silverstone feature race win
Starting from second on the grid, Zhou powered past Oscar Piastri into the lead of the race. The Alpine F1 junior controlled the race from the front, extending his first stint until Lap 9, retaining his lead over Dan Ticktum.
Ticktum was one of the first cars to switch to fresh rubber on Lap 7, undercutting Piastri. A decisive moment in the battle for second behind Zhou was when Ticktum and Piastri came up behind Matteo Nannini who had yet to stop.
The Carlin driver overtook with ease while Piastri got stuck, allowing Ticktum to build a significant gap ahead. While Piastri was behind Nannini, it allowed Richard Verschoor to close in - the Dutchman was the last to pit out of those who started on the softer rubber.
Once Nannini was out of the way, Piastri and Verschoor dueled it out. The MP Motorsport driver looked like he got the move done with two laps to go but he ran wide at Stowe, conceding the place back to the current F2 points leader. Verschoor tried again on the last lap but couldn’t get close enough, handing Piastri third behind Zhou and Ticktum.
Robert Shwartzman struggled for outright race pace but a good start moved him up to fifth in the early stages. An early pit stop ensured he had track position over Felipe Drugovich, who couldn’t get past despite spending much of the race in DRS range of the Prema driver. Juri Vips finished seventh having started on the harder rubber - he stopped on Lap 19 but couldn’t make too much progress other than getting past Theo Pourchaire.
Lirim Zendeli and Jehan Daruvala were on the same strategy as Jips and rounded out the top ten at Silverstone. Liam Lawson finished 11th having defended from DAMS’ duo Marcus Armstrong and Roy Nissany for much of the race.
It was a disastrous day for Christian Lundgaard as he was awarded a 10-second stop-go penalty for an unsafe release. When Lundgaard stopped, he was released when his left-rear tyre wasn’t attached properly.
He ultimately finished 21st, only ahead of Alessio Deledda who was lapped having started in the pit lane.
Click here for the full FIA Formula 2 feature race results at Silverstone
