Crawford takes controlled victory in Formula 2's Imola sprint

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

Jak Crawford took his first win of 2025 with a measured drive around Imola, keeping the chasing Arvid Lindblad behind on his way to the flag. Luke Browning put Hitech TGR on the podium, making his way up from fourth on the reverse grid to take his third podium of the season.

Crawford (M) took victory from Lindblad (L) and Browning (R) | Credit: Formula 2 via X

Crawford also made it six winners in six F2 races in 2025, also taking DAMS' first win of the season along the way. The American took the race lead off the line, never relinquishing it after passing reverse grid pole-sitter Ritomo Miyata into the Tamburello chicane.

Lindblad started fifth for the sprint, making his way into third at the start before moving past Miyata to take second on the road, the margin being only over a second at the flag.

Browning capitalised on the opportunity to take a podium, driving a strong race along the way, and ensuring he wasn't under threat from fellow Williams junior Victor Martins behind, who finished fourth.

Alex Dunne drove a strong race, showcasing excellent pace on his way to fifth, ahead of reverse pole-sitter Miyata, who opened his account in 2025 with sixth in the sprint.

Leonardo Fornaroli took seventh on home turf, just ahead of Invicta teammate Roman Staněk, who rounded out the sprint points in eighth. Both drivers squabbled over their respective positions along the way.

Sebastián Montoya took ninth on the road for PREMA Racing, moving up the order after a tough start, while Ollie Goethe grabbed tenth on the road, having started third on the road and lost ground on the opening lap.

AS IT UNFOLDED

With Kush Maini's fastest lap deleted following the red flag infringement in Friday's qualifying, it promoted Miyata to reverse grid pole for the 25-lap sprint, while Crawford started alongside him on the front row, fancying his chances at victory.

Miyata's chances of a maiden victory faded right at the start, when wheelspin off the line saw him lose the position to Crawford's DAMS on the 550-metre run down to the Tamburello chicane. Elsewhere, Lindblad had soared up to third on the grid, making up two spots to sit third.

Goethe, who had slid down the order, then made contact with Dunne at the exit of the Villeneuve chicane, sliding off the track and losing positions along the way. Meanwhile, Gabriele Minì's day only got worse, as he made contact with Pepe Martí's Campos. The Alpine junior skated off the track, falling to last of the runners on the road.

Among the opportunistic drivers included Joshua Dürksen, who climbed up six spots, while championship leader Richard Verschoor rose three spots from his starting grid. Contributing to Dürksen's rise up the order was an overtake into the Rivazza corners, moving past Sunday's pole sitter Dino Beganovic.

As the race petered out and drivers settled into a rhythm, the closest battle emerged between the recovering Goethe, Montoya and Maini, who squabbled for 11th on the road behind Staněk's Invicta.

As the race went on, Miyata's tyres began to wear out, as he lost DRS to Crawford ahead, who settled into a two-second lead. The Japanese racer was vulnerable, losing second to Miyata, and third to Browning shortly after.

Martins and Dunne too moved past the slowing ART to take fourth and fifth, leaving Miyata to fend off the chasing Invictas of Fornaroli and Staněk, who had risen up to eighth on the road.

Beganovic's day got tougher, the Swede dipping a wheel into the gravel at Variante Alta and losing positions, as he slid out of the top ten on the road.

Drivers kept it relatively clean all through the race, with the only yellow flag deployed on lap 22, following Amaury Cordeel's spin on lap 22 at the exit of the Tamburello chicane, having run wide at turn 3.

Championship leader Verschoor called it a day, pulling into the pits to retire with two laps to go, capping off a disappointing day for him.

Crawford eventually fended off the threat from Lindblad to take victory, his first of the season, while Browning steered clear of Martins to take yet another podium. The results elevated both Crawford and Lindblad into the top eight of the championship standings, while Verschoor maintained his lead despite a non-score in the sprint.

Full Classification from the Imola sprint

1	Jak Crawford	DAMS Lucas Oil
2	Arvid Lindblad	Campos Racing
3	Luke Browning	Hitech TGR
4	Victor Martins	ART Grand Prix
5	Alex Dunne	Rodin Motorsport
6	Ritomo Miyata	ART Grand Prix
7	Leonardo Fornaroli	Invicta Racing
8	Roman Stanek	Invicta Racing
9	Sebastian Montoya	Prema Racing
10	Oliver Goethe	MP Motorsport
11	Joshua Durksen	AIX Racing
12	Dino Beganovic	Hitech TGR
13	Kush Maini	DAMS Lucas Oil
14	Rafael Villagomez	Van Amersfoort Racing
15	Pepe Marti	Campos Racing
16	Gabriele Mini	Prema Racing
17	Max Esterson	Trident
18	Cian Shields	AIX Racing
19	John Bennett	Van Amersfoort Racing
20	Amaury Cordeel	Rodin Motorsport
21	Sami Meguetounif	Trident
OUT	Richard Verschoor	MP Motorsport