Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Jak Crawford credits the set-up changes between runs for his first Formula 2 pole since 2023 in a hectic ending to qualifying in Jeddah.
The DAMS driver was down in 14th and 0.675 seconds off provisional pole after the conclusion of the field’s first runs.
However, the adjustments made to the car before heading back out propelled him to clock what he described on the radio as “the greatest lap I’ve ever done in my life”.
The American felt “one of the strongest” in free practice, and so was disappointed when he returned to the pits after his first run in qualifying.
“I was seven tenths off the pace, and we had a red flag on my first push [on the second run]. So I said: it’s not going to be our day, and I’m going to do my best and try to bring home a top 10. And just everything came together.
“The changes we made between the two runs, the lap was really good as well. And then when I crossed the line, I couldn’t believe my eyes the laptime I saw. It came together quite perfectly there at the end,” he told media including Formula Scout.
Crawford, who “felt quite on it straight away in qualifying”, put his performance gain between runs “down to the changes on the car”.
“I was quite shocked when I was [P14] on the first run,” he admitted. “I knew what to do driving-wise for the second round, how to improve slightly. And I think the biggest step was with the car. We made the right changes, we got everything in the right window, and when that happens, it’s going to be a good qualifying session.”
He then added: “On the first run, the grip felt really poor and I only improved I think it was one tenth between my second and first push. So we were not in the right window. We did plan ahead for this actually, so we were ready to make a change in case this was happening, this certain scenario. And we did that and it worked out perfectly. So thanks to the team.
“Obviously, we want to be there on the first run, but still we managed to put it together at the end.”
Despite being “dead last in the pitlane”, Crawford nailed the preparation lap and got “a bunch of clean space”, which “was exactly what I needed” to top the charts.
Track conditions and his grid position are going to make the sprint and the feature “two very different races”.
“These pole points are the first points I’ve gotten this year. So I want to just put some points on the board and have a good result. And then on Sunday, we want to make use of the clean air. Especially in a high-speed track like this, clean air is king if you can just drive alone in free air.”