Formula 2 World Championship opens the second half of the season in England

This weekend, from July 5th to 7th, the Silverstone Circuit in England will host the third consecutive round of the Formula 2 World Championship. The 22 drivers on the grid have arrived in the UK after racing in Spain and, last week, Austria.

Coming off his first win in the category, Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto, who is also a test and development driver for the McLaren F1 team, arrived in Northamptonshire very excited. Experiencing a period of continuous growth and recovery in the Championship, the young driver from São Paulo is currently in third place in the standings after seven rounds.

Silverstone, along with Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Monza (Italy), and Monte Carlo (Monaco), is one of the most traditional tracks in the F2 championship. The circuit is 5.891 kilometers long, featuring 18 corners. Known for its high-speed characteristics, the average speed exceeds 210 km/h. The record is held by Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, set in 2019 with a time of 1m38.182s. This weekend’s races will consist of 21 laps for the Sprint Race and 29 laps for the Feature Race.

With technical support from the Invicta Racing team, Bortoleto arrived at the circuit on Thursday and participated in the track walk. He held meetings with the engineers to define strategies and his approach for the upcoming sessions. As is often the case in England, weather conditions were unpredictable, and Friday was no exception. It rained during the only free practice session scheduled for the weekend, so Gabriel and his team decided to conduct some tests without worrying about setting fast laps.

The qualifying session took place a few hours later. Gabriel maintained a good pace and was consistently among the fastest on the track. However, this time, without a setup that allowed him to fight directly for pole position, he secured the sixth spot with a time of 1m39.801s. This result placed him in sixth on the grid for the Feature Race (Sunday) and fifth for the Sprint Race (Saturday).

“I can say that we did the best we could today at Silverstone. It rained shortly before our qualifying session, making the track not only treacherous but also improving with each lap. I achieved a good position for both starts, from the third row. We are in a position to fight for the podium in both races and, more importantly, to score significant points for the Championship. Let’s go for it,” said the young driver sponsored by McLaren, Banco BRB, Porto, Ebury, Snapdragon, and Barthelemy.

Check the race schedule below, with live broadcast on Band Sports:

Saturday:
09:15 – 10:00 – Sprint Race

Sunday:
05:55 – 07:00 – Feature Race

Pictures: James Gasperotti | Disclosure