F2 Talk: Was Silverstone the End of De Vries’ Dominance or Cementing his Ability

Formula 2 last weekend was the story of two teams; UNI-Virtuosi Racing and DAMS. Qualifying and the opening race saw them in a league of their own with the British-based Virtuosi coming out on top at the end of the Feature Race, with Luca Ghiotto crossing the line.

Ghiotto’s back and forth with Nicholas Latifi proved the highlight of the opening race, as both looked to maximise a weekend in which championship leader Nyck De Vries could not keep up with the leaders, instead proving to be best of the rest. While the Dutchman did score a podium in the reverse race, it would be home driver Jack Aitken who took the honours at Silverstone.

Qualifying had seen DAMS quickly go 1-2 with championship protagonist Nicholas Latifi leading the way until both DAMS lowered the benchmark as rookie Guan Yu Zhou secured the first pole for a Chinese driver, setting a 1min 38.182. With Ghiotto joining him on the front row and Sergio Sette Camara bettering his lap to go third, just 0.021 seconds split first to fourth.

UNI-Virtuosi vs DAMS

Despite being just a rookie, Zhou has been mixing it with the title contenders and while the championship would be a big leap for the Chinese driver, pole and a third on Saturday has gone a long way to raising his stock, especially against his incredbly experienced teammate Ghiotto.

Ghiotto had the edge on Saturday, pulling ahead into the first corner as Latifi made it past his teammate for third. Zhou continued to show his strength up until the pitstop phase, remaining in the DRS range of Ghiotto as UNI / DAMS / Carlin made up a Noah’s Ark order. It proved the first time this season we’ve seen the Chinese driver match his teammate on raw pace and is incouraging for the rookie moving into the second half of the season.

The second half of the race would prove less kind as Latifi beat Zhou off the blocks in the pitlane, putting in a stellar out lap to catch up to Ghiotto when he pit a lap later. The Italian got out in front, but what followed was a smartly timed move from the Canadian, who got the run down the Wellington Straight and forcing Ghiotto to take the defensive line, cutting back before Luffield. It was top quality racing from two of the series most experienced drivers. Latifi would lose the lead two laps later when the UNI-Virtuosi driver made the most of his now warm tyres to get the run into Stowe. All of it without contact, unlike in their parent category.

Luca went on to win the race with Latifi 3.3 seconds behind. A third top-two in a row brought him 38 points behind De Vries and back into contention after his double retirement and disqualification in Monaco and France earlier in the year. Zhou would complete the podium, but dropping into the clutches of Sette Camara in the second DAMS will be frustrating for the 20-year-old who had been the fastest driver on Friday.

Camara’s race was more unnoticed than the leaders, though his result keeps him in title contention, also securing the fastest lap. Sadly for the Brazilian, a failure to score in the reverse grid race saw him drop 4 points to De Vries over the whole weekend.

Damage Limitation for De Vries

In 2018, after securing the championship lead thanks to some spectacular performances allowed him to win in 4 of the first 6 rounds, George Russell failed to win until Italy (not winning a feature race until the season finale.) During this time rival Alexander Albon secured three wins and three further podiums. However; come the end of the year, Russell was still champion and Lando Norris, who had only won the season opener, beat Albon to second.

Why? Consistency and damage limitation during bad weekends.

“I think all in all it’s been a very tough weekend for us. Both races were very intense towards the end. Early in the race I was just counting down almost and still trying to hold on and keep up the pace.” – Nyck De Vries, on Silverstone.

Returning to 2019 and history looks to be repeating itself with yet another ART Grand Prix driver; Nyck de Vries. It’s no surprise that Silverstone was a tough round for the Dutchman, clearly not having the outright speed of the top five, yet still recorded a respectable sixth in adverse conditions, before hanging on for a podium in the reverse grid event. The Red Bull Ring last round was similar as De Vries scored two third places.

This consistency has helped him save his lead in the standings and with the dominant Ghiotto forced to change his tyres in the second race and failing to score a point, De Vries holds a 31 point gap to Latifi who could only manage fifth in the second race. Silverstone has proven De Vries championship credentials not through his skills and pace, but through his ability to not drop the ball when the pressures on.

Aitken Back in Play on Home Turf

The biggest proof that De Vries did not have the edge this weekend was in his battles with Jack Aitken. The Brit had not shone on Friday, but was the only one of the non-DAMS / Virtuosi’s to beat the ART driver, as both benefitted from a dire pitstop for the Carlin’s.

Aitken would pass De Vries into Village, outbraking him in the latter stages as he made the most of the new tyres. The reverse grid race saw the same course of action play out as Aitken, having made a lightning start, passed De Vries for second going onto the second lap. De Vries would nudge the back of him, but the Campos Racing driver was through.

While even Aitken couldn’t hold a candle to Ghiotto and co on Saturday, by Sunday he was the man on a mission. Despite starting fourth, Aitken was quickly into third as polesitter Callum Ilott dropped down the field. Having made it past De Vries he chased down Louis Deletraz, hoping to make a mends for the pitstop failure on Saturday that cost him and Nobuharu Matsushita a top six finish.

Without pitstops to contend with, Aitken tracked down the leader on raw pace, making the most of the DRS activation on the Wellington Straight. The Campos driver lined up the Swiss into Brooklands, making a late lunge to the inside and holding off the Carlin driver around the outside of Luffield. Aitken’s victory is Campos’ first since Baku, incidently another race in which he worked his way to the front from a disadvantaged postion.

This racecraft is encouraging for the 23-year-old, especially in his championship asperations, though as the Brit gets older, pressure will be on him to deliver, should he wish to progress from the Renault Sport Acedemy, which he left for this season. Though with spaces (especially at Renault) limited, Aitken may be better of continuing to learn throughout 2019 as he prepares for a 2020 challenge when a seat may be available.

Silverstone Setting the Stage for Remainder of the Season

Aitken isn’t the only front runner who used to be contracted to an F1 team. Nyck De Vries left McLaren for 2019 to concentrate on Audi Sport duties. It’s an interesting decision as he’s yet to commit to LMP2 or Audi, suggesting there is still hope for an F1 slot. However with McLaren confirming that Norris and Sainz will stay for another season, De Vries may change attitude in the second half, especially if the title has no significance to his future career.

De Vries’ Development role at McLaren was effectively taken by Sette Camara, who was previously a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. While McLaren’s door has shut, the Brazilian’s previous connection with Red Bull might be enough to earn him a Toro Rosso seat. With Jack Doohan and Juri Vips now performing in F3, 2019 could be a final chance for Camara to break into F1 and as a result will likely be the most determined to succeed.

Determination does not equal likelyhood though. The one driver on every F1 fans lips for a 2020 seat is Nicholas Latifi. The Canadian has had a late blooming career and three wins from the first five races put him out in front. The DAMS driver has struggled since Monaco, with his second place at Silverstone his only podium in four rounds. Latifi though could be more confident with his future.

“The past three rounds have been quite difficult. It’s even more frustrating because it was only in one of them that I just didn’t have the pace to fight for the podium and the win, and that was actually the one where I ended up scoring the most points out of all the previous three rounds” – Nicholas Latifi

As the Williams Test and Reserve driver he’s tipped to replace the ailing Robert Kubica next season and a championship victory will go a long way to legitimising his promotion. It’s not necessary though. Latifi has previously tested for Force India / Racing Point and his father invested £200 million to the McLaren Group in 2018. His connections spread all around the F1 paddock and even if Williams is not his final destination, a spot in F1 could soon open up for the Canadian, irrespective of his results this season.

Silverstone was the first time this season that a French team (ART GP and DAMS) has failed to win. Perhaps an indication that momentum is now turning towards UNI-Virtuosi and their protagonists Luca Ghiotto and Guan Yu Zhou.

Ghiotto meanwhile is the only front runner with no such connection. A test for Williams in 2017 remains his only link to F1 and he has the most to gain with a championship victory. If De Vries faulters in his charge this season, the Italian could quickly earn a promotion, though history suggests that this is unlikely.

As a result, the front runners with the most to gain is the two Renault Sport Academy rookies of Guan Yu Zhou and Anthione Hubert sitting sixth and seventh in the standings. They’re struggle to keep up with Ghiotto, Latifi and De Vries all in their third and fourth seasons, is unsurprising, though with only 17 points seperating third place Ghiotto and Zhou an upset could still be on the cards for the Chinese-backed team.

The next round is at the Hungaroring on 3-4 August.