# 2018 Silverstone Formula 2 round

The 2018 Silverstone FIA Formula 2 round was a pair of motor races held on 7 and 8 July 2018 at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, United Kingdom as part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It was the seventh round of the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship and ran in support of the 2018 British Grand Prix.
ART Grand Prix driver George Russell entered the round with a ten-point lead over Lando Norris in the drivers' championship. In the teams' championship, Carlin held a twenty-seven point lead over ART Grand Prix.
This round was also notable for a collision at the end of the sprint race involving Trident teammates Arjun Maini and Santino Ferrucci. Ferrucci was deemed to have deliberately hit the back of Maini's car on the cooldown lap, and he was then banned for the next two rounds by the FIA. He was then sacked from Trident ten days later due to sponsorship issues, and his replacement would be their GP3 Series driver Alessio Lorandi.

## Report
### Background

The round saw the continued use of rolling starts following a series of drivers stalling on the grid in previous rounds. The procedure was introduced at the previous round in response to a start-line accident in a Formula 3 race that saw a driver crash into a car that had stalled on the grid.
The circuit featured three Drag Reduction System (DRS) zones. The two used in previous years—positioned on the Wellington and Hangar Straights—returned, with a third zone placed on the main straight. As DRS is deactivated when the driver brakes, drivers were able to use the system through the Abbey and Farm corners as these corners could be taken flat-out when the car is low on fuel. This brought increased risk as DRS reduces drag by reducing downforce, with aerodynamic grip improving the car's ability to take corners at speed. Drivers were able to manually deactivate DRS before the corners if they were unable or unwilling to take the corner without the use of DRS. The race marked the first time that drivers were able to use DRS through corners.

## Classification
### Qualifying

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| 1 | 8 | George Russell | ART Grand Prix | 1:39.989 | – | 1 |
| 2 | 5 | Alexander Albon | DAMS | 1:40.065 | +0.076 | 2 |
| 3 | 21 | Antonio Fuoco | Charouz Racing System | 1:40.094 | +0.105 | 3 |
| 4 | 20 | Louis Delétraz | Charouz Racing System | 1:40.190 | +0.201 | 4 |
| 5 | 18 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Carlin | 1:40.234 | +0.245 | 5 |
| 6 | 19 | Lando Norris | Carlin | 1:40.396 | +0.407 | 6 |
| 7 | 16 | Arjun Maini | Trident | 1:40.512 | +0.523 | 7 |
| 8 | 1 | Artem Markelov | Russian Time | 1:40.590 | +0.601 | 8 |
| 9 | 14 | Luca Ghiotto | Campos Vexatec Racing | 1:40.707 | +0.718 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | Maximilian Günther | BWT Arden | 1:40.786 | +0.797 | 10 |
| 11 | 4 | Nyck de Vries | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 1:40.847 | +0.858 | 11 |
| 12 | 7 | Jack Aitken | ART Grand Prix | 1:40.863 | +0.874 | 12 |
| 13 | 9 | Roberto Merhi | MP Motorsport | 1:40.994 | +1.005 | 13 |
| 14 | 10 | Ralph Boschung | MP Motorsport | 1:41.031 | +1.042 | 14 |
| 15 | 3 | Sean Gelael | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 1:41.052 | +1.063 | 15 |
| 16 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 1:41.061 | +1.072 | 16 |
| 17 | 17 | Santino Ferrucci | Trident | 1:41.414 | +1.425 | 17 |
| 18 | 2 | Tadasuke Makino | Russian Time | 1:41.493 | +1.504 | 18 |
| 19 | 12 | Nirei Fukuzumi | BWT Arden | 1:42.081 | +2.092 | 19 |
| 20 | 15 | Roy Nissany | Campos Vexatec Racing | 2:13.133 | +33.144 | 20 |
| Source: |||||||

### Feature race

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 5 | Alexander Albon | DAMS | 29 | 52:04.519 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | 8 | George Russell | ART Grand Prix | 29 | +9.783 | 1 | 18 (6) |
| 3 | 21 | Antonio Fuoco | Charouz Racing System | 29 | +18.507 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 20 | Louis Delétraz | Charouz Racing System | 29 | +26.689 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 14 | Luca Ghiotto | Campos Vexatec Racing | 29 | +27.016 | 9 | 10 |
| 6 | 1 | Artem Markelov | Russian Time | 29 | +27.107 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | 4 | Nyck de Vries | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 29 | +28.034 | 11 | 6 |
| 8 | 11 | Maximilian Günther | BWT Arden | 29 | +34.020 | 10 | 4 |
| 9 | 10 | Ralph Boschung | MP Motorsport | 29 | +37.227 | 14 | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Lando Norris | Carlin | 29 | +39.620 | 6 | 1 |
| 11 | 9 | Roberto Merhi | MP Motorsport | 29 | +39.971 | 13 | |
| 12 | 2 | Tadasuke Makino | Russian Time | 29 | +40.131 | 18 | |
| 13 | 7 | Jack Aitken | ART Grand Prix | 29 | +42.930 | 12 | |
| 14 | 16 | Arjun Maini | Trident | 29 | +54.855 | 7 | |
| 15 | 15 | Roy Nissany | Campos Vexatec Racing | 29 | +58.064 | 20 | |
| 16 | 17 | Santino Ferrucci | Trident | 29 | +59.394 | 17 | |
| 17 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 29 | +59.764 | 16 | |
| DNF | 18 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Carlin | 23 | Engine | 5 | |
| DNF | 3 | Sean Gelael | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 20 | Collision | 15 | |
| DNF | 12 | Nirei Fukuzumi | BWT Arden | 13 | Electrics | 19 | |
| Fastest lap: George Russell (ART Grand Prix) 1:44.448 (on lap 28) ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – George Russell had five seconds added to his race time for speeding in the pit lane.
* ^2 – Jack Aitken had ten seconds added to his race time; five for speeding in the pit lane and five for a VSC infringement.
* ^3 – Santino Ferrucci had five seconds added to his race time for forcing Arjun Maini off the circuit.

### Sprint race

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 11 | Maximilian Günther | BWT Arden | 21 | 37:09.802 | 1 | 15 |
| 2 | 8 | George Russell | ART Grand Prix | 21 | +0.520 | 7 | 12 (2) |
| 3 | 19 | Lando Norris | Carlin | 21 | +2.504 | 10 | 10 |
| 4 | 1 | Artem Markelov | Russian Time | 21 | +9.924 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | 20 | Louis Delétraz | Charouz Racing System | 21 | +12.005 | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | 4 | Nyck de Vries | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 21 | +13.929 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | 5 | Alexander Albon | DAMS | 21 | +14.006 | 8 | 2 |
| 8 | 10 | Ralph Boschung | MP Motorsport | 21 | +14.684 | 9 | 1 |
| 9 | 9 | Roberto Merhi | MP Motorsport | 21 | +16.487 | 11 | |
| 10 | 14 | Luca Ghiotto | Campos Vexatec Racing | 21 | +18.051 | 4 | |
| 11 | 2 | Tadasuke Makino | Russian Time | 21 | +19.632 | 12 | |
| 12 | 7 | Jack Aitken | ART Grand Prix | 21 | +23.653 | 13 | |
| 13 | 16 | Arjun Maini | Trident | 21 | +24.040 | 14 | |
| 14 | 15 | Roy Nissany | Campos Vexatec Racing | 21 | +32.165 | 15 | |
| 15 | 3 | Sean Gelael | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 21 | +33.318 | 19 | |
| 16 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 21 | +34.042 | 17 | |
| 17 | 18 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Carlin | 21 | +47.912 | 18 | |
| DNF | 21 | Antonio Fuoco | Charouz Racing System | 14 | Collision | 6 | |
| DNS | 12 | Nirei Fukuzumi | BWT Arden | 0 | Transmission | 20 | |
| DSQ | 17 | Santino Ferrucci | Trident | 21 | Disqualified | 16 | |
| Fastest lap: Sérgio Sette Câmara (Carlin) 1:43.318 (on lap 14) ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – Luca Ghiotto received a 5-second time penalty for failing to maintain the minimum delta time at the end of the virtual safety car period.
* ^2 – Santino Ferrucci has been disqualified from the Sprint race and banned for the next two rounds by the FIA following collision with teammate Arjun Maini.
* ^3 – Sérgio Sette Câmara set the fastest lap in the race but because he finished outside the top 10, the two bonus points for fastest lap went to George Russell as he set the fastest lap inside the top 10 finishers.

## Championship standings after the round

| | Pos. | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | George Russell | 170 |
| | 2 | Lando Norris | 133 |
| 1 | 3 | Alexander Albon | 115 |
| 1 | 4 | Artem Markelov | 110 |
| 1 | 5 | Antonio Fuoco | 97 |
| | Pos. | Team | Points |
| 1 | 1 | ART Grand Prix | 219 |
| 1 | 2 | Carlin | 219 |
| | 3 | Charouz Racing System | 159 |
| | 4 | DAMS | 149 |
| | 5 | Russian Time | 128 |