Jak Crawford’s second F2 season saw a huge step up for the American driver. His consistency and talent pulled him from a 13th-place finish in 2023 to fifth place in his 2024 Formula 2 season.
Alongside signing with the Aston Martin Development Driver programme ahead of the 2024 season, Crawford’s switch from Hitech Pulse-Eight to DAMS Lucas Oil seemed to start an upward trajectory for the American that he’ll hope to build on in 2025.
Strong start
Jak Crawford began the 2024 F2 season with an impressive start. In Bahrain the American qualified tenth, setting him in prime position to collect an early podium. Starting on pole for the sprint race he was passed by Zane Maloney but managed to hold his second place.
With a podium so early on in the season, it was a sign of the consistent level Crawford would find himself at for the majority of the season.
Bahrain’s feature race didn’t follow the same success, with Crawford finding himself out of the race after stalling at the line. However, his DNF was one of only four throughout the 28-race season.
His strong performance immediately resumed following his unlucky DNF. Jeddah was a double points finish for Crawford, with a fifth in the sprint race and a fourth in the feature.
He took the fastest lap and tenth place in Melbourne, and seventh in Imola. In both sprint races, he finished just outside of the points but his performance was increasingly consistent.
Lowest and highest point of the season
His worst weekend came in the form of the Monaco Grand Prix. With the split qualifying groups, Crawford found himself starting in 17th for both races. He made his way up the grid in the sprint race to 13th but was just shy of any points.
Equally, the feature race didn’t go his way collecting damage after a collision took him out of the race. It was his first weekend of the season with no points, one of only two weekends all season.
However, his luck immediately shifted as he entered his most successful weekend of the season. Barcelona was a strong start for both DAMS drivers, with Crawford qualifying fourth.
Despite starting the sprint race in eighth, he managed to fight his way forward through the pack. Narrowly missing out on a podium, finishing fourth. However, starting the feature race further up the grid there was a chance for more.
Jak Crawford took his maiden F2 feature race win in Barcelona, with his teammate in third behind Colapinto. The double podium for the team was a great success and the win was a sign of Crawford’s work throughout the season.
After Barcelona, Crawford began an incredibly competitive run, taking four more podiums. The American had only four races without points in the final 14 races of the season.
Teammate comparison
Jak Crawford also finished the season as the more successful teammate between him and Juan Manuel Correa.
Correa had five-point finishes in the 24 races he participated in. Meanwhile, Crawford had one win, five podiums, 13 other point finishes and just nine races where he was outside of the points.
It is hard to tell if Crawford was outperforming the DAMS machinery or Correa was hit with bad luck but what is clear was Crawford’s ability to find himself consistently in the points during such a volatile and competitive season was impressive.
He stays with DAMS for 2025 and will no doubt be hoping to get himself in the title fight.
