As the sole British driver on the grid for the Formula 2 race at Silverstone, Ollie had the home crowd on his side and was eager to make his mark on his favourite track.
The support for Ollie extended beyond the spectators in the stands. Aventum staff, clients and sponsors came together to rally behind their rising star, forming a formidable force of encouragement. Sporting vibrant red hats, branded t-shirts and donning red ponchos, a 70 strong swarm of supporters cheered Ollie on with unwavering enthusiasm throughout the weekend.
However, it being Silverstone, the weekend was not without its fair share of safety cars, downpours and racing drama.
Qualifying
Kicking off the weekend on a positive note, Ollie qualified fifth on Friday for Sunday’s Feature Race. Confident in the speed of his Prema car, Ollie was brimming with excitement to showcase his skills on the tarmac of Silverstone.
Sprint Race
Saturday’s Sprint started behind the safety car with heavy rain preceding the session. While the safety car did pull into the pits to let racing get underway, it was soon back on the track after Benavides was clipped by Novalak, spinning off the track.
When racing resumed on Lap 4, Ollie was on the charge, passing Pourchaire up into third position on the inside of Turn 3 before claiming second from Hadjar at Stowe. However, a spin on Lap 7 meant Ollie had it all to do as he tumbled down the order.
A fierce battle between Bearman and Doohan ensued as they fought for fourth place. Doohan eventually went wide at the exit of Stowe, accusing Ollie of pushing him off the track. Undeterred, Ollie continued his charge, overtaking Hadjar, before Doohan followed suit.
Closer still by Lap 17, Ollie ran wide at Vale allowing Doohan to pass, as Ollie rejoined the track in sixth position, where he finished the Sprint Race.
Feature Race
Iwasa led into Turn 1 with Martins running wide at the Loop and incurring a penalty in the process. Meanwhile, Ollie jumped from fifth to third in the opening lap, just 1.1s behind second place Iwasa by Lap 3.
With three safety cars deployed within four laps and Ollie’s Prema teammate, current championship leader Vesti, out of the race, the safety car period ended on Lap 15. On the restart, Ollie ran wide at Abbey, dropping down to 10th place, before losing out further as Fittipaldi suffered a similar fate.
Kush Maini soon attempted a move on Bearman but miscalculated and hit Boschung. Unfortunately, after finishing the race in 6th place as drivers ahead pitted under yet another safety car, Ollie was one of two drivers handed post-race penalties.
Ollie received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision. The stewards believed that the Prema driver was responsible for contact made with Maini, which resulted in both Maini and Boschung retiring from the Feature Race.
With the penalty taken into account, Ollie slid to eighth place in the final Silverstone classification, receiving four points from the Feature Race and three points for the Sprint Race.
