With track temperatures hitting almost 50°C on Friday afternoon, tyre provider Pirelli opted for the soft and hard compound tyres for the race weekend in an attempt to mitigate tyre wear on a track that is typically less demanding on tyres.
F1 Free Practice
In his fourth Free Practice session of the season with the MoneyGram Haas Formula 1 Team - his home for the 2025 Formula 1 season - both Ollie and Kevin Magnussen struggled for pace.
Despite the drivers finishing the session P20 and P19 respectively, the sessions are crucial for Ollie’s growth and adaptation to the Formula 1 environment, setting the foundation for his future successes with the team.
Back in the Prema Racing car for the Formula 2 Practice, Ollie faced similar challenges, finishing 12th fastest.
Qualifying
Under the searing summer heat of central Europe, qualifying required precise tyre management as every driver pushed to get their car towards the top of the table.
A red flag caused by Josep Maria Marti’s spin at Turn 11 momentarily halted the session, with only ten minutes remaining when the cars returned to the track.
Ollie ended qualifying in P14, setting the stage for a fight through the field in the upcoming Sprint and Feature races.
Sprint Race
Starting from P14, Ollie had to navigate cooler temperatures on Saturday and a mix of tyre strategies, with some cars starting the race on the soft compound and others on the hard tyres. Gaining positions rapidly within the opening laps, Ollie moved up to P9 by Lap 3, benefiting from Gabriel Bortoleto’s struggles on the soft tyres.
A highlight of the race came on Lap 26 in Ollie’s wheel-to-wheel battle with Crawford and Correa at Turn 3 as they all battled for track position, showcasing Ollie's exceptional car control and composure. Ollie finished the race in P10.
Feature Race
Similar to the fantastic start he got in Silverstone two weeks before, Ollie launched himself into the top ten within the opening lap of the Feature Race, reaching P8 by Lap 3.
On Lap 7, a collision between Estonian racing driver Paul Aron and Barbadian driver Zane Maloney sent both drivers into a spin and prompted a Safety Car. This allowed Ollie, among other drivers starting on soft tyres, to pit for the hard compound and rejoin the race with minimal time loss.
Battling for position as the race continued, another Safety Car on Lap 22 brought other drivers into the Pits and allowed Ollie to climb to P8 for the restart. Unfortunately, the pace of Ollie’s Prema began to wane and intense competition saw him slip back down the ranks, ultimately finishing the race P15.
Looking Ahead
With Kevin Magnussen’s departure from the Moneygram Haas Formula 1 team at the end of the 2024 season, there is speculation going into the summer break about who will join Ollie at the American-based team.
As Ollie and the team look forward to building on the experiences from the season so far, fans can expect more action soon as Formula 2 heads to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium from 26-28 July.
