After securing important victories in previous rounds, Jak Crawford faced a more challenging weekend in Barcelona, where he was unable to replicate his recent performances and finished off the podium. In an interview given this Thursday (26) to Inside F2, the driver reflected honestly on the factors that contributed to the result and was clear in pointing out the main focus for the upcoming rounds: qualifying performance.
“I think the main thing that we want to improve is qualifying,” Crawford stated. “Actually, my qualifying hasn’t been great the last couple of rounds. Some of it was not in my control, but I haven’t qualified higher than seventh in the triple-header, so that’s the main target — to improve qualifying.”
For the driver, this limitation has been hurting not only his chances of isolated victories but also his ability to establish a sequence of solid results — something essential in a long and competitive Formula 2 season. He acknowledged that starting races from the middle of the grid, especially on high-degradation tracks like Barcelona, significantly complicates any attempt to fight for top positions.
“Qualifying puts you in a great spot for Sunday when there are a lot of points,” he explained. “Your life becomes a bit difficult when you have to fight through the field on Sunday, and you kind of know that starting from seventh or eighth, you’re not going to fight directly for the win — unless, you know, kind of a miracle happens.”
Despite the qualifying struggles, Crawford remains fully confident in the car’s performance during races. He stressed that the team has consistently shown strong race pace, which reinforces that the real challenge now lies in unlocking that potential earlier in the weekend. “We’ve been really, really strong in the races with race pace and stuff like that, so I have no doubt there,” he said. “So yeah — qualifying.”
He made it clear that this is the key to ensuring consistency in the fight for top positions. “It’s all about qualifying now,” he emphasized. “We know we have the pace to be at the front — we just need to make sure we’re starting from there too.”
The challenge now is to turn that analysis into concrete action — transforming good races into great weekends and, above all, making victories more than just isolated moments, but part of a consistent campaign toward the top of the standings.
Track action begins on Friday at 11:05 a.m. (local time) with Free Practice, followed by Qualifying at 3:55 p.m. On Saturday, the Sprint Race lights go out at 2:15 p.m. for 28 intense laps. The weekend wraps up on Sunday with the Feature Race at 10:00 a.m., with 40 laps promising high drama all the way to the chequered flag.
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