Jak Crawford, an 18-year-old American and former Red Bull Racing junior with a win in Formula 2 and experience in Formula 3, is starting his second F2 season with DAMS and has joined Aston Martin’s talent program after being released by Red Bull, despite a successful first F2 season and acknowledging the high pressure and expectations from the Red Bull Junior Team and Helmut Marko.
Highlights
‣ Jak Crawford, a former Red Bull Racing junior and race winner in Formula 2, has been recruited by Aston Martin after leaving the Red Bull Junior Team.
‣ Despite being dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2023, Crawford had a successful first year in Formula 2, securing a win and four podium finishes for the Hitech team.
‣ Crawford discusses the intense pressure and high expectations placed on drivers in the Red Bull Junior Team, highlighting Helmut Marko’s notoriously demanding approach.
‣ For the 2024 season, Crawford will start his second season in Formula 2 with a new team, DAMS, and join Aston Martin’s talent programme, indicating a promising continuation of his racing career.
Jak Crawford’s journey is nothing short of a rollercoaster. With a Formula 2 race win under his belt and a solid two-year stint in Formula 3, this former Red Bull Racing junior is eyeing the big leagues. At just 18, he’s gearing up for his second season in F2. And guess what? Aston Martin has scooped him up, as per Racer.com. Quite the move, huh?
Now, Crawford’s story took a twist at the end of 2023. Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, known for his tough love, decided it was time to part ways with the young talent. Despite this, Crawford didn’t exactly have a rough first year in Formula 2. He bagged a win and landed on the podium four times with the Hitech team. Not too shabby, right?
“I feel like I’m in a good spot,” Crawford mused. It’s kinda funny, he thinks, being dropped by Red Bull at 18 after a four-year stint. “But hey, it’s a fresh start for me. Less pressure,” he added, sounding hopeful yet a tad bewildered.
### Former Red Bull junior spills the beans on Marko
Ah, the Red Bull Junior Team. It’s like a pressure cooker for young racers, thanks to Helmut Marko’s infamous high standards. “The pressure, the expectations – it’s intense,” Crawford shared. Marko’s faith in his drivers is a double-edged sword. “You dread the bad weekends because you know that call from Helmut might just be around the corner,” he said, half-jokingly.
Marko’s feedback? Brutally honest. “Sometimes, it feels a bit much. But then again, it’s not the worst thing,” Crawford reflected. His time with Marko was brief but impactful, to say the least.
2024 is a new chapter for Crawford. He’s joining DAMS for his second F2 season and dabbling in a new training program post-Red Bull. The word on the street (or rather, Racer.com) is that it’s Aston Martin’s talent program. Talk about a plot twist!
