Formula 2: Leclerc overcomes engine issue to take fourth Feature win at Silverstone

Charles Leclerc overcame a mid-race engine issue to take his fourth Formula 2 Feature Race win at Silverstone, extending his lead in the driver's championship to 63 points.

Speed of Leclerc proves too much 

Leclerc was leading comfortably from pole when, on the lap before his pit-stop, smoke began to pour from the rear of the Prema Powerteam car. 

The Monegasque driver continued round to the pits, with fuel and oil leaking from the car,  where mechanics fitted the Hard compound Pirelli tyre and sent Leclerc on his way. 

He encountered no further mechanical issues on his way to his fourth Feature win of the season, although his left wing mirror did fall off late on whilst driving through the Hanger Straight. 

Norman Nato followed Leclerc home to take second, after a race long battle with Oliver Rowland. 

The  Arden International of Nato got a better start than Rowland's DAMS, and the British driver then spent the whole race trying to find a way past, to no avail. 

By lap six, Leclerc was leading by 6.2 seconds, when Nato and Rowland opted to pit to switch to the Hard tyres to go the end of the race, which was only 28 laps long, as Nyck de Vries's car failure on the grid led to the race being shortened by one lap. 

Two laps later, Rowland tried to pass Nato into Brooklands and Woodcote but was not successful and lost an extra three points to Leclerc in the standings. 

Battles for the points

Artem Markelov made a fast start, and was able to come home fourth ahead of a season's best result for Sergio Canamasas in the Rapax in fifth. 

Luca Ghiotto was sixth, having made good moves up the inside of Nicholas Latifi and Jordan King at The Loop and Village. 

Latifi was eighth quickest, and so will start tomorrow's Sprint Race on Reverse Grid Pole.

The final two points paying positions were taken by Sean Gelael and Nobuharu Matsushita, who took two extra points for fastest lap of the race.

ART Grand Prix's Matsushita was also the only to run the alternate strategy, start on hard tyres and then switch to softs to finish in the points, one place ahead of Ralph Boschung who also used this strategy. 

While Leclerc was busy doing what Leclerc does, Prema team-mate Antonio Fuoco had another bad day, coming home a lowly 16th, ahead of F2 debutant Callum Ilott, who was a lap down.