The new FIA Formula 2 season begins at Sakhir this weekend with its biggest-ever calendar and a 22-car field, more than half of which are affiliated with Formula 1 teams.
Red Bull have the biggest prominence on the grid, with Jehan Jaruvala, Liam Lawson and Juri Vips joined by newcomers Ayumu Iwasa and Dennis Hauger, the latter having won the FIA Formula 3 title last year.
After seeing a successful crop of drivers race in F2 in recent seasons, Ferrari have none of its juniors in the field this year, while Alpine have two in the form of Oli Caldwell and Jack Doohan (who has switched from the Red Bull programme) and Mercedes are represented by Frederick Vesti. Predicting who will succeed Oscar Piasti as champion is not straightforward, and it could be one of the most wide-open title battles in years.
What’s new in 2022?
In an increase from a traditional 24-race championship, this season is expected to include 28 races, spread across 14 rounds, with a return to the two races per weekend format used until the end of 2020.
Zandvoort will host F2 for the first time after the planned visit in 2020 was cancelled amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, as will Imola, which hosted races in 2005 and 2006 when the series was in its infancy as GP2.
The penultimate round in Sochi has been dropped in line with the cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix, due to the war in Ukraine. While there are currently 13 scheduled rounds, a replacement venue for Sochi is expected to be announced in due course.
The weekend format hasn’t entirely returned to what it was prior to last season, with the feature race remaining on Sunday mornings, the starting grid determined by a qualifying session on Friday. A single sprint race will take place on Saturday, with the top-10 positions from qualifying reversed in forming the grid.
While the points format for the feature races remains the same – with 25 points awarded for a win – there has been a significant change to the sprint races. 10 points will be earned for a win, which is five less than previously, with 8,6,5,4,3 and 1 points handed out to the rest of the top eight finishers.
Points for the fastest time in qualifying have been halved to two this year, and there will be the addition of a point for fastest lap in both the sprint and feature races, providing the driver finishes within the top 10.
The field
Prema
Defending champions Prema will field the reigning F3 champion for the third year in a row, with Denis Hauger remaining with the team for the step up to F2. Emulating the feat of the super-talented Piastri, who won the F2 crown in his rookie season last year, will be no easy task. It was in his second season in F3 that Hauger delivered, so it might not be so easy for him to be a title-challenger straight away at this level. But, having also won the highly-competitive Italian F4 series in 2019, he has a CV to be taken seriously. Hauger is joined by fellow Red Bull junior Jehan Daruvala, who makes the switch from Carlin, where he won three races across two seasons in F2. Having been overshadowed by his team-mates in both of those campaigns, he will need to find more consistency to be a serious contender this term.
Virtuosi
Having been title contenders in the previous two seasons, Virtuosi also have an all-new lineup. Jack Doohan, the son of five-time 500cc motorcycle world champion Mick, impressed on his F2 debut at the end of last season and could be one to watch. That was on the back of a strong run to second behind Hauger in F3. Marino Sato has switched from Trident, where he struggled to 22nd and 21st overall in the last two seasons, for this third campaign. He will be looking to rediscover the form that helped him dominate in Eurofomula Open in 2019.
Carlin
Carlin sport an exciting lineup as they aim to put up another challenge to Prema and Virtuosi. Red Bull junior Liam Lawson makes the move from Hitech, where he impressed in his rookie campaign last year. He topped last week’s three-day test at Sakhir, scene of his maiden win last season, so the Kiwi will start as one of the favourites at the opening round. American Logan Sergeant, who was added to the Williams development driver programme last year, has enjoyed two solid years in FIA F3, taking third overall with Prema in 2020. With one round of F2 under his belt from the end of last season, Sergeant will hope he can hit form straightaway.
Hitech GP
Juri Vips has been part of the Red Bull programme for a few years, and showed his talent in his first-full season of F2 last year, with a superb double-victory in Baku. A dip in form and some bad luck dimmed a potential title challenge, but remaining with Hitech should give the Estonian the platform to be a leading contender from the start. Marcus Armstrong will be looking to bounce back this year after two difficult seasons in F2 and being dropped from the Ferrari Academy. A first win at the penultimate round last year will give him confidence, having been denied by reliability issues on a couple of occasions.
ART
Inconsistent performances have hampered ART over the last couple of seasons, but a strong pairing could put them back into contention this term. Had it not been for Piastri’s stunning campaign, Theo Pourchaire would have been last year’s best rookie. A remarkable weekend in Monaco, where he became both the youngest-ever polesitter and race-winner, elevated the Frenchman to the status of future star. With a season under his belt and remaining at ART, Pourchaire will be aiming to fight for the title this season. Alongside him is 2020 Formula Regional European Championship Frederick Vesti, who finished fourth in each of the last two seasons of F3.
MP Motorsport
After struggling at Virtuosi last year, Felipe Drugovich returns to the team where he scored three wins and a pole position during an impressive rookie campaign in 2020. Having won the Euroformula Open title in 2018, the Brazilian undoubtedly has the speed, which he will be hoping to rediscover this year in order to add to his victory tally. Alongside him is 2019 BRDC British F3 champion Clement Novalak, who finished third in FIA F3 last year. The French-Swiss driver is known for being a consistent racer, which should stand him in good stead with F2’s format.
Campos
The popular Spanish team has retained F2 veteran Ralph Boschung, who finished 10th overall last year, and will be entering his fifth-full season in the series. The Swiss pilot will be aiming to continue where he left off at the end of last year, having scored his first two podium finishes across the final two rounds. Oli Caldwell also stays with the team following two appearances towards the end of last term, having finished 8th for Prema in F3.
DAMS
Williams test driver Roy Nissany is back for a fourth season of F2, remaining with the team with which he scored a maiden podium in Monaco last year. Red Bull protege Ayuma Iwasa will race alongside him, the Japanese racer making his debut at this level after winning the French F4 championship in 2020 and finishing 12th in F3 last year.
Trident
After impressing during a bit-part campaign with MP Motorsport and Charouz last year, Richard Verschoor has moved to Trident for his second season in the series. Adding to his win in Hungary last year won’t be easy in a team that last were victorious in 2016 (when the series was called GP2). Calan Williams will make the step up to F2 after finishing 19th and 31st in the last two seasons of F3 with Jenzer Motorsport.
Charouz
Enzo Fittipaldi remains with the team, having recovered from his leg-breaking startline crash in Jeddah last year, after stepping up to F2 halfway through the campaign. The 2018 Italian F4 champion had scored a best result of 7th before his season was curtailed, showing he has the ability to perform at this level. Cem Bolukbasi will be making his series debut, after finishing 5th in Euroformula Open last year.
Van Amersfoort Racing
The Dutch team is making its F2 bow this season, having been a strong presence in single-seater racing for many years. The team steered Ollie Bearman to both the ADAC and Italian F4 championships last season, with Hauger winning the latter championship with them in 2019. The team have called upon the experienced Jake Hughes for its maiden campaign, the Briton embarking on his first full F2 season after two appearances across 2020 and 2019, and was a race-winner in F3 in 2020. 2018 Spanish F4 champion Amaury Cordeel makes the step up from F3, where he finished 23rd overall last year.
All images courtesy of fiaformula2.com
