Campos Racing have confirmed Isack Hadjar and Josep Maria Marti as their driver line-up for the 2024 Formula 2 campaign.
Hadjar joins Campos for his second F2 campaign after completing his rookie season with Hitech Pulse-Eight. The Red Bull Junior driver secured a maiden podium result in 2023, finishing the Spielberg Sprint Race in third position.
For Marti, 2023 will be his rookie campaign and fourth consecutive season in Campos Racing colours, The Spaniard has raced with the team every year since he began racing in single seaters, most recently achieving three race victories en route to fifth overall in the 2023 F3 Drivers’ Standings.
Marti said that the latest step up in his career was made all the more special as he continued his journey with Campos in F2.
I am really looking forward to start working with the team. I now have a year of experience in the F2 championship and with the potential of the Campos team, we will reach the top!
Hadjar on the news.
It’s a dream come true to jump into a Formula 2, it’s another step in my journey and learning to reach Formula 1 in the future. As well with Campos Racing, the team which I’ve been with through all my single seater career, it’s a very special opportunity to test here at Abu Dhabi and I’m looking forward to learning quickly and enjoying every lap! Thanks to the team, my parents and the Red Bull Junior Team for making it happen, see you on Wednesday!
Marti on the news moving up.
We are proud to have a driver line-up consisting of two Red Bull junior drivers for the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season. Isack and Pepe are two very young pilots but their skills and talent allow them to make rapid progress in every category. It will be a huge pleasure to work together and we will give our maximum to achieve the best possible results. I have no doubts that 2024 promises to be an exciting season for Campos Racing. The next season has already begun for us. Let’s rock!
Jak Crawford will be returning for a second Formula 2 campaign next year, partnering up with DAMS for the 2024 season.
The 18 year old became an F2 race winner in his rookie year, taking the Spielberg Sprint Race victory for Hitech Pulse-Eight. He went on to finish 13th in the Drivers’ Standings with a further four podium finishes and a pole position to his name.
Crawford’s single-seater career began in 2018 when the American driver finished second in the NACAM Formula 4 Championship. From there, he moved over to racing in Europe, claiming five wins and further seven podiums on his way to second in the 2020 ADAC Formula 4 Championship, alongside sixth in Italian F4.
Graduating to Formula 3 in 2021 with Hitech, he earned his maiden podium in Spa. At the same time, he achieved third in Euroformula Open, despite only racing in 16 out of the 24 races.
Returning for a second campaign the following year with Prema Racing, Crawford kept himself in title contention until the final round, eventually finishing seventh overall with one win and four more podiums before stepping up to F2 this season.
I’m very excited to be joining DAMS for 2024. I believe the team is the best place for me to be for the coming season to get the most out of myself as a driver in my second season of Formula 2. I’ve been impressed by the work ethic and achievements of the squad. I believe that together, we can achieve strong results in next year’s campaign. Our goal for next year is to make the absolute most of every race weekend. I’m looking forward to joining up with DAMS in the post-season test to begin working with them ahead of next season.
Crawford on the news.
We’re delighted to have such a young talent in Jak driving for us in next season. He has already demonstrated his ability and dedication throughout his career, and showed he is ready to compete at the front in F2 with his victory and podiums this year. We’re excited to work with him during post-season testing at Abu Dhabi and to deliver a strong 2024 campaign together.
Invicta Virtuosi Racing have confirmed their line-up for the 2024 Formula 2 season with Alpine junior Kush Maini and 2023 Formula 3 Champion, Gabriel Bortoleto joining the team.
The Indian driver competed this year with Campos Racing in what was his rookie campaign. He achieved 12 points finishes and a podium in the Melbourne Sprint Race during an impressive season.
Starting out in single seaters in Italian F4 in 2016, Maini claimed podium finishes in the series before moving up to British F3 where he finished third and second overall in 2018 and 2020 respectively. He moved up to F3 in 2022 and finished 14th before graduating to Formula 2 this year and impressing in his first full season.
Bortoleto became the first Brazilian to win the F3 title, where he took two feature race wins and a further four podiums en route to the Championship. He failed to score on just three occasions during the ’23 season, achieving an unmatched level of consistency with 15 scoring results from a possible 18.
Prior to winning the F3 title, the 19 year old achieved wins in Italian F4 and Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine between 2020 and 2022 before his move to F3.
I am very excited to announce that in the 2024 season, I will be competing with Invicta Virtuosi Racing in FIA Formula 2. They have a winning history, having secured the runner-up position in the team championship three times, and together, our goal will be to aim for the best positions for the team. In 2023, they achieved pole positions and victories, and I hope to build a strong and consistent story with them throughout the year. We will have a new car in the championship, and our first challenge will be to adapt quickly and efficiently to start the year on a high note. I am coming from a season of significant personal growth, culminating in the FIA F3 title. I hope to continue this process of evolution as a driver in 2024 and naturally become a victorious driver in the next stages of my career.
Bortoleto on moving up.
I’m super excited and grateful to be joining Invicta Virtuosi Racing for the 2024 FIA Formula 2 championship. They have a great pedigree in Formula 2 and, prior to that, in GP2, and I am looking forward to growing further as a racing driver with the team. A massive thank you to Invicta Virtuosi for putting their trust in me and to the Alpine Academy and my management team for their support. I’ll do my best to hopefully bring many trophies back to the workshop.
Maini on the switch.
We’re delighted to have Gabriel Bortoleto joining us for his debut season in Formula 2. His consistency throughout his rookie campaign in Formula 3 impressed everyone and earned him a convincing and thoroughly deserved championship victory. This was acknowledged by the world of F1 as he became a McLaren Development Driver. Gabriel has visited us at our base in Norfolk and kept in touch since his signing. He’s left a good impression on everyone here and has quickly become part of the team. We were impressed by his adaptation to Formula 3 and, like everyone, are excited to see what he can do in 2024 as he continues to hone and add to his already admirable skillset. Kush has had a solid debut season in Formula 2. He got up to speed immediately and was able to produce good results in 2023. We’ve already spent considerable time with Kush since he first signed for the team and his mentality and approach align well with ours. He has shown dedication and an impressive work effort, and we look forward to helping him add to his F2 podium tally as he continues to improve as a racing driver. He joins Gabriel Bortoleto at the team for 2024, and we are expecting to achieve big things with such a strong duo at the wheel.
Getting a better launch off the line, Vesti stole the inside line into Turn 1 and went side by side with Fittipaldi, though the Rodin Carlin driver emerged out of Turn 3 ahead.
Capitalising on their duel, Hadjar and Verschoor made it four wide down the back straight. Both managed to slip past either side of Vesti and demote the title contender to fourth. In contrast, Championship leader Pourchaire was already on the cusp of points, climbing from P14 to ninth.
The Safety Car was deployed at the end of the opening lap after Juan Manuel Correa spun at Turn 3. Victor Martins found himself caught up in it leaving him with nosecone damage and forcing him to pit for repairs.
Back to racing conditions on lap 6, Fittipaldi aced his restart, immediately pulling half a second clear of Hadjar. Vesti wasted no time making up for lost ground, squeezing up alongside Verschoor down to Turn 6 to snatch third.
On the fringes of the points, Jack Doohan steadily made his way up from P10, swooping ahead of Ayumu Iwasa after the DAMS driver went wide out of Turn 9. Meanwhile Pourchaire was trying to put together a charge of his own, going late on the brakes to wrestle eighth from Kush Maini and nosing his own way past Iwasa for 7th.
Told to push for the fastest lap, Vesti began hunting down Hadjar and was on the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver’s tail by the time they reached Lap 10. Hadjar opted to go early on the defence but couldn’t stop the Mercedes junior’s charge, as Vesti took third around the outside of Turn 9.
Vesti loomed large in Fittipaldi’s mirrors and was eyeing up moves for the lead. A lock up by the Rodin Carlin car handed Vesti a chance, but he too locked up through the Turn 5 hairpin. Fittipaldi tried to break the tow, but another mistake at the same corner three laps later was the moment for Vesti.
Benefitting from better grip, he dived up the inside of the Brazilian into Turn 6 to snatch the lead. Instantly breaking free of Fittipaldi behind, Vesti pulled out of the DRS window and reached the chequered flag a comfortable 3.8 seconds clear of the Red Bull Junior.
Day 3-
Doohan held the lead comfortably at lights out while Kush Maini cleared Martins to take second, with the latter opting for mediums for the start. Further back, Vesti was up to eighth at Turn 1, passing Richard Verschoor having also started on the yellow-walled tyres.
Starting on the softs, Pourchaire was on the cusp of the points by the end of the opening lap, but an opportunistic Oliver Bearman snatched 10th from the ART driver to leave him 11th going into lap 2.
Those on softs nursed their tyres in the early stages, and Iwasa was in as soon as the pitstop window opened on lap 7, he was joined by Pourchaire both swapping to the medium compound tyres and rejoining in 19th and 20th respectively.
Zane Maloney, Isack Hadjar and Dennis Hauger made their way to the pits on lap 9 for their mandatory stops, but a slow release for the Hitech driver dropped him behind the Norwegian on pit exit. Pourchaire was ahead of all three after a dive to the inside of Hauger at Turn 5 as he continued to make the most of his fresh rubber.
Having led from the start, Doohan relinquished the lead on lap 10 to fit the mediums. The Australian was back out in 12th position, three seconds clear of Maini, who found himself under pressure from Iwasa.
Now in clear air, Vesti set about closing the gap to new leader Martins who was six seconds up the road. That gap was down to four seconds by lap 15 as the PREMA driver took a minimum of two-tenths of a second per lap out of the Alpine Junior’s advantage.
After forcing Iwasa to depend one lap earlier, Maloney was pressuring the Dams for P5 on the road as the Japanese driver desperately attempted to keep him back. The Rodin Carlin man fought his way by at Turn 6 and was late on the brakes at Turn 9 in his efforts to keep the position, but Iwasa bravely fought back around the outside to hold on.
On lap 26, Vesti managed to pass Pourchaire into Turn 6 and once again, Pourchaire slipstreamed his way past by Turn 9. It was third time lucky for Vesti as he waited for DRS out of Turn 8 to clear his championship rival and claim fifth position.
Entering the final lpa of the season, Vesti drew to within DRS range of Maloney in the fight for third. The Bajan driver went defensive into Turn 6 opening up the chance for Vesti on the run to Turn 9. The pair banged wheel on corner exit, sending Maloney into a spin and leaving the PREMA driver in third.
Doohan secured a comfortable victory by 3.8s from Martins with Vesti rounding out the podium, but it was Pourchaire and ART Grand Prix’s day, as they secured the double with the Drivers’ and Teams’ titles.
Victor Martins left it until the last minute but was the man to beat in the final Free Practice of the 2023 Formula 2 season. The ART Grand Prix driver ended the first session of the weekend on top after setting a 1:37.389.
Zane Maloney put Rodin Carlin second with a late effort of his own while Theo Pourchaire kicked off a potentially title-winning weekend as third quickest. Title rivals Ayumu Iwasa and Frederik Vest finished seventh and ninth respectively.
Newcomers Paul Aron and Franco Colapinto were on the track early to get some mileage under their belts ahead of their debut. The latter suffered a spin coming through the right-hander of turn 11 in the early running but was able to avoid the barriers and continue on his way.
After a relatively quiet start to the session, the circuit filled up quickly approaching half an hour remaining as the majority of the field headed onto track. Nissany lowered the time to beat to a 1:38.492 on his next flying lap to lead by 0.6s from Maloney. The red flags were out soon after as Arthur Leclerc came to a halt in his DAMS between turns 1 and 2.
Doohan briefly went to P1 after running resumed, but it was beaten in quick succession. Pourchaire was pipped by teammate Martins by 0.022s with the rookie setting a 1:38.219 to take the spot from the Championship leader.
The full top 10 are- P1: Martins, P2: Maloney, P3: Pourchaire, P4: Doohan, P5: Verschoor, P6: Boschung, P7: Iwasa, P8: Correa, P9: Vesti and P10: Maini.
Qualifying-
Invicta Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan secured the final pole position of the season with a 1:35.567, beating out Alpine Academy drivers Victor Martins and Kush Maini.
In the title fight, Theo Pourchaire has a difficult weekend ahead of him after missing the top 10 and ending qualifying down in 14th position. Direct rival, Frederik Vesti will start tomorrow’s Sprint Race from the reserve grid front row after ending the session in ninth.
Trident’s Roman Stanek was the first to get a time on the board with a 1:37.591. His effort didn’t stay top for long as Ayumu Iwasa went quickest with a 1:37.181, three tenths ahead of Amaury Cordeel.
Martins jumped straight back into things after topping Free Practice, launching himself 0.489s clear of the DAMS’ driver on a 1:36.692. Doohan sliced the ART Grand Prix driver’s advantage to two tenths, as Ralph Boschung and Maini slotted both Campos Racing cars inside the top four.
After a brief break in the pitlane, the field were back out with 16 minutes remaining. Iwasa regained the fastest time on a 1:36.085, and Martins’ response left him 0.008s adrift of the DAMS driver.
However, Doohan was on a charge, breaking into the 1:35s and rocketing up into provisional pole, two tenths ahead of Maini. Martins and Iwasa tried to find an answer for the Australian but couldn’t. Doohan showed no signs of slowing down, bettering his previous effort to snatch pole by over two tenths.
The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Martins, P3: Maini, P4: Maloney, P5: Iwasa, P6: Hauger, P7: Verschoor, P8: Hadjar, P9: Vesti and P10: Fittipaldi.
Jak Crawford has announced that he will leave the Red Bull Junior Team in 2024, but has already secured his racing future with a second season in Formula 2.
The 18 year old became a Red Bull junior in early 2020, and that year he finished second in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship. He was Euroformula race-winner in 2021, took a first FIA Formula 3 Championship win in his second there last year then became a winner on his 13th F2 start in Austria.
He currently sits in 13th in this season’s F2 standings ahead of this weekend’s season finale, and has so far stood on the podium five times and claimed a pole position.
Crawford has been racing for HiTech Pulse-Eight this year, and has not indicated if his 2024 F2 deal is with the British outfit or a different team.
We are thankful for the Red Bull funding for four years, and honestly, we could not have done much of it without their substantial support. We were wanting to make key decisions and we let them know mid-year. After that, they didn’t pick up my fifth and final year, so we are in control now. I truly appreciate everyone at Red Bull, especially Rocky [Guillaume Rocquelin]. I really enjoyed the last two years with him at the factory. Everyone has a different path, but mine has been to be moved up fast and to a different team every year. In two years, I will be only 20 years old, so we are going to slow it down and work a more thoughtful plan. That is all I can say about our plans at this point in time. Again, I am grateful for Red Bull for four years of support.
Crawford in a statement issued by the Sunday Group Management firm.
Trident has confirmed that Paul Aron will race with the team at the final round of the 2023 season at Yas Marina.
The Estonian is fresh from completing his rookie season with PREMA Racing in FIA Formula 3, where he claimed one race win and a further three podiums en route to third in the Drivers’ Championship.
Prior to his F3 campaign, Aron competed in the Italian F4 Championship in what was his maiden campaign of single seater racing. He took two wins and a pole position, finishing that year third in the Drivers’ Standings.
He followed that up with a campaign of Formula Renault Eurocup before he moved on to the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, where he took two wins and seven podium finishes on the way to third in the Championship.
He then had a follow up season of FRECA where he claimed six race victories, seven pole positions and eight podiums as he finished third in the 2022 season, before moving on to FIA F3 in 2023.
I’m very excited to be on the Formula 2 grid at the end of this year and I’m very grateful to Trident for giving me this opportunity. It will be a big step in my career, Formula 2 is the highest level of junior single seater racing. I think getting early experience will be key, it will not be an easy weekend as I’ve never been in a Formula 2 car, and we only have one very short Practice session before getting into the car for Qualifying. I’m very excited for the challenge and I’m sure that Trident will help me do the best job possible.
Aron on the news.
It’s with great pleasure that we announce that Paul Aron will make his debut under the Trident Motorsport banner in the FIA Formula 2 Championship next weekend in Abu Dhabi. The team will make its best effort to help him gain confidence in the new category, as this will certainly be an important step for his career. We can’t wait to start working with Paul, who will replace Clément Novalak. As he has long been part of the Trident Motorsport family, we wish the Frenchman the best for his future endeavours.
Paraguayan driver Joshua Duerksen will make the step up to FIA Formula 2 with PHM Racing next season.
The 20 year old joins off the back of his second campaign in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, earning one podium this season in Spa-Francorchamps.
Duerksen made his single-seater debut in 2019, finishing second in the Formula 4 UAE Championship. That same year he completed a dual campaign in both Italian and German F4, where he finished eighth and eleventh in the Standings respectively. In 2020, he made a return to the German Championship, achieving two wins and a further four podiums to improve to sixth overall.
Another Italian F4 campaign would follow the next year as he secured sixth in the Standings, with two wins and a podium, before graduating to FRECA in 2022 where he finished his rookie season in 14th.
In the meantime, Duerksen has been keeping his driving skills sharp, participating in the Formula 3 post-season test in Imola last month and getting 85 laps on the board for the German team.
I am very excited to announce that I will be stepping up to FIA F2 with PHM Racing! It’s a big step in my career, and I can’t wait to start this new and great challenge! It’s a huge honour and privilege to be the first Paraguayan driver in history to represent my country in FIA F2. I am more than grateful to God, my family, my sponsors, my fans, and of course, PHM Racing for believing in me. Now, I am focused on preparing in the best possible way with PHM for the season. The new car and new circuits will make this year a challenging and exciting one. Let’s go all in!
Duerksen on the news.
Herzlich Willkommen Joshua! We are very happy to announce with Joshua Duerksen our first driver for next year’s FIA Formula 2 season. Joshua is coming straight from FRECA into F2. We all know that this is a massive step to manage for him and also for the Team. Joshua convinced us with his ‘hands on’ attitude, working ethic and 100% dedication to his profession, which is essential to develop himself with the Team at the highest stage of Formula Racing below F1. Joshua has more potential as he was able to show in 2023, but through Formula 4 and Formula Regional Europe and Middle East he delivered already great performances and results. I guess a whole country will support him as being the first Paraguayan Driver, who is competing at this level. He in particular and all his supporters and partners deserve this chance and we will prepare him as best as possible to be competitive from the beginning on. Vamos Flaco…and see you in Yas Marina for the Post-Season Testing.
MP Motorsport has become the first team to finalise plans for 2024, re-signing Dennis Hauger and completing its driver line-up for next season.
Hauger joins Franco Colapinto at the Dutch team for what will be the Norwegian’s third FIA Formula 2 campaign and second in MP colours.
During the two seasons of F2 so far, Hauger has notched up four victories, four fastest laps and eight podium finishes, with two wins and four podiums coming in the 2023 campaign.
Before joining F2, Hauger rose through the ranks enjoying plenty of success. Finishing his maiden single seater season fourth in British F4, he completed a dual effort in 2019 across Italian and ADAC Formula 4. He finished second in the latter and won the Italian Championship in dominant fashion, taking 12 wins and 16 podiums across the season.
From there, he graduated to FIA Formula 3 in 2020, finishing his rookie season 17th before returning in 2021 to win the Championship ahead of his F2 promotion.
I’m really happy to stay with MP Motorsport for another season of FIA Formula 2. I’m truly looking forward to the challenge of setting up a winning new F2 car, as we aim to build on the experience we gained as a team working together in 2023. I welcome Franco as my new teammate – he’s a familiar face to MP too, and that can only be to our advantage in the transitional winter period while getting to grips with the new car.
Hauger on the news.
We are delighted that Dennis has decided to continue with us in the new season. He’s quick, with a cool and smart head on his shoulders. His feedback will help us in the development race with the new car as we move into a new era of FIA Formula 2. With Dennis and Franco, we have two known quantities in our top team on the single-seater ladder. Having signed both at a very early stage will surely contribute to our getting up to speed as soon as we can.
ART Grand Prix has confirmed that Williams Driver Academy star, Zak O’Sullivan will join the team for the 2024 Formula 2 campaign. The Briton has signed with the team after finishing the 2023 FIA F3 season as runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship.
Competing with PREMA Racing in F3 this year, O’Sullivan notched up four race wins throughout the 2023 campaign, the highest number of victories during the season.
The 18 year old, has been climbing the junior motorsport pyramid in quick fashion, switching from the Ginetta Junior Championship in 2019 to British F4 in 202, achieving runner-up finishes in both campaigns. In 2021, O’Sullivan secured the GB3 Championship title, with seven race wins and 14 podiums comprising his impressive record that year.
Promotion to FIA F3 with Rodin Carlin followed in 2022, and he earned two podiums and a pole position during his rookie campaign, finishing the season 11th overall. Swapping to PREMA in ’23 he went from strength to strength, going on to finish second in the Championship.
I’m exciting to be joining ART for my rookie F2 season. I’m really looking forward to getting started. The team have a great depth of experience so can’t wait to get going in the Abu Dhabi tests with them.
O’Sullivan on the news.
I’m delighted about the collaboration between Zak and ART Grand Prix. He’s a driver we’ve been following for a long time, and he has consistently elevated his level of performance. His background and mindset align with ART Grand Prix’s mission of supporting young drivers to the highest levels of motorsport. It’s with pleasure and honour that we welcome a member of the Williams Racing Driver Academy. With proper winter preparation, his racing approach and adaptability should enable him to compete at the front.
Sebastien Philippe, ART Grand Prix Team Principal.
MP Motorsport have announced that Franco Colapinto will make his Formula 2 debut with them in 2023 season finale at Yas Marina this month, ahead of a full campaign with the Dutch team next year.
Colapinto steps up off the back of a second successful year in Formula 3, earning two wins and five podiums for MP. The Williams Racing Academy driver ended up fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.
The Argentine racer is already well acquainted with MP. After storming his way to the 2019 Spanish F4 title in his debut season in single-seaters, Colapinto partnered up with the Dutch team the following year in Formula Renault Eurocup. He secured two wins and nine podiums, he finished his rookie campaign in third.
Remaining with them for another season, he achieved sixth in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. From there, he graduated to F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing, taking two wins on his way to ninth in the Drivers’ Standings in 2022 before reuniting with MP for the 2023 campaign.
I’m absolutely thrilled to be moving up to Formula 2 with MP. MP are proven race winners in the category, and staying with them feels absolutely right. It’s a familiar atmosphere for me, and it will be to our advantage that we know each other so well as I enter my debut season in the category. I’m very much look forward to the fresh challenge of a new series, with a brand-new car to help develop. I can’t wait to get in the car in Abu Dhabi and then work with the team to be ready for a long and challenging 2024 season.
Colapinto on the news.
It’s great news that we are able to announce Franco’s promotion to our F2 team so early. This will give us a headstart in our preparations for an exciting 2024 F2 season in which we all start from zero, with the new F2 car offering everyone a new baseline to work from. Retaining Franco helps us to maintain stability in that transition, apart from the fact that he’s become a member of the MP family and is an extremely quick and talented driver.
Alpine have announced that Formula 2 rookie, Kush Maini has become the latest addition to the team’s growing young driver programme.
Maini is about to complete his first full season in Formula 2 with Campos Racing, where the Indian driver is sitting 11th in the drivers’ standings. He secured his first F2 podium with a third-place finish in the Sprint Race in Australia, as well as his best qualifying result of second at Silverstone.
He will now benefit from the guidance and support of both the Academy’s fleet of staff and the wider Alpine F1 team, as well as access to their state-of-the-art facilities at their Formula 1 base in Enstone.
The 23 year old joins an Academy line-up that currently features F2 rivals Jack Doohan – who is currently Alpine’s reserve driver – and Victor Martins, and has a host of successful F1 graduates in Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
I am super excited to be joining the Alpine Academy. It’s a dream come true to be associated with a team like BWT Alpine F1 Team, where I can learn and grow to hopefully one day be ready to take the step into Formula 1. A massive thank you to Alpine for believing in me and giving me this opportunity.
Maini on the opportunity.
We are happy to welcome Kush into the Alpine Academy. He is a young talent who we believe has strong potential and will be a great asset to our driver development programme. The Alpine Academy will enter its ninth year in 2024 and currently features nine drivers of eight nationalities, spanning four different series from FIA Formula 2 through to European Karting. The continual expansion of the Academy’s talent pool runs in parallel to the expansion of our facilities at Enstone with the development of our new state-of-the-art training and testing facilities, the AHPC, underway.
Julian Rouse, Alpine F1 Team Interim Sporting Director.
Dennis Hauger is to part company with the Red Bull Junior Team but will continue racing in Formula 2 in 2024.
The Norwegian’s second season in F2 has not lived up to expectations, leaving him eighth in the points before the final round in Abu Dhabi this month. He won the sprint races in Melbourne and at the Hungaroring but has not finished on the podium in a feature race, despite having joined the MP Motorsport team that took Felipe Drugovich to the 2022 title.
Hauger has had more of an on-and-off relationship with Red Bull compared to most of its junior drivers, benefitting from strong personal sponsorship from Norway while his career has been guided heavily by experienced countryman Harald Huysman.
He joined the Junior Team for his move from karts into British Formula 4 in 2018, but his switch to Italian F4 the following year was instigated by Hauger’s management group rather than Red Bull, which would have rather moved him up a level. He raced in the black and orange of his Van Amersfoort Racing team instead of the blue of the energy drink firm. Having won that title, he was back in full Red Bull colours for his step up to F3 in 2020, but a difficult rookie season with Hitech – he finished 17th in the standings – this led him to be only a Red Bull supported driver than a full junior in 2021, when he again became champion with Prema.
Red Bull has had six junior drivers racing in F2 this year but there has been speculation about how many will remain with the programme next year. It has already announced Pepe Marti and Tim Tramnitz as new additions to its roster ahead of 2024.
PREMA Racing have announced that Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be graduating to Formula 2 with the team, becoming the first driver announced for the 2024 campagin.
The 17 year old Italian racer steps up as the reigning Champion of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. Earning five victories and a further six podiums on his way to claiming his fifth title in two years.
The Mercedes junior made his step up to single seaters with the Italian team in 2021, making a three-round appearance in Italian F4. A full season followed the next year alongside a campaign in German F4, securing the Drivers’ title in both Championships with a combined total of 22 wins. Additionally, he won the gold medal in the FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup.
From there, Antonelli earned three wins and seven podiums on his way to the Formula Regional Middle East Championship title, before going on to triumph in FRECA during his rookie season.
Antonelli will get his first taste of Formula 2 action during the post-season test at Yas Marina from November 29th to December 1st.
I’m very happy for this opportunity. From Formula Regional to Formula 2, it will be a huge jump. I’m aware that it will be very challenging because the level is really high there. It will be a new car, for me and the others as well but it’s still going to be tough. I don’t want to set expectations, I will try to learn as much as possible in testing to be ready for the first race, have fun as always, and do a good job. I’m delighted to continue with PREMA as I started my single-seater career with them and they are my second family and I love working with them.
Antonelli on the news.
We are proud to welcome Kimi to our FIA Formula 2 Championship team. He has been with us since the very beginning so not only do we know him well, but we are also particularly proud of what he was able to achieve in his first two years full-time in single seaters. Kimi is a gifted racer and a great team player, so we cannot wait to see what the 2024 season will bring and we are focused on helping him make the step in the smoothest possible way.
The FIA Formula 2 Championship has unveiled the F2 2024 car to the international media in the F1 paddock in Monza on Thursday 31st August.
The design philosophy of the new car, which will be raced in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons, is to give young drivers who aspire to race in Formula 1 the best preparation by making it as close to an F1 car as possible in terms of safety, look, systems, performance, sustainability.
Moreover, the nose, front wing and rear wings and floor have been designed to encourage wheel to wheel racing, which will lead to thrilling on track action.
The new car, which features the latest FIA safety innovations, is powered by a 3.4 litre turbo-charged Mecachrome engine and includes some new features to accommodate the Aramco synthetic sustainable fuel that will be introduced in 2025.
The F2 2024 car has also been designed to comply with the FIA 2024 specifications in terms of braking, steering effort and ergonomics to accommodate a wide range of drivers and make the championship as accessible as possible.
The car systems will still include marshalling such as Virtual Safety Car and optimised Drag Reduction System whilst the electronics have been enhanced with a new Marelli Vehicle Control Unit.
The car completed a successful shakedown in July with former F2 driver Tatiana Calderon at the wheel. Following the unveiling, the development programme will continue over a number of tests across the remainder of the year with several different drivers including 2022 FIA Formula 2 Champion, Felipe Drugovich.
F2 consistently delivers excellent racing and acts as an important training ground for future members of the Formula 1 grid, and by bringing the design philosophies of the two cars closer together we will support this development further. The new F2 car is also an important symbol for our sustainability journey as the series continues to pioneer advanced sustainable fuel which will become a part of F1 from 2026. I want to pay tribute to Bruno and his team as well as the FIA for our continued strong collaboration in this category. I can’t wait to see the car on track next season.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.
I’m very proud to present our new F2 car, which will race for the next three years. Together with the FIA, we’ve designed a powerful, challenging and safe car that will prepare young drivers for F1, and that will continue to provide great racing and a lot of overtaking opportunities, something that the fans expect from F2. It has been designed also to fit all types of drivers, taking into account FIA’s consideration regarding the steering effort. This is obviously key to making our sport more inclusive, by enhancing our car’s driveability and comfort. One of our main focuses remains costs control. So, we have kept the same engine and gearbox, and there are a lot of carried-over parts from the previous car. Finally, we made sure that the teams can manage this new car with 12 operational people, as per the Sporting Regulations. I want to thank our partners Aramco, Pirelli, Dallara and Mecachrome, who are key in making this car safe, reliable and the best racing machine to prepare our drivers for Formula 1.
Oliver Bearman returned from the summer break and hit the ground running at Zandvoort, topping Free Practice for PREMA Racing with a 1:22.715. The Brit ended up 0.396s clear of MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger in second, and his teammate Frederik Vesti in third, just 0.073s further back.
Looking to get some dry laps under his belt after a wet Spa-Francorchamps debut, PHM Racing by Charouz’s Joshua Mason got some laps in early.
The track continued to rubber in quickly, with Jak Crawford going half a second clear in P1 on his next lap. His Hitech Pluse-Eight teammate Isack Hadjar displaced him before Bearman, Ayumu Iwasa and then Martins took over.
Vesti was next to set the quickest time, going one tenth clear with 20 minutes to go until Hauger put home team MP Motorsport on top with a 1:23.111. Martins had another minor off after running deep at Turn 11 but carried on without issue.
Qualifying-
Jak Crawford proved to the other drivers, how you start the session matters as much as how you finish, as the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver secured his maiden Formula 2 pole position.
As the American driver laid down a 1:21.210 on his second attempt of the Circuit, as three red flags denied the field a chance to improve.
Dennis Hauger looked to have the pace but couldn’t complete his final two runs and was forced to settle for second by just 0.034s. Frederik Vesti bounced back after his disappointing weekend in Spa before the summer break by securing third.
After the field pitted for their second sets of softs, disaster stuck for provisional pole sitter Crawford, the Hitech driver was forced to pit as he had a damaged front wing after contact with Novalak.
Jehan Daruvala brought running to a halt with seven minutes remaining, spinning off on the exit of Turn 3 to trigger the Red Flag.
After another red flag, it was a one lap shootout with less than four minutes left and Hauger continued to improved, but nobody could record a final time, as Novalak brought a red flag where he hit the barriers at Turn 3.
Day 2, Sprint Race-
Drama already began to unfold before lights out, as the expected rain fell on the Circuit Zandvoort. Championship leader, Pourchaire wasn’t able to take the start from reverse grid pole after a mechanical issue, forced the ART driver to being from the pit lane.
Hadjar left it late on the rolling start, bolting off down the main straight to fend off Martin’s advances. Bearman pounced on Juan Manuel Correa, sliding past the Van Amersfoort Racing driver sliding past at Turn 1 for third.
At the end of the top 10, contact between Kush Maini and Jake Crawford sent both cars spinning off at Turn 5, with Ralph Boschung unable to avoid colliding with his Campos Racing teammate. The Safety Car was deployed before being switch out for a Red Flag on Lap 3, as all three drivers clambered out of their cars.
Following the lengthy break due to barrier repairs, the race was expected to resume with 22 minutes left on the clock, but the heavy downpours returned as Hadjar led the field back out behind the Safety Car.
Given the torrential conditions, the Red Flag was waved for a second time, and it was swiftly confirmed that the race will not be restarted.
The full top 10 are- P1: Hadjar, P2: Martins, P3: Bearman, P4: Correa, P5: Maloney, P6: Doohan, P7: Vesti, P8: Novalak, P9: Hauger and P10: Daruvala. However, no points were awarded due to the lack of racing and not going past the halfway mark.
Day 3, Feature Race-
Racing got underway with a rolling start in slipper conditions and Crawford got a perfect launch to retain the lead. Behind him, Championship contender Vesti suffered a spin at Turn 1 to fall from third to 19th position, while PREMA Racing teammate Oliver Bearman was tagged by Juan Manuel Correa and ran wide into the gravel at Turn 1.
Victor Martins followed him off the track and both resumed in 14th and 15th respectively. Jack Doohan was another driver to hit trouble early, spinning in the last corner to bring out a Safety Car before the completion of Lap 1.
Maloney was the first of the leading pack to make their mandatory pitstop from fourth position, switching from softs to mediums on lap 8. That pulled in leader Crawford, Dennis Hauger from P2 and Correa in third on the following lap.
Championship leader, Pourchaire spun off the circuit whilst on his outlap after pitting, which caused him to crash out of the race at Turn 7. It then brought out the Safety Car but not before PREMA double-stacked their drivers. Vesti’s hope of retaking the lead of the Championship were dashed almost immediately though, losing both rear tyres on his outlap and he was too out of the running.
After all the drama, Novalak led the pack having stopped just prior to the Safety Car intervention. Crawford followed ahead of Maloney, Verschoor, Martins, Bearman, Hauger, Fittipaldi and Cordeel in the top 10.
Maloney had the momentum into Turn 1 and passed Crawford around the outside to take second. Behind them, Bearman looked to have a move done on Martins for fifth but the pair made contact on the exit of Turn 3, sending the PREMA driver into the barriers.
With the Safety Car interventions, the race ran to time rather than the original 40 scheduled laps. With under 10 minutes to go, Maloney began to hunt down Novalak, closing to within two seconds and bringing Crawford in third along with him.
The full top 10 are- P1: Novalak, P2: Maloney, P3: Crawford, P4: Verschoor, P5: Hauger, P6: Hadjar, P7: Fittipaldi, P8: Cordeel, P9: Martins and P10: Correa.
FIA Formula 2 have announced their calendar for the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship. With next season including a total of 14 rounds, all support events of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
The eleven teams and 22 drivers will contest a total of 28 races across 13 countries with a new venue added to the calendar as Formula 2 head to Qatar for the first time.
The eighth season of Formula 2 will open at the Bahrain International Circuit on February 29th – March 2nd, with the season concluding at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on December 6th – 8th.
Round
Date
Location
1
29th Feb – 2nd March
Sakhir, Bahrain
2
7th – 9th March
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
3
22nd – 24th March
Melbourne, Australia
4
17th – 19th May
Imola, Italy
5
23rd – 26th May
Monte Carlo, Monaco
6
21st – 23rd June
Barcelona, Spain
7
28th – 30th June
Spielberg, Austria
8
5th – 7th July
Silverstone, Great Britain
9
19th – 21st July
Budapest, Hungary
10
26th – 28th July
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
11
30th August – 1st September
Monza, Italy
12
13th – 15th September
Baku, Azerbaijan
13
29th November – 1st December
Lusail, Qatar
14
6th – 8th December
Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
It is fantastic to announce such an exciting F2 calendar for 2024, following on from the 24 race calendar we announced for Formula 1 a few weeks ago. The breadth of venues and the addition of Qatar is another sign of the strength and interest in F2 globally and the talent we have in the Championship is very positive for the future. The Championship is delivering exciting racing at every event for all our fans and that is a tribute to the work of Bruno, his team and all the competitors across the grid. I would also like to thank the FIA for their collaboration on this fantastic championship, and our long-standing partners Pirelli, Dallara and Mecachrome for their continued support. We are all looking forward to the rest of the season and crowning the 2023 Champion.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of F1.
The 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship calendar, which has today been approved by the World Motor Sport Council, ensures another exciting season of racing on some of the most iconic and challenging circuits around the world. As the final stepping stone before the pinnacle of single-seater motor sport, Formula 2 is a hugely important championship that creates intense competition, and its success is the result of the strong collaboration between the FIA team, the promoter and all of the teams, which I look forward to seeing continue into 2024 and beyond
FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
The 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship calendar, which has today been approved by the World Motor Sport Council, ensures another exciting season of racing on some of the most iconic and challenging circuits around the world. As the final stepping stone before the pinnacle of single-seater motor sport, Formula 2 is a hugely important championship that creates intense competition, and its success is the result of the strong collaboration between the FIA team, the promoter and all of the teams, which I look forward to seeing continue into 2024 and beyond.
Hauger gained the run he needed on the way to Turn 1 to take the inside line and lead away from Kush Maini. Iwasa surged around the outside of the Campos driver at Turn 2 to take second from fifth on the grid, while Bearman was looming large in Maini’s mirrors for third.
Victor Martins also got in on the action, moving up to seventh from P9 on the grid, rounding Isack Hadjar at Turn 12 to end a busy opening lap.
Frederik Vesti tried to pass Hadjar at Turn 1 on lap 2 but was forced to take to the runoff. It allowed Jack Doohan enough momentum to go around the outside of the Championship leader and take ninth from the Dane at Turn 2.
A DRS train formed in the first 10 laps which started from second down to 21st as drivers looked to save tyre life for later in the race.
The formation running ended on lap 12 after a lock up by Clement Novalak into Turn 1 put the Trident driver on a collision course with Ralph Boschung. It left both drivers out of the running and brought out a brief VSC.
With 11 laps to go, Iwasa was given the all clear from the team to push, and the action ramped up once again as everyone upped the pace. The DAMS driver closed up to Hauger by eight tenths of a second on the following lap, with the gap at 1.9s entering the final 10 laps.
With five laps left, Pourchaire made the dive at Turn 1 on Maini having been stuck to the rear wing of the Campos. Bearman was next on the attack, taking fourth position from the Indian driver at the next corner, going all the way around the outside.
Down to three laps remaining and this time Bearman was the one making the late dive to the inside at Turn 1, forcing his way through on Pourchaire to take P3 from the french driver.
The full top 10 are- P1: Hauger, P2: Iwasa, P3: Bearman, P4: Pourchaire, P5: Daruvala, P6: Maini, P7: Martins, P8: Hadjar, P9: Vesti and P10: Doohan.
Day 3-
Doohan got a great launch from pole to lead into Turn 1 while third placed Vesti went wheel to wheel with Martins into the first corner. On the run to Turn 2, the PREMA Racing driver got the move done to seal second position.
Oliver Bearman started on mediums from seventh, but the Briton fell back to ninth on the opening lap, passed by Dennis Hauger and Enzo Fittipaldi who were both on the softs. Juan Manuel Correa made an electric start to move up five places to P10.
Zane Maloney was the first of those on soft tyres to make a mandatory stop on Lap 8. The Rodin Carlin driver rejoined in 21st but his stopped dragged a few more in on the following lap.
Isack Hadjar was the first of the top five to stop on Lap 13 from fifth and Theo Pourchaire responded one lap later, both swapping to the mediums. The ART Grand Prix driver rejoined in 14th to remain ahead of his compatriot, but both were caught up behind Amaury Cordeel on old medium tyres.
Vesti made the swap to mediums lap 23, rejoining in fourth position just 1.4s ahead of title rival Pourchaire. Martins pitted on the following lap and filtered out on cold tyres ahead of Vesti. The Mercedes junior breezed back through to take the place on the run to Turn 2.
While his rivals scrapped on track, Doohan made his stop on Lap 25, rejoining with the lead of the race and 8.7s ahead of closest challenger Vesti in second. Iwasa was onto the back of Pourchaire quickly with his soft tyres fired up. The Japanese driver got the switchback out of Turn 1 to take fifth position on Lap 26.
The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Vesti, P3: Martins, P4: Iwasa, P5: Hadjar, P6: Pourchaire, P7: Hauger, P8: Fittipaldi, P9: Correa and P10: Verschoor.
Ayumu Iwasa was quickly up and running around the Hungaroring, ending the first session of the weekend fastest of all for DAMS. The Japanese driver traded the top spot with Championship leader, Frederik Vesti throughout Practice. He ended up top of the timesheet with a 1:28.882, 0.149s quicker than the Dane. Martins rounded out the top three.
The ART Grand Prix driver set the initial pace with a 1:30.839 to lead the way from Roman Stanek and Jack Doohan in the opening 10 minutes.
Iwasa bettered the Frenchman’s effort before Vesti took the top spot, setting a 1:29.360 after losing a previous attempt for exceeding track limits. Martins immediately moved back to P2, 0.060s down on the best time from the PREMA Racing driver.
Doohan was looking set to challenge the top three, setting a purple middle sector but his efforts were soon undone with a lock-up and wide moment at Turn 12.
Qualifying-
Jack Doohan claimed his first FIA Formula 2 pole position of the year with a last-gasp effort in a closely fought session. The Invicta Virtuosi Racing driver’s 1:27.676 prevented a third consecutive pole position for Victor Martins with the ART Grand Prix driver second in the end. Frederik Vesti, held provisional pole for much of the session, but couldn’t find a late improvement, settling for third.
After the early warm up laps, Vesti set the benchmark to beat on a 1:28.334 to lead the way. Doohan popped his car into second early on, 0.2s back from the Dane with Martins third.
Improvements by Enzo Fittipaldi, Ayumu Iwasa and Dennis Hauger put them fourth, fifth and sixth respectively, bumping Doohan down to P7 before a red flag appears.
Trident’s Roman Stanek caused the stoppage after spinning into the barriers at Turn 11, with just under 20 minutes of Qualifying left.
With 12 minutes to go, the drivers switched to new soft tyres. With Pourchaire next to go top by just 0.001s ahead of his title rival until Vesti retook P1. Teammate, Oliver Bearman cracked the top five on his next lap to go fourth fastest ahead of Jehan Daruvala, who leapt up to fifth for MP Motorsport.
Martins had made an error on an earlier effort but with a purple middle sector, took provisional pole by 0.039s but this time Vesti couldn’t respond.
The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Martins, P3: Vesti, P4: Pourchaire, P5: Hadjar, P6: Iwasa, P7: Bearman, P8: Daruvala, P9: Hauger and P10: Maini.
Reserve pole sitter, Vesti got things underway with a rolling start, pulling well clear of Isack Hadjar, Pourchaire and Bearman, who dispatched Enzo Fittipaldi with a brave move around the out of Becketts.
Further down the order, Brad Benavides spun off at the loop after being tagged by Clement Novalak, as the pair tried to avoid a slowing Ayumu Iwasa.
Once the safety car went in on Lap 3, Vesti once again nailed his getaway steadily began building his advantage out front. Teammate Bearman wasted no time dispatching two cars in one lap.
Fittipaldi and Victor Martins were locked in battle over sixth. From the loop, the pair were side-by-side until the Rodin car was able to sweep into Copse to keep the position.
As conditions slowly improved, Doohan caught Bearman on lap 11 to set up fight for the remaining laps. Up ahead, Pourchaire utilised his better traction out of Club to snatch second from Hadjar on Lap 12.
Doohan and Bearman then resumed their battle on lap 17. Desperate to keep the place after Doohan got alongside him out of Stowe, Bearman locked-up into Vale and ended running up into the gravel.
The full top 10 are- P1: Vesti, P2: Pourchaire, P3: Doohan, P4: Fittipaldi, P5: Hadjar, P6: Bearman, P7: Martins, P8: Leclerc, P9: Nissany and P10: Maloney.
Day 3-
Ayumu Iwasa got a lightning start from third, immediately getting the better of pole sitter Martins off the line. However, the ART Grand Prix instantly fought it back, diving up the inside of the loop to retake the lead.
Meanwhile, second-place Kush Maini got bogged down off the line, allowing Oliver Bearman to move up into third and Enzo Fittipaldi dived up past Jack Doohan for fourth.
Martins already had a 4.5s advantage before the first Safety Car arrived on Lap 7 following a spin for Amaury Cordeel at Stowe. The ART driver and the top six soft tyre runners took the opportunity to complete their mandatory stops.
Racing resumed on lap 11, Hadjar was able to put a gap between himself and Leclerc, while Doohan lost out to both Maloney and Pourchaire. Further back, Championship leader Frederik Vesti was caught up in a crash at Vale, tagged from behind by Dennis Hauger. The contact knocking him straight into Roman Stanek’s Trident, triggering a second Safety Car.
On Lap 17, Martins was handed a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage just as the Safety Car made a third appearance of the day.
The full top 10 are- P1: Martins, P2: Maloney, P3: Pourchaire, P4: Doohan, P5: Iwasa, P6: Daruvala, P7: Fittipaldi, P8: Bearman, P9: Leclerc and P10: Crawford.
DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa kicked off Round 9 in style around Silverstone, laying down a 1:41.593 in the final minutes of a disrupted Free Practice to top the session by 0.060s from Victor Martins.
Martins got the first competitive lap of the day on board after the first 10 minutes of the session. The ART driver put down a 1:42.690 put him five tenths ahead of Iwasa before improving further to a 1:42.067.
Running stopped at the 24 minute mark, due to Juan Manuel Correa losing his rear of the Van Amersfoort Racing Car spinning off into the gravel at Copse which resulted in a red flag.
With just over 15 minutes left, Martins quickly took advantage to leapfrog teammate Pourchaire for P2. The Alpine junior wasn’t done there as he improved to a 1:41.653, before the VSC made an appearance as Dennis Hauger suffered a spin at Brooklands and couldn’t get his car restarted.
Qualifying-
Victor Martins will start from P1 for the second time in the space of a week. The Frenchman was the man to beat once again in Qualifying, setting a 1:39.832 to secure the top spot around Silverstone.
Kush Maini made a late improvement to jump up to P2 for Campos Racing late on, whilst Ayumu Iwasa moved himself up into third with his final effort.
Practice pacesetter, Iwasa was quick to set the early benchmark with a 1:41.100 matched exactly by his teammate Arthur Leclerc to the thousandth.
The first of two red flags came at the 19 minute mark after Amaury Cordeel spun off into the barriers at Copse. After the Invicta Virtuosi car had been recovered, a short green flag spell was broken by the second red flag.
The full top 10 are- P1: Martins, P2: Maini, P3: Iwasa, P4: Doohan, P5: Bearman, P6: Fittipaldi, P7: Maloney, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Hadjar and P10: Vesti.
Light rain ahead of the race meant half the field opted to start on the wet tyres. Utilising the dry soft tyres, reverse polesitter Crawford held the lead through the opening corners, but it was Arthur Leclerc who made the most of his choice to start on wets.
Jehan Daruvala spinning off into the gravel at Turn 7 brought out an early Safety Car at the start of Lap 2.
Out front, Leclerc opted to stay out and held the lead at the restart on Lap 4. Second-place Richard Verschoor dropped a wheel over the sausage kerb and spun off at the exit of Turn 1, which resulted in another Safety Car.
Another beneficiary of the soft tyres, Novalak had already made up 16 places after dispatching Isack Hadkjar for fourth and soon caught Correa. A spin for Fittipaldi between Turns 3 and 4 after catching the grass led to the Virtual Safety Car.
Clement Novalak crossed the line in P3 but got disqualified after the race as his cars rear tyre pressure were below the limit required.
The full top 10 are- P1: Crawford, P2: Martins, P3: Hadjar, P4: Correa, P5: Stanek, P6: Hauger, P7: Doohan, P8: Bearman, P9: Vesti and P10: Nissany.
Day 3-
From second on the grid, Vesti got the better launch at lights out, immediately snatching the lead from polesitter Victor Martins. The ART driver also lost out to teammate Theo Pourchaire by Turn 1 and his early struggles continued.
After making up five places alone on the opening lap, Iwasa was up to ninth on Lap 6. Amaury Cordeel squeezed Dennis Hauger onto the grass exiting Turn 1, leaving the door wide open for Iwasa to overtake them both.
Pourschaire was the first of the leading pack in for his mandatory stop on Lap 8, followed in by Maini and Jehan Daruvala. Doohan and Martins swiftly joined them in a lap later, whilst Vesti extended his opening stint for another lap before handing the lead over to Fittipaldi.
Arthur Leclerc and Oliver Bearman were both in for supersofts on Lap 27. While the PREMA Racing driver rejoined at the tail end of the order in 18th, the Monegasque driver was forced to pull off to the side of the track shortly after his pitstop, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
Converted to a full Safety Car on Lap 29, the alternate strategy runners capitalised, with Verschoor completing his mandatory stop and coming out in fifth.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verschoor, P2: Iwasa, P3: Vesti, P4: Doohan, P5: Bearman, P6: Fittipaldi, P7: Pourchaire, P8: Crawford, P9: Martins and P10: Daruvala.
Frederik Vesti started the Barcelona weekend where he left off in Monte Carlo, ending the opening session of the weekend P1 for PREMA.
The Dane set a 1:26.722 to lead from Oliver Bearman, as the Italian team looked comfortable around the circuit. Jehan Daruvala was third for MP Motorsport, 0.3s down on Vesti’s session topping effort.
A red flag was thrown with just over 20 minutes to go following a spin for Victor Martins coming out of Turn 10. The ART Grand Prix driver lost the back end of the car and couldn’t get going again.
Enzo Fittipaldi made a late improvement to jump up into third position until he lost his time for exceeding track limits, his next lap put him into the top five.
Qualifying-
Oliver Bearman denied Enzo Fittipaldi pole position by just 0.077s with a 1:23.546 in the final moments of Qualifying. The Rodin Carlin provisionally held the top spot until the PREMA Racing driver’s late effort was just good enough to beat the Brazilian. Jack Doohan will be hoping to realign his season, going from P3 on the feature race.
Victor Martins led the field out of the pitlane as the light went green to get Qualifying underway. The Frenchman set the initial benchmark but that was swift beaten by those behind.
PREMA Racing opted to run both of their drivers in the gap after the first efforts were complete, joined on track by only the MP Motorsport drivers. Hauger took the sport with a 1:23.923 while Jehan Daruvala lifted himself up to third.
With 10 minutes left, the next flurry of laptimes arrived and it was Theo Pourchaire who went to the top of the times. That was until Enzo Fittipaldi set a 1:23.623 to put himself P1 once again.
The full top 10 are: P1: Bearman, P2: Fittipaldi, P3: Doohan, P4: Iwasa, P5: Pourchaire, P6: Hauger, P7: Martins, P8: Vesti, P9: Crawford and P10: Amaury Cordeel.
Ayumu Iwasa ended a frantic Free Practice session fastest of all as the DAMS man set a 1:22.081 to lead the grid. The Japanese driver got his best lap in prior to the third Red Flag of the incident session.
Next to him was Victor Martins for ART Grand Prix, whilst Richard Verschoor ended up third for Van Amersfoort Racing but found himself in the barriers in the closing minutes.
The first Red Flag came early into the session, as we saw contact between Ralph Boschung and Roman Stanek, with both cars having to be recovered.
The second Red Flag of the session came out with just over 20 minutes remaining after Bearman lost the rear of his PREMA at Turn 8 and nosed into the barriers.
Day 2-
With Monte Carlo Qualifying split into two groups of 11, the random ballot allocated the even numbered cars into Group A and odd numbered cars going second in Group B.
The first 16 minute segment began with several warm-up laps but it was Victor Martins who set the initial benchmark. But it didn’t stay that way for long as Richard Verschoor was next to hit the top spot just before a red flag was waved due to home-hero Arthur Leclerc who tagged the barriers and saw him out of the session.
With a 1:21.231 to beat, group B headed out for their turn and Dennis Hauger laid down the first effort. His 1:22.979 was bettered by several, but it was Theo Pourchaire who went quickest overall.
Plenty of personal bests followed but the ART Grand Prix man remained on top with a 1:21.354 ahead of Zane Maloney and Frederik Vesti by a tenth with less than five minutes to go.
The Dane put in three purple sectors on his following attempt to go top with a 1:21.053 ensuring Group B was fighting for pole. It was enough for pole as on the final attempts, Clement Novalak hit the barriers at Portier to bring out the Red Flags, ending the session early.
Formula 2 was back at the weekend for Round 4, lets take a look at how the weekend went/
Day 1, Practice-
Oliver Bearman wasted no time getting up to speed on his first visit to Baku, topping the opening session of Formula 2 weekend and ending Free Practice fastest of all.
The PREMA driver went quickest late on gaining a nice slipstream down the main straight to set a 1:54.063. Fellow rookies, Isack Hadjar and Kush Maini followed in second and third places respectively.
The early laps in the session were tricky with the freshly resurfaced circuit offering little grip. Ralph Boschung was the first driver underneath the two minute barrier, but times continued to fall with every lap on the board as the surface continued to clean up.
With just over one minute left of practice, Arthur Leclerc spun in his DAMS out of the first corner, bringing out the Red Flags and ending the session early.
Qualifying-
Oliver Bearman turned his fortunes around in the final seconds of a tense Qualifying session in Baku to claim his first Formula 2 pole position. Utilising the slipstream from the train of cars ahead, the PREMA Racing rookie stole first from Rodin Carlin’s Enzo Fittipaldi by just 0.012s at the chequered flag.
Less the a tenth of a second separated the front-runners, as Theo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti benefitted late on to seal their spots in third and fourth.
After a delayed start to running, an early Red Flag halted the session inside the opening seven minutes before any representative laps could be put on the board. Brad Benavides overshot the entry to Turn 1 and planted the PHM Racing by Charouz car into the barriers.
With the tow around the Baku City Circuit proving so powerful, drivers squabbled for track position entering the final stages. Punching in a 1:53.271, Vesti went 0.085s clear of Pourchaire on his penultimate lap, just as PREMA Racing teammate Bearman brushed the barriers at the exit of Turn 2, bending his steering in the process.
Day 2, Sprint Race-
Oliver Bearman demonstrated that to finish first in Baku – first you have to finish, as the British rookie claimed his first Formula 2 victory in a dramatic Sprint Race.
Off the back of his maiden pole position, he lined up 9th on the grid and carved his way through the field to snatch the win from teammate Frederik Vesti.
A late restart with only three laps to go brought drama, as race leader Dennis Hauger and second-placed Victor Martins crashed out. The PREMA pair were there to pick up the pieces as the race concluded behind the third and final Safety Car. HiTech Pulse-Eight’s Jak Crawford also kept himself out of trouble to take his second podium in third.
Reserve pole sitter Verschoor didn’t hold the lead for long. Contact with the wall at Turn 1 left the Van Amersfoort Racing driver with damage and forced to retire.
After making his way up into the points, Ralph Boschung’s race came to an end on Lap 3, clipping the inside wall at Turn 11. His retirement triggered an early Safety Car appearance.
Locking up his front left tyre, on the approach to Turn 15, Roy Nissany found the wall on the exit, which brought out the Safety Car once again.
The full top 10 are: P1: Bearman, P2: Vesti, P3: Crawford, P4: Maini, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Correa, P7: Novalak, P8: Stanek, P9: Cordeel and P10: Benavides.
Day 3, Feature Race-
Oliver Bearman made it a clean sweep in Baku, adding the Feature Race victory to his Sprint win from Saturday. The PREMA Racing driver put together a controlled race at the front, managing the gap to rivals behind him after losing the lead briefly early on,
Enzo Fittipaldi secured his first rostrum visit of 2023 for Rodin Carlin with second place, pulling off a move around the outside of Theo Pourchaire in the closing stages.
Martins’ charge continued as Frederik Vesti became the first driver to peel into the pits and swap the supersofts for mediums on Lap 7. He was followed in by Jehan Daruvala, Arthur Leclerc and Ralph Boschung, kicking off the first of the mandatory pitstops.
The Virtual Safety Car was deployed briefly after Brad Benavides found the barriers at Turn 4. His PHM Racing by Charouz car was quickly recovered and racing resumed on Lap 11.
There was a few close calls for Bearman during the middle phase of the race, almost scraping the wall at Turn 15 on multiple laps as he began to drop Pourchaire to the tune of 2.3s by Lap 20.
The full top 10 are: P1: Bearman, P2: Fittipaldi, P3: Pourchaire, P4: Vesti, P5: Maini, P6: Hauger, P7: Hadjar, P8: Verschoor, P9: Crawford and P10: Leclerc.
Round 2 is here for Formula 2, lets take a look at what went down in Free Practice and Qualifying!
Free Practice-
Oliver Bearman was quick out of the blocks in Jeddah, as he lead teammate Frederik Vesti in the opening session of the weekend. ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins, was also proving that the rookies were having no problem getting acquainted with the ultra-high-speed circuit, finishing Free Practice in third.
All the drivers were out on track early, eager to get their eye in around a slightly tweaked Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Martins claimed the top spot with 10 minutes gone, his 1:46.411 was 0.4s quicker than anyone else in the early phase of Practice.
There was red flag thrown in Free Practice, as Amaury Cordeel suffered a spin out of Turn 13, ending up sideways on the track. With his car in need of recovering, the session then wasn’t resumed with only four minutes remaining.
Martins set a 1:43.161, that would have put him on top but with the Red Flag cancelling his lap just before he could cross the line to finish it, Bearman topped practice instead.
Qualifying-
Victor Martins was a man on a mission as he claimed ART Grand Prix’s second consecutive pole position in a dominant fashion. The Frenchman put down a 1:41.326 to go a whopping 0.744s clear in the nick of time, as a late Red Flag denied the field a chance to get close to his efforts.
Practice pace-setter, Oliver Bearman also proved that experience isn’t everything as the PREMA rookie secured second, Championship leader Theo Pourchaire made it two ARTs in the top three.
Experiencing his first qualifying session around the Saudi Arabian track, Roman Stanek was the first to get a representative lap time on the board. However, the Trident driver’s time didn’t stay top for too long, being eclipsed immediately by Jack Doohan, Arthur Leclerc and Ayumu Iwasa.
With 18 minutes remaining, improvements were stopped after Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor spun at Turn 22, bringing out the Red Flag. Frederik Vesti momentarily became the driver to beat when running resumed, before he was leapfrogged by his teammate, Bearman.
However, not all drivers were able to take advantage of their fresh supersoft rubber, as the Red Flag was thrown once again, it wiped away Dennis Hauger’s personal best sectors, after Leclerc stopped on the exit of Turn 22. The session was then not resumed, allowing Martins to hold onto his maiden pole position.
Bearman setttled for second, only 0.001s ahead of Pourchaire. Jack Doohan left it late to snatch fourth ahead of Daruvala. Hitech Pule-EIght, Jak Crawford rounded out the top 10 on his Jeddah debut, he will start on reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race today.
The Formula 2 grid is now complete as MP Motorsport have announced that Jehan Daruvala will be joining the reigning Drivers’ and Teams’ Champions for the 2023 season.
The 24 year old has claimed victory in every F2 season, he’s competed in since his debut in 2020, with four wins and 15 podiums to his name.
After two seasons at Carlin, Daruvala moved to PREMA Racing last season and went on to finish seventh in the Standings for the second consecutive season.
Swapping from PREMA to MP, the Indian driver will be reunited with 2022 teammate Dennis Hauger for the 2023 season. The pair both completed post-season testing with the Dutch squad, with Daruvala clocking in the second fastest time of Day 2’s morning session at the Yas Marina circuit.
I’m really pleased to be back in FIA Formula 2, and to be able to team up with MP Motorsport makes it extra special. Last year, I was stunned by MP’s remarkably consistent front-running pace, and in 2023 I hope to be the beneficiary of that myself! Together with Dennis, I’m confident that our combined experience and speed will contribute to MP fighting for wins once again. I really enjoyed working with the team in the post-season test and look forward to 2023 testing and the season that lies ahead.
Daruvala on his new seat.
At MP, we are delighted to welcome Jehan to our FIA F2 team. He has been a consistent frontrunner right from his debut in the category, taking wins in every F2 season he has competed in. His experience will be of great value to the team, so we are very much aiming for a repeat of last year’s form. Also, matching him up with Dennis will allow us to build on a smooth cooperation between teammates who already know each other well. With such a strong driver pairing for 2023, I can’t wait to go racing!
Victor Martins will be stepping up to Formula 2 this year with ART Grand Prix, with the Frenchman lining up alongside Theo Pourchaire, completing the team’s line up for 2023.
He arrives following Formula 3 title success last season as the reigning Champion. Martins claimed two victories in 2022 and a further four podiums in his second year of FIA F3.
The 21 year old also claimed the Formula Renault Eurocup title with ART back in 2020, scoring seven wins and 10 poles that year.
The Frenchman took part in post-season testing with ART at Yas Marina last year, getting to grips with the F2 car for the first time.
Martins said he was looking forward to the challenge of Formula 2 and is confident in his capabilities for what will be his rookie campaign.
The 2023 season will be exciting and motivating. After a successful year with ART Grand Prix, I was not considering taking the next step with any other team. I can’t wait to discover the Formula 2 championship, which is tough and competitive, with such a professional and experienced team. The tests made it possible to remove what little doubts I might have had about my adaptation because I felt comfortable and confident. My objective will therefore be to do everything possible to win the title in my first year. With ART Grand Prix, I have all the tools to have big ambitions.
Martins on his seat.
Taking up the challenge of Formula 2 in 2023 with Victor is a logical continuation after an intense year which concluded with the first ART Grand Prix title in the modern era of F3. Victor made enormous progress in 2022 and has proven that in both difficult personal and sporting conditions, he has the mental strength and the talent to achieve great things at the highest level of motorsport. The Abu Dhabi tests confirmed his ability to adapt quickly and well to his new single-seater. His determination, his enthusiasm and his conquering spirit will be weapons in a championship where competition is fierce.
ART Grand Prix have retained 2022 Formula 2 vice champion, Theo Pourchaire for the 2023 season, announcing that the Frenchman will continue his partnership with the team for a third season.
Pourchaire’s relationship with the French squad began in 2020, the Sauber junior scored two wins and six additional podiums to finish runner-up in Formula 3. Graduating to the second tier in 2021, he went on to become the Championship’s youngest-ever race winner and pole sitter in Monaco.
A second campaign last year brought a battle with Felipe Drugovich for the title, Pourchaire claimed three victories and a further four podiums, finishing the year as runner-up.
Alongside competing in F2, Pourchaire will also take on the additional responsibilities with the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team as one of their reserve drivers. With the 19 year old already having some F1 experience as he made his FP1 debut with the team at the 2022 United States Grand Prix.
I couldn’t be happier to extend my career in this top-level Formula 2 championship with ART Grand Prix, which has become a family to me. We have had intense moments over the past three years and it’s important to prepare for the 2023 championship with a team that knows me and knows how to put me in the best possible situations. We may have lacked success last year, but we gained experience that makes us even stronger. I will do everything I can to bring the title to ART Grand Prix this season.
Pourchaire on his seat.
Théo will still be one of the youngest drivers on the grid, but he has acquired a technical and personal maturity which, combined with his speed and his combativeness, will be a major asset to be consistently at the front of the field and will help the team in its technical focus. Last season showed us how much every detail counts and after two seasons in Formula 2 with Théo, ART Grand Prix’s mission will be to master everything in our power to optimize our chances of winning the title in 2023.
HiTech Grand Prix will be fielding an all-Red Bull Junior driver line-up for the 2023 season, announcing that Isack Hadjar and Jak Crawford will be graduating to Formula 2.
Both are familiar faces to the British team, with the pair having previously driven for them in Formula 3 – Crawford in 2021 and Hadjar most recently in 2022 – as well as getting their first taste of F2 machinery at post-season testing in Yas Marina last November.
18 year old Hadjar, arrives off the back of a fourth-place finish in F3 last year. A title contender all the way to the final round, he managed to clinch three wins and a further two podiums.
I’m really excited to be part of the Red Bull Junior team and continue this journey with Hitech for another year. Hopefully we can win some more races and have a strong season together.
Hadjar on his seat for 2023.
Meanwhile Crawford returns to HiTech after a year away, the American finished his debut F3 campaign 13th in the standings before switching to PREMA Racing for the 2022 season.
There he scored one win and four podiums to take seventh, helping the Italian team to the Teams’ Championship title, alongside fellow 2023 graduates Oliver Bearman and Arthur Leclerc.
I am delighted to be back with Hitech for my first season of Formula 2. It will be a tough season with a strong grid but I am looking forward to what lies ahead.
Crawford on his seat.
We are excited to field once again two cars in FIA Formula 2 in Red Bull Junior Team colours, especially with two such promising young talents. Isack we saw first hand his last year as a rookie in Formula 3 and Jak we know him well from his first F3 season with us in 2021.
Jordan's Track Talk 