Jordan's Track Talk

Category: Formula Two

  • F2 Silverstone – Day 1

    F2 Silverstone – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Returning to the track where he secured back to back pole positions in Formula 3 in 2020, Logan Sargeant once again laid down the gauntlet for his rivals in the Free Practice session.

    The Carlin driver narrowly leaped ahead of Championship leader Felipe Drugovich setting a 1:40.902 to go 0.037s clear. Jack Doohan was content with third position. However, executing the perfect lap at the British circuit proved to be easier said than done.

    Dennis Hauger, had a few nervous moments of his own with a major spin at Abbey, one of the quickest corners on the track. The PREMA driver managed to save it and avoid the barriers.

    Running ground to a halt with just under 16 minutes remaining of the 45 minute session, as Calan Williams found the barriers at the exit of Copse losing the Tridents rear-end at the mid-corner bringing out the red flag.

    A queue of drivers were eager to get back out as soon as the lights went green with seven minutes to go. An improvement for Sargeant was enough for the American to hold onto the top spot as the session concluded under red flag conditions after Virtuosi’s Marino Sato came to a halt at Luffield with three minutes remaining.

    Qualifying-

    Logan Sargeant made it two from two on Friday, sealing pole position for the Feature Race after topping the earlier Free Practice session. Frederik Vesti outqualified his teammate and ended up P2 with Championship leader Felipe Drugovich securing third place ahead of Pourchaire.

    Drugovich’s first attempt was over as quickly as it started, going deep at village after locking up and subsequently running wide off track. Vesti was quickest after the initial times filtered in a 1:39.611 was the time to beat by the Dane, three-tenths quicker than Jack Doohan in P2.

    Jehan Daruvala had remained on track during the lull in action and lifted himself up to P2 and within two-tenths of Sargeant’s fastest effort. With 12 minutes remaining, drivers filtered back out onto track as the sun breached the cloud cover above the circuit.

    A yellow flag for the stranded Van Amersfoort Racing car of David Beckmann prevented drivers from setting two consecutive fast laps and with under five minutes remaining of the session, there wasn’t enough time left on the clock to relaunch an attack on pole.

  • RB terminate Vips contract, but keeps F2 seat…

    Red Bull have terminated the contract of their test and reserve driver, Juri Vips after he used a racist slur during a gaming stream.

    The team suspended Vips last week, pending an investigation when the clip emerged online, but now have announced his contract has been terminated.

    Following its investigation into an online incident involving Juri Vips, Oracle Red Bull Racing has terminated Juri’s contract as its test & reserve driver. The team do not condone any form of racism.

    Red Bull’s statement.

    The 21 year old, is racing for Hitech Grand Prix in Formula 2, for a second year. It is not confirmed at whether Vips will continue as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team.

    Vips had served as Red Bull’s reserve driver at several events in 2020 before taking up the post more permanently for the 2022 season. He competed in one free practice session for the team at Spanish Grand Prix, and it looked like he was set for more appearances this season.

    HiTech have spoken out on Juri Vips, and he will continue to compete with the team in F2 for the remainder of the season, with a chance to ‘redeem himself’.

    I have made a decision for Juri to keep his F2 seat with Hitech for the remainder of the season, a decision we have seriously debated. Allowing him to complete his season with Hitech is an opportunity for him to demonstrate, through his actions, the type of person he is. I have made it clear that I think the language used was totally unacceptable, but I choose to give him the chance to redeem himself. Hitech GP employs an inclusive work force and has never condoned racism or offensive behaviour in any forms. That said, if we live in a society where no one can make a mistake, then genuinely apologise, have the chance for redemption and learn from it – what does it say about our society? I don’t know why he said what he said. I don’t know why he was streaming and playing COD [Call of Duty] at that time of day. Certainly, there are things which would have been far more beneficial for his career! What I do know is that having his contract terminated by Red Bull as a result of his actions is a crushing experience for him, a deservedly severe punishment. The reality is there will not be unanimous agreement whether that punishment is sufficient, and that is totally understandable.

    Oliver Oakes, HiTech Boss

    Where as, Formula 2 made an announcement after HiTech to see what the team was going to do…

    Following the recent incident involving Juri Vips, F2 would like to reaffirm that the use of racist or discriminatory language cannot be tolerated in any environment. Hitech Grand Prix’s decision today is surprising and not one we would have taken. We will monitor the situation carefully with them to ensure that such behaviour is properly addressed.

    Formula 2’s statement.

  • Juri Vips suspended of all RB team duties

    Red Bull Racing, has suspended reserve and junior driver Juri Vips from all team duties with immediate effect.

    Footage emerged of Juri Vips, on social media using a racist slur whilst streaming on Twitch.

    Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips from all team duties with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into the incident. As an organisation we condemn abuse of any kind and have a zero-tolerance policy to racist language or behaviour within our organisation.

    Red Bull issued the above statement on social media.

    Vips has been apart of the Red Bull junior team since 2018, and drove for the Formula 1 team during FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix. As well as this, he has represented the team at two end of season tests in Abu Dhabi.

    I wish to unreservedly apologise for the offensive language used during a live gaming stream earlier today. This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold. I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set. I will cooperate with the investigation fully.

    Juri Vips statement on social media.

    Vips is set to race next at the British Grand Prix in just over a weeks time, for HiTech Grand Prix in Formula 2, who have yet to issue their own statement on the matter.

  • F2 & F3 to race in Melbourne from 2023

    Following Formula One’s announcement that the Australian Grand Prix will stay in Melbourne until 2035, the FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 promoters have announced that from 2023 both championships will feature the Albert Park circuit on their calendars, subject to World Motor Sport Council approval.

    The surprise announcement was made as part of the new deal, since F1 has been racing at the Albert Park circuit in 1996, it has never been joined by its main support series.

    The trip to Melbourne will be the furthest either championship has ventured from their European heartlands.

    F2’s predecessor GP2, previously reached the Pacific region with rounds at Sepang in Malaysia and Singapore’s Marina Bay Circuit. F3 was scheduled to debut in the United States in 2021 but the event was cancelled because of logistical issues.

    This great news for Formula 2 and 3, as well as fans! I feel like both series’ are getting more and more fans, as they both race on the same weekends as F1 and it’s shown by them going further afield and securing their place in motorsport.

    I am extremely happy to add Melbourne to both F2 and F3 calendars from 2023. It further enhances the international aspect of both our championships, having them race on a new continent. It also shows that more and more circuits believe that F2 and F3 are an added value to the Formula 1 Grand Prix experience, showcasing the next generation of drivers.

    FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 CEO, Bruno Michel.

  • F2 Driver given race ban & paddock altercations

    Formula 2 Driver, Amaury Cordeel has been banned from the next round at Silverstone after accruing 12 penalty points on his license.

    The Van Amersfoort driver has gained penalty points for many reasons, including ignoring track limits repeatedly at Imola, failing to respect yellow and red flags in Jeddah as well as failing to complete the formation lap in grid order at Barcelona last month.

    His various offences had combined to 11 penalty points heading into the Baku weekend, and he notched that point after colliding with Olli Caldwell in Sunday’s Feature Race.

    Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined Car 14 (Caldwell) was behind Car 25 (Cordeel) between Turns 3 and 4. Car 14 chose an outside line and was alongside Car 25 on the straight approaching Turn 4. Car 25 was focused on the cars ahead and did not see Car 14 on the left. Car 25 moved across to the left, making contact with Car 14 and forcing them both into the wall. Both cars retired. Car 25 was deemed to be wholly at fault for causing the collision.

    The FIA’s ruling on the collision.

    Cordeel will miss Formula 2’s next race weekend at Silverstone as a result, becoming the first F2 driver to receive a race ban since Mahaveer Ranganathan in 2019.

    Not only this, a €5,000 fine has been given to Charouz driver, Cem Bolukbasi after his father was involved in a paddock altercation with Williams test driver and Dams driver, Roy Nissany and his trainer in the paddock.

    Nissany, called Bolukbasi an ‘idiot’ over team radio when the pair both retired after colliding with each other and the words continued as Bolukbasi’s father, Yavuz confronted him in the DAMs tent, which lead to a ‘heated verbal exchange’ between them and Nissany’s trainer, Francesco Martinez as he also got involved afterwards.

    Bolukbasi senior, has had his event credentials for Silverstone revoked as a result, whilst his son has to pay the €5,000.

    Mr Bolukbasi admitted he lost his temper when he thought Car 19 (Nissany) made a derogatory comment about his son. As the verbal exchange escalated, the trainer for Roy Nissany became involved and there was some pushing and physical contact between the father and trainer. No punches were exchanged and the unwanted guests were removed from the area. At no time will physical violence, nor the threat of such be tolerated.

    The FIA statement on the altercation.
  • F2 Baku- Day 2 & 3

    F2 Baku- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Speaking ahead of the Sprint Race, Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti believed it would be decided on the final lap around Baku, but I don’t think he even could predict what happened. Throwing caution to the wind late on, the ART Grand Prix driver charged his way to the front and to his first victory in Formula 2.

    Having led the majority of the race, Jehan Daurvala had to settle for second after three safety cars in the second half of the race wiped away his advantage. Whilst Liam Lawson, demonstrated Baku’s overtaking capabilities as he carved his way through from P9 to get the final podium spot.

    Hauger was the first to bring out the safety car as he tried to make a move past Pourchaire into Turn 3, but went straight into the barrier after locking up. Once we was racing again, it didn’t last long as Vips HiTech was cut off by Enzo Fittipaldi and was unable to turn left, sending the duo into the run off area at Turn 2.

    Leaving it late on the restart, Daruvala locked up leaving the door wide open for Vesti to storm past the PREMA and up into the lead. Lawson then made his way past Drugovich, and set his sights on Verschoor ahead for P3, unfortunately for the Trident driver he went in to deep at Turn 7 and planted himself in the barriers bringing out the Safety Car.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Vesti, P2: Daruvala, P3: Lawson, P4: Armstrong, P5: Drugovich, P6: Sargeant, P7: Pourchaire, P8: Iwasa, P9: Hughes and P10: Nissany.

    Day 3-

    Dennis Hauger claimed his first F2 Feature Race win after a tense battle with Juri Vips, which saw the Estonian driver crash out of the race. The pair were battling sector by sector in the closing stages and with just over five minuted remaining, the Hitech GP man clipped the wall in the castle section.

    Logan Sargeant completed a measured drive to take second, whilst our Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich extended his points advantage finishing third.

    Contact between Amaury Cordeel and Olli Caldwell at Turn 4 brought out the Safety Car early on. Racing then resumed on Lap 5, and Marcus Armstrong was immediately on the attack for P2.

    The Safety car was then back out on Lap 12 following an incident between Roy Nissany and Cem Bolukbasi – the Charouz Racing driver went into Turn 2 but on the exit the pair made wheel to wheel contact which saw both drivers go into the wall.

    Back to back fastest laps for Vips on Lap 19 and 20 but couldn’t quite break Hauger’s pursuit. Vips then clipped the wall with 5 minutes remaining and the frustration was clear on the Estonian’s face when he got out the car. The race finished under the Safety Car due to the HiTech car still being on track and debris.

    The top 10 were: P1: Hauger, P2: Sargeant, P3: Drugovich, P4: Daruvala, P5: Verschoor, P6: Fittipaldi, P7: Vesti, P8: Sato, P9: Boschung and P10: Hughes.

    We haven’t got that long to wait until we see F2 cars back on track, we have just under 3 weeks and we will be at Silverstone for Round 7 which marks the halfway mark in the championship!

  • F2 Baku- Day 1

    F2 Baku- Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Juri Vips was the fastest man in the free practice session today, he set a 1:55.924 to end practice ahead of Lawson and teammate Marcus Armstrong.

    Strong winds kept the trees that line the circuit blowing as the drivers took to track for their initial laps. A dusty surface meant times were unrepresentative in the early phases of the session.

    Enzo Fittipaldi was the first to have a brush with the wall, the Charouz racing driver nudged the exit wall at Turn 4 but was able to continue without any visible concerns. Clement Novalak found himself facing the wall soon after in the first sector, bringing out the red flag.

    The session was back to green with 20 minutes, but it didn’t stay that way as Boschung’s joy at the top was short-lived as he was the next to find the wall – the Campos Racing man lost the rear end of his car on downshift and spun backwards into the barrier at Turn 5, bringing out the red flags for the second time.

    The full top were- P1: Vips, P2: Lawson, P3: Armstrong, P4: Doohan, P5: Vesti, P6: Daruvala, P7: Drugovich, P8: Boschung, P9: Verschoor and P10: Hauger.

    Qualifying-

    Mr Juri Vips narrowly missed out on pole position last year, but made amends this year as he stormed to P1 in a highly competitive qualifying session in Baku. The HiTech driver had been stuck down in 10th following his opening run, but a surprise burst of pace was enough to put him 0.163s clear of Lawson as Dennis Hauger made it an all Red Bull junior top three.

    As drivers started to back out with 11 minutes remaining, and the flying laps started they was brought to a hault due to Ayumu Iwasa who was determined to push his car to the limits- he carried to much speed into Turn 4 and collided with the barrier – he looked untouchable earlier on in the session as he was sitting comfortably on provisional pole.

    The Japanese driver’s mistake blew the fight for pole wide open as Richard Verschoor and Hauger both clocked in personal bests. But it was the final minute of the session that showed who had mastered the streets of Baku.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Vips, P2: Lawson, P3: Hauger, P4: Armstrong, P5: Drugovich, P6: Verschoor, P7: Sargeant, P8: Daruvala, P9: Vesti and P10: Hughes.

  • Azerbaijan Grand Prix

    The Azerbaijan GP is here once again, and it hosts Round 8 out of 22! After an unexpected race here last year, what could happen this year and will Max settle his unfinished business here after last year’s retirement?

    Just like Monaco, the Baku City Circuit has areas where mistakes can’t be made, but unlike in Monaco there is more overtaking chances, especially down the straight.

    Who needs a good weekend?

    The Ferrari boys need a good weekend, the last 4 races a Red Bull has won, which has led them to lead both championships and have Perez close in on Charles in 2nd. Sainz needs to get a good amount of points on the board as he is 27 points away from Perez who is in 3rd. Either way a Ferrari needs to win this weekend to get back on form which we saw in the early few races.

    Both Haas’ will also be wanting to do well this weekend, as they look to try and score double points (fingers crossed). After having both cars DNF last time out, Haas will be wanting to score to get further up in the constructors, they currently sit in 8th just two points away from Alpha Tauri in 7th.

    Guanyu Zhou will be hoping for a good weekend, having scored a point in his first ever F1 race, it hasn’t all gone his way this year, finishing just outside the points in both Saudi Arabia and Australia, he then finished 15th in Imola and had two DNF’s in Miami and Spain, he then bounced back to finish 16th in Monaco. In F2 last year, he finished 3rd in Sprint Race 1 – hopefully he can put that to good use and get in the points this weekend!…

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Hamilton.

    I feel like the battle for 5th will be between both Mercs, Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas – all have very good cars and it looks like McLaren and Alfa Romeo have unlocked a bit more than Mercedes at this moment in time.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 10th

    • Free Practice F2 – 09:35am – 10:20am (BST)
    • Free Practice 1 F1 – 12:00pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F2 – 13:30pm – 14:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1 – 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Saturday 11th

    • Sprint Race F2 – 10:30am – 11:15am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1 – 12:0pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F1 – 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Sunday 12th

    • Feature Race F2 – 08:05am (BST)
    • F1 Race – 12:00pm

  • Azerbaijan tyre allocation

    After a weeks break, we are back racing once again as we have another double header, with our first destination being Azerbaijan this weekend.

    Pirelli have chosen the tyres for this weekend those being the softest tyres in the range, C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft). This is the same selection as last year’s Azerbaijan GP.

    Baku’s street circuit has a personality of its own, combining rapid straights with some narrow and technical sections, especially around Turn 9 in the old city centre. As a result, the high downforce setups which the teams used in Monaco won’t be used here, teams prefer to go for a low to medium downforce set up.

    The weather can be warm in Baku, with the track temperature in excess of 50 degrees, but the tight confines of the building around the circuit mean that there are areas around the track with light and shade, varying the track temperature quite a bit around the lap.

    The winning strategy last year was effectively a one-stopper (although the race was red flagged close to the end). The favoured strategy was soft to hard, with the soft tyre being fitted for the last three laps.

    Until Jeddah came along, Baku was the fastest street circuit of the year. But the demands of this city track are still relatively low, as none of the corners take a huge amount of energy out of the tyres due to the low levels of abrasion and contained lateral loads – which means that we can have the same nomination as Monaco. Having said that, the high speeds in Azerbaijan still place a certain demand on the tyres. The main point is all about traction, with finding the right balance between front and rear axles being the key challenge for all the teams: you need to have enough heat in the front tyres to generate grip, despite the long straights that cool them down, but not too much heat at the rear, otherwise it’s easy to overheat them in the traction zones. Track temperature is also inconsistent in Baku, so all in all it’s quite a specific track with a few different technical challenges, which are nonetheless the same for everyone.

    Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.

    Formula 2

    The Medium and Supersoft tyres have been chosen for this weekend in Baku for Formula 2. This is the same nomination as previous years, even though the supersoft is a new compound for 2022. But the same compounds have already been seen this season at Imola.

  • F2 Monaco- Day 3 & 4

    Day 3-

    PREMA’s, Dennis Hauger secured his first win in Formula 2 around the streets of Monte Carlo. Hauger, capitalised on a stall by reverse pole-man Jake Hughes at lights out to assume the lead of the race and he never looked back.

    Jehan Daruvala, made it a PREMA one-two, with Marcus Armstrong following closely behind and completing the podium. Lap 10 came along, when Clement Novalak hit the wall on the exit of La Rascasse, with the Safety Car being brought out, Ayumu Iwasa received a 10 second time penalty for the incident.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hauger, P2: Daruvala, P3: Armstrong, P4: Fittipaldi, P5: Vips, P6: Pourchaire, P7: Doohan, P8: Lawson, P9: Nissany and P10: Sargeant.

    Day 4-

    Pole-sitter Felipe Drugovich made it three wins in four races to extend his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. After a disappointing Sprint Race retirement, the MP Motorsport driver turned his fortunes around to hold off Theo Pourchaire in a race of attrition.

    A late gasp of pace from Juri Vips wasn’t enough to bring him into the fight as the Hitech Grand Prix driver settled for third.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Drugovich, P2: Pourchaire, P3: Vips, P4: Doohan, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Armstrong, P7: Hauger, P8: Daruvala, P9: Sargeant and P10: Sato.

  • F2 Monaco – Day 1 & 2

    Day 1-

    Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich led the way in the Free Practice session in Monte Carlo, he clocked in a 1:21.589, Drugovich’s effort was just enough to hold off Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung.

    It was HiTech’s Marcus Armstrong, who set the first representative lap of the 45 minute session. However times quickly began to tumble as Boschung topped the sheets with a 1:26.741.

    Traffic once again proved to be a thorn in several drivers’ sides, including Drugovich who was forced to abandon several fast laps after coming across a train of cars at Turn 19.

    Running was constant throughout the session, with only Juri Vips and Marino Sato bringing out yellow flags in Sector 1, with both drivers suffering near-identical front lockups and headed into the run off at Turn 1, before swiftly getting going again.

    Day 2-

    Liam Lawson set the fastest time in qualifying around the streets of Monte Carlo, narrowly beating out Ayumu Iwasa by 0.059s. Championship leader Felipe Drugovich hit the wall on his final effort but remained third quickest in group A. Meanwhile, Theo Pourchaire topped the Group B with a 1:25.535.

    A slow burn in Group B followed, but a red flag in the final minute prevented any last-gasp improvements. A crash for Van Amersfoort Racing’s Jake Hughes, at the swimming pool chicane ended the session prematurely. It meant that Pourchaire’s penultimate attempt was good enough for the top spot in the second group.

    But, things never stay the same in F2! Liam Lawson, Ayumu Iwasa and Olli Caldwell all got post qualifying penalties.

    Lawson, had been fount guilty of failing to reduce his speed under a single-waved yellow flag. As a result, Lawson’s best time got deleted and as well as receiving a five place grid drop, dropping him down to P11 for tomorrows Sprint Race.

    Iwasa, has been awarded a 10 place grid penalty, after failing to abandon his flying lap whilst under a double waved yellow flag at the end of qualifying. His best lap time has been deleted, demoting him from P2 of his group. Iwasa’s second-best time now sees him classified in P7, and with the penalty applied he’ll start the sprint race from P20.

    Last but not least, Olli Caldwell has been fount guilty of impeding Marino Sato at Turns 2, 3 and 4 during Group B’s qualifying session, the Campos driver failing to let Sato through who was on a fast lap. As a result, Caldwell has been handed a three-place grid drop for his next race.

    The full top 10 for tomorrows sprint race is: P1: Hughes, P2: Hauger, P3: Daruvala, P4: Armstrong, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Vips, P7: Doohan, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Drugovich and P10: Boschung.

  • F2 Barcelona- Day 2 & 3

    F2 Barcelona- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Felipe Drugovich made up for the post-qualifying penalty by winning the Sprint Race. Demoted to fourth on the grid, he seized the lead at Turn 1.

    The MP Motorsport driver led every lap from that point and victory moved him to the top of Formula 2 Drivers Championship. Ayumu Iwasa and Logan Sargeant were able to secure their maiden F2 podiums, finishing second and third.

    The Sprint Race was not good for Juri Vips, as he spun at Turn 4 in which he beached himself in the grave and it saw the Safety Car come out.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Drugovich, P2: Iwasa, P3: Sargeant, P4: Daruvala, P5: Pourchaire, P6: Doohan, P7: Vesti, P8: Fittipaldi, P9: Lawson and P10: Armstrong.

    Day 3-

    Felipe Drugovich, made it two wins from two in Barcelona, winning the Feature Race after his Sprint Race success on Saturday. The MP Motorsport driver made it look simple from 10th on the grid, extending his stint on the soft tyres longer than anyone else before catching and passing Jack Doohan for the win.

    The Virtuosi Racing driver did everything right, but his early pit stop left him on tyres five laps older than the Brazilian’s. His first podium of the 2022 F2 season will offer some comfort heading into Monaco. Frederik Vesti made his best F2 qualifying result count and the ART Grand Prix driver completed the podium.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Drugovich, P2: Doohan, P3:Vesti, P4: Sargeant, P5: Novalak, P6: Fittipaldi, P7: Armstrong, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Lawson and P10: Nissany.

    The Championship-

    Drugovich’s dominance in Barcelona has helped him into a 26 point lead, as Pourchaire remains second with an okay weekend. Daruvala is narrowly ahead of Lawson and Armstrong who moved himself up into the top five.

    MP Motorsport made the tyres work fo rboth drivers, which has extended their points tally at the top of the Teams’ Standings to 108 points. ART remain in second with 85 and Carlin sit in third with 73 points.

    We don’t have long to wait till the next round, as we are back next week for Round 5, in Monaco!

  • F2 Barcelona – Day 1

    F2 Barcelona – Day 1

    Round 4 for Formula 2 this weekend, lets take a look at how the first day went.

    Free Practice-

    Felipe Drugovich led the way in free practice after multiple red flag stoppages. The MP Motorsport driver, was almost a full half-second clear of the pack, with Jehan Daruvala and Logan Sargeant his closest challengers.

    Olli Caldwell and Marcus Armstrong both brought out the red flags during the session, with the Campos Racing driver spinning and hitting the wall at Turn 9. Meanwhile Armstrong became beached in the gravel at Turn 4 as drivers struggled for grip.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Drugovich, P2: Daruvala, P3: Sargeant, P4: Doohan, P5: Lawson, P6: Vips, P7: Iwasa, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Hauger and P10: Williams.

    Qualifying-

    Before we start looking at the qualifying result, Ralph Boschung has withdrawn from this weekend as he is suffering from neck pain and wasn’t able to continue after the practice session.

    Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan, left it last minute as he stormed to his second pole position in Formula 2, the Aussie managed to hold off an extremely late charge from HiTech’s Juri Vips which saw the Estonian driver leap up from last to second and ahead of ART’s Frederik Vesti in third.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Vips, P3: Vesti, P4: Daruvala, P5: Sargeant, P6: Iwasa, P7: Pourchaire, P8: Hughes, P9: Williams and P10: Drugovich.

    Drugovich was meant to be starting on pole position for today’s sprint race but, he has a 3 place grid penalty for impeding Theo Pourchaire, so he now will be starting 4th. That promotes Calan Williams to pole position and Jake Hughes onto the front row.

  • Le Castellet added to F2 Calendar

    Formula 2 has announced that they will be racing at the French Grand Prix alongside F1, following the cancellation of the Sochi round.

    Yesterday, Formula 1 confirmed that they will not be replacing the cancelled Russian Grand Prix on its schedule, F2 had also been set to race at Sochi until the September event was cancelled in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However Formula 2 had indicated it intended to replace its lost round.

    The French Grand Prix had been the only European round where no Formula 2 or Formula 3 races were billed, but F2 will now join W Series as the support categories.

    With the new round added, it means F2 will have four double header rounds in the space of five weeks. Starting off with Silverstone from 1st to 3rd July, the Spielberg round from 8th to 10th, Le Castellet then two weeks later on the 22nd to 24th and the Budapest from the 29th to 31st.

    The last time F2 was at Circuit Paul Ricard was in 2019. The feature race was won by that years eventual champion and now Formula E Champion and driver, Nyck de Vries. The sprint victory was taken by French driver, Anthoine Hubert, his final win before the Spa crash.

    Since it was announced that we would drop one event, we have been working on finding a venue to replace it, keeping in mind the costs. Le Castellet came out as the best option, and we are really pleased to return to the Circuit Paul Ricard. With this added round, we go back to fourteen events as announced before the start of the season. This means that the 2022 season calendar is the most sizeable one we have had since the start of the FIA F2 back in 2017. It will be a very busy month of July for the teams and the drivers, but a very exciting one for the fans and everyone involved in F2.

    Bruno Michel, FIA Formula 2 CEO on the latest round.
  • F2 Imola- Round Up

    F2 Imola- Round Up

    Day 1-

    Free Practice-

    Ralph Boschung ended the free practice session on top, setting a 1:41.996 with a heavily interrupted session with three red flags across the 30 minutes of on track action. Before Practice had even started there was drama, as the session had to be rescheduled from the morning until the circumstances improved.

    Once the session was underway, it wasn’t long until the first red flag was produced as Hitech’s Marcus Armstrong spun and hit the barrier before Turn 11. Once the session resumed, Juri Vips set the initial pace but after this another red flag came out and the action stopped, this time due to Logan Sargeant spinning and not being able to get his car going again.

    Boschung moved to the head of the pack before having a spin of his own in the final minute which brought out the 3rd red flag. Vips was in second and Jehan Daruvala was in third for PREMA.

    Qualifying-

    HiTech’s Juri Vips took his first ever pole position in his Formula 2 career as he mastered the difficult conditions and set a lap time of 1:40.221. More rain hit the track prior to the start of the session, forcing drivers to use the wet tyres.

    Ralpha Boshcung who set the pace in the afternoon practice session, was the first driver to lay down a marker but after the opening round o flaps were completed it was Clement Novalak who was the fastest driver. Jake Hughes then moved to the top of the timesheet before being replaced by Vips.

    Shortly after Vips completed his lap, the one and only red flag of the session was deployed as Olli Caldwell spun off the road in the first sector. As the session resumed, drivers returned to the circuit to prepare for the final push laps, with Boschung setting the benchmark even lower. However, with six minutes left, Vips closed out a lap which would not be beaten, despite several improvements int he top 10.

    Juri in P1 for the feature race, with Ayumu Iwasa in 2nd and 3rd. Sargeant took reverse grid pole as he finished 10th.

    Day 2-

    Sprint Race-

    Carlin’s Logan Sargeant started from pole, but the driver struggled to get off the line, his slow start allowed Armstrong into the lead, with the American driver dropping down to fifth by the end of the opening lap.

    David Beckmann spun on the opening lap, with Clement Novalak unable to avoid the Charouz car and picked up front wing damage, it saw Beckmann retire from the race where he joined Amaury Cordeel on the sidelines as the Belgian racer crashed on his way to the grid.

    Boschung became the latest retirement on Lap 9 as he was forced to pull over at the side with a problem, a virtual safety car was called which allowed Daruvala to close the gap on the leader, Marcus Armstrong.

    In the final few laps, Daruvala couldn’t pass Armstrong for the lead and had to settle for P2, with Hauger in P3, his best finish in Formula 2 so far.

    Day 3-

    Feature Race-

    Juri Vips headed the field from pole position as the lights went out, however it was Roy Nissany who started sixth who led the field into Turn 2. Behind there was instant contact between 2021 Formula 3 title rivals, Dennis Hauger and Jack Doohan, damage was inflicted on both cars and the pair were forced to retire.

    A safety car was called to clean up Haugers stricken car, but no sooner had it disappeared it was called upon again as pole-sitter Juri Vips crashed on the exit of Turn 6 after running wide. When the safety car went in, a series of drivers including Nissany, Boschung, Pourchaire and Fittipaldi peeled into the pit lane to switch to the medium compound tyres.

    As the laps ticked down the battles for position were not over, with Boschung and Sargeant scrapping for what could be second place. Sargeant moved ahead of Boschung, but soon dropped down the order moments after taking the position.

    It was Theo Pourchaire who took the Feature Race win, with Enzo Fittipaldi finishing 2nd, his best ever finish and first Formula 2 podium! Ralph Boschung finished in third.

    The Championship-

    We now have a new championship leader, that being Theo Pourchaire he leads with 52 points. Felipe Drugovich in 2nd with 50 points and then there is quite a gap between 2nd and 3rd. Jehan Daruvala in 3rd with 36 points, Liam Lawson in 4th with 35 points and then Richard Verschoor in 5th with 32 points.

    Looking at the teams, its a lot closer than the drivers… MP Motorsport out in front with 62 points, ART Grand Prix in 2nd with 60 points, we then have HiTech Grand Prix in 3rd with 58 points!

    We are back in a month for round 4 of the season, in Barcelona Spain on the 20th to 22nd of May!

  • Bolukbasi not to race in Imola

    Bolukbasi not to race in Imola

    Cem Bolukbasi will not be racing this weekend in the third round of the 2022 Formula 2 season after picking up an injury during the in-season test at Barcelona last week.

    David Beckmann will be taking Bolukbasi’s place in the Charouz car, last week Beckmann was called up by the team to contest the last of the F2 in-season test, with Bolukbasi having flown home for medical attention after a crash on the opening day.

    Beckmann is already well known with the team, having already driven for the team for the first half of the 2021 season, before family business commitments contributed to him leaving. He then stayed in F2 for two more rounds, as he joined Campos Racing.

    The German driver, ended his rookie season down in 15th in the standings after missing the final two rounds but he did manage to claim two sprint race podiums and was quick to get back up to speed in the car.

    Since not racing since September, Beckmann has had a busy 2022 so far as he has picked up the reserve and development driver for Andretti Autosport in Formula E, with his first track-side work having been at the Rome E-Prix event which took place just a few days before he was summoned by Charouz.

    At the moment, it is a one-off return to F2 for Beckmann, with it having been publicised in Europe that Bolukbasi will be back racing by round six of the season in Baku on the 10th to 12th June, but before then are two rounds in May at Barcelona and Monaco where his participation has not been confirmed yet.

  • F2 Testing Barcelona

    F2 Testing Barcelona

    Formula 2 was back on track this week for their in-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Let’s take a look at how it went.

    Day 1-

    The first session of testing, saw a sprinkling of rain and a track temp of just 14 degrees, running was reduced on a quiet opening morning of testing, with only two drivers posting more than 30 laps. Championship leader, Drugovich picked up from where he left off at Round 2, with the Brazilian jumping to the top of the time sheets.

    There were three stoppages during the morning, including Calan Williams who spun to a stop at Turn 2. Lawson’s Carlin came to a halt at Turn 10, before Cem Bolukbasi lost control of his Charouz at Turn 9 and went into the barrier.

    The track temperature marginally increased in the afternoon, and this meant the grid was able to offer up a few push laps on the back of their race runs. After a benchmark time of 1:29.897 from Armstrong during the long-running, Boschung fired to the top of the field, dropping a 1:27.929.

    There were two more Red Flags in the afternoon, firstly for Vips who clipped the barriers at Turn 3 and then later for Logan Sargeant whose Carlin came to a halt on the track at Turn 1. Despite the stoppages, there was significantly more running in the afternoon. Boschung and Williams completed the joint-most laps with 55 each.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptime
    1Ralph BoschungCampos Racing1:27.929
    2Marcus Armstrong HiTech Grand Prix1:28.170
    3Ayumu IwasaDams1:28.331
    4Marino SatoVirtuosi Racing1:28.436
    5Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport1:29.131
    Top 5 Afternoon Session.

    Day 2-

    A drop of rain and dark clouds threatened a wet session on the morning of Day 2, but apart from a brief spitting the track would remain relatively dry throughout the third outing of the test. Trident’s Richard Verschoor set the benchmark time at the start, posting a 1:29.328.

    There were several interruptions throughout the morning session, beginning when Marino Sato’s stopped on the main straight in the opening hour. Iwasa lost control of his DAMS and clipped the wall at Turn 5. Turn 5 was proving tricky to master in the conditions as Hughes and Caldwell both ended up in the gravel shortly after. There were two further Red Flags as Vips spun to a stop at Turn 11 and before Caldwell came to a standstill at Turn 4.

    Roy Nissany set the fastest time of the morning session with a 1:28.812, Richard Verschoor was second with a 1:29.328 and Iwasa in third with a 1:29.596.

    After a stop-start morning session, rain proved to be the only real interrupting factor in the afternoon as a sprinkle lead to a spell stuck in the garages, with too little rain for wet tyres and too much for slicks. Vips set the benchmark at 1:30.148 in the opening half an hour, but the Red Bull reserve, was knocked down to third by his HiTech teammate as well as Felipe Drugovich.

    There was a brief stoppage as Calan Williams came to a halt at the final corner and brought out the session’s only Red Flag. There wasn’t much improvement in the final half an hour, PREMA’s Dennis Hauger managed to break into the top 10.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptime
    1Marcus ArmstrongHiTech Grand Prix1:29.752
    2Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport1:29.960
    3Juri VipsHiTech Grand Prix1:30.148
    4Amaury CordeelVan Amersfoort Racing1:30.169
    5Dennis HaugerPREMA Racing1:30.169
    Top 5 Afternoon Session.

    Day 3-

    The sun made its appearance on the final day of the test, the teams wasted no time getting out on track for some representative qualifying simulations. Lawson put on a set of softs and set the baseline time of a 1:27.888, marking the quickest time of the test so far. The PREMAs had also gone on fresh softs but couldn’t quite match the Carlin’s pace, Hauger 0.057s off in second and Daruvala in 3rd a further 0.074s.

    Novalak stopped at Turn 2, which brought out a red flag. Doohan set the most laps in the three hour stint, with 50 to his name. The top 3 were P1: Drugovich, P2: Lawson and P3: Doohan.

    After a brief delay to the afternoon session due to track maintenance, the session began. The majority of the grid was focused on long runs and race simulations in the afternoon, with Vips setting the benchmark at 1:29.888.

    Vips was one of three stoppages during the final session, with the driver coming to a halt at Turn 3 in the final five minutes. Vesti and Hauger had also both stopped during the afternoon with the ART car coming to a stop at Turn 15 and PREMA pulling up at Turn 5.

    2021 podium finisher, David Beckmann subbed in for Cem Bolukbasi at Charouz on Thursday after the Turkish racer suffered a physical problem on the first day of testing.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptime
    1Juri VipsHiTech Grand Prix1:29.288
    2Jake HughesVan Amersfoort Racing1:30.802
    3Enzo FittipaldiCharouz Racing System1:31.541
    4David BeckmannCharouz Racing System1:31.633
    5Amaury CordeelVan Amersfoort Racing1:31.801
    Top 5 Afternoon Session.

    Formula 2 will be back on track next weekend, in Imola for Round 3!

  • F2 Jeddah- Day 2&3

    F2 Jeddah- Day 2&3

    Day 2-

    Dennis Hauger had been promoted to reverse grid pole as Jack Doohan was disqualified from Qualifying and the PREMA of Hauger took full advantage of being on pole.

    Hughes reaction wasn’t as quick as Hauger’s but an early Safety Car brought action to a stop as Amaury Cordeel lost control of his Van Amersfoort and collided with the wall.

    Fourteen laps remained when action resumed, with Hauger still in the lead with Williams and Hughes behind him. Lawson managed to over take Iwasa before a second safety car. This time because of a collision at the back between Doohan and Sargeant.

    It was Lawson who took the win with his old team Juri Vips in 2nd and Drugovich finishing 3rd. It looked like Hauger was going to take the win until he went into the pit Lane whilst it was closed and got a 10 second stop-go penalty. Jake Hughes finished in 3rd but got disqualified due to a technical infringement.

    Day 3-

    Drugovich chopped across to get Verschoor covered, and the move worked as the top five maintained position at the end of Turn 1.

    This didn’t last though as Liam Lawson made a move on Ralph Boschung for P4, before making a move on Armstrong down the main straight.

    Drugovich went into the pits on Lap 9 to ditch the softs, handing the lead to Verschoor who was hoping the over-cut would work but it wasn’t meant to be as the driver dove into the pits a lap later and came out behind Drugovich.

    Disaster struck for the title contenders, Pourchaire was forced to retire from the pits, before Lawson pulled to a stop at the exit of the pit lane due to his tyres not being fitted properly.

    It was P1 for Drugovich, P2 for Verschoor and P3 for Daruvala.

    We are back for F2 for testing from 12th to 14th April in Barcelona with our next race weekend being from the 22nd to 24th April in Imola!

  • Bolukbasi to not race

    Cem Bolukbasi will be not racing this weekend as he has been declared unfit after his crash yesterday.

    During free practice yesterday, Cem Bolukbasi crashed. It was a lengthy red flag and we saw Cem getting out of the car himself, after a little while.

    A statement then was released by the FIA after Free Practice as the driver had been transferred to a local hospital.

    A new statement which was released this morning declares that Cem is unfit and will not be racing:

    Following medical examination, the driver of car #23 was found to have suffered a concussion and remained in hospital overnight for further precautionary checks. He has been declared unfit to race and has therefore been withdrawn from the event by the team.

    Hopefully we see Cem back in the car at testing in a few weeks!

    Cem took to social media

  • Should F1 even be racing?

    This weekend is the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as-well F2’s second round, but should we even be racing their this weekend?

    An oil depot- around 7 miles from the track and owned by F1 sponsor, Aramco- was set ablaze during the first free practice in Saudi and a large black smoke cloud could be seen from the circuit…

    F1 drivers met for four hours yesterday, after practice on Friday- which included team bosses and F1 chiefs, it continued till 2.30am Saudi Arabia time.

    It is to be understood that the drivers raised concerns over the safety of the event in the wake of the attacks. But while the lengthy meetings suggested some drivers may have wanted to boycott.

    But the Saudi Arabian GP is still set to go ahead as planned and team bosses have insisted they will be racing this weekend.

    The fire at the North Jeddah Bulk plant.

    My Opinion-

    Plain and simply I think no. Putting drivers and team members at risk for what? And marshals too, people who are offering their time to make sure the race goes ahead. It’s quite unbelievable we are going to see a race happen.

  • F2 Jeddah- Day 1

    F2 Jeddah- Day 1

    Round 2 in Saudi Arabia has started, let’s take a look at the first day.

    Free Practice-

    Felipe Drugovich set the pace in a disrupted practice session, he posted a 1:44.100 with Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong following the Brazilian driver.

    It was Van Amersfoort first appearance at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and they was the first team to get on track.

    There was a lengthy stoppage due to Cem Bolukbasi went into the barriers, once it was cleared their was 13 minutes on the clock.

    Lawson came close to taking the top spot but was still 0.150 of the benchmark.

    The second red flag of the session stopped the running completely as there was 8 minutes to go. Theo Pourchaire lost control of his car at the exit of 22 and collided with the wall.

    Qualifying-

    A late showing from the fastest man from this morning, Felipe Drugovich, snatched pole position in the final minute of qualifying with a 1:40.422. The Brazilian finished ahead of Richard Verschoor and last weeks pole sitter, Jack Doohan.

    Hughes broke the 1m 42s barrier for the first time, Hughes sat in P1 before Theo Pourchaire pulled to a stop on track and made the first red flag of the session as he had smoke coming from his ART Grand Prix.

    The time to beat when the session resumed when 1:41.538, the resumption was short-lived though as Logan Sargeant crashed bringing out the second red flag.

    It’s Jake Hughes who is on pole position for tomorrow’s Sprint Race as the top 10 switch round. Where as for Sunday it’s Felipe Drugovich!

    Times for rest of weekend-

    Saturday: Sprint Race: 12:30pm – 13:15pm (GMT)

    Sunday: Feature Race: 13:35pm (GMT).

  • Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

    After our first visit in December, we are back in Saudi Arabia for Round 2 of the F1 2022 Championship with Formula 2 also joining us.

    After a double DNF for Red Bull can they have a good weekend or will problems strike again? Can Mercedes sort out their porpoising? How are Ferrari going to go into this weekend after securing pole position, and a 1-2. Well all eyes are onto the weekend…

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Red Bull, straight up. Scoring no points in the opening round isn’t a good start for the team as well as for Max if he is going to defend his title. Perez hasn’t finished the last 3 Grand Prix’s and one of them including Saudi Arabia last year.

    Pierre needs a good weekend, it looked like he was set for points until his car caught fire last week and we all saw how consistent he can be with qualifying/scoring points, hopefully he can turn things around.

    I feel like the Aston Martin’s need a good weekend- I feel like we haven’t seen much of them during testing and last weeks race, I wanna see if they can at least get one car into Q3 or even the points as they were quite clsoe last week.

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five are: Pole- Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Hamilton.

    This track is very unforgiving, one tiny mistake and your qualifying could be over- like we saw with Max Verstappen last year- could it happen again on Saturday?

    If teams can’t sort out the porpoising by qualifying and if it is worse here, then it could ruin some qualifying laps which could lead to some shock exits from Q2.

    Times for this weekend-

    Friday 25th-

    Free Practice F2: 11:25am – 12:10pm (GMT). Free Practice 1: 14:00pm – 15:00pm. Qualifying F2: 15:30pm – 16:00pm (GMT) Free Practice 2: 17:00pm – 18:00pm (GMT).

    Saturday 26th-

    Sprint Race F2: 12:30pm – 13:15pm (GMT). Free Practice 3: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (GMT). Qualifying 17:00pm – 18:00pm.

    Sunday 27th-

    Feature Race F2: 13:35pm (GMT). Saudi Arabian GP: 18:00pm (GMT).

  • Saudi Arabia tyre allocation

    Four months after Formula 1’s first visit to Saudi Arabia, we are returning this week along with Formula 2.

    Pirelli have chosen the compounds for this weekend, those being the middle of the range: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft). This is the first time this season the C4 compound is making an appearance.

    This choice has been made due to Jeddah’s track characteristics (both layout and asphalt), the expected temperatures, as well as the data from last years race. The new surface offered a good level of grip and reasonably contained levels of asphalt abrasion, which could lead to moderate wear and degradation.

    Due to the rapidly flowing layout, the track isn’t particularly demanding in terms of traction and braking, there is expected to be a high degree of track evolution over the weekend thanks to the Formula 2 support race.

    The fastest street circuit on the calendar has changed since making its debut, as the result of modifications requested by the governing body following a few on-track incidents last time. These consist of opening up slight lines through corners by moving barriers further back, whilst the final turn (27) has been widened by the removal of a grandstand, which could make the lap slightly faster.

    Turn 13, still features 12 degrees of banking, helping the rapid flow of the circuit that makes it the second quickest lap of the year overall, after Monza.

    Jeddah marks a completely different challenge compared to the opening grand prix in Bahrain due to the diverse track characteristics, both in terms of layout and asphalt. Driver will also use a softer range of compounds this weekend to cope with the specific demands of the track, which is nearly as quick as Monza. The teams head into Jeddah with no experience of these tyres and cars on the circuit, and conditions could be somewhat different from last time in Saudi Arabia, with the race now being held at a different time of year and a few track modifications in store. The nominated compounds are the same as 2021, but their make-up has also changed entirely from last year. As a result, the teams will have a lot of work to do to assimilate as much data as possible during free practice, especially in FP2 which will be the only relevant session, being held at the same time as qualifying and the race.

    Mario Isola, Head of Pirelli Motorsport.

    Formula 2

    The Formula 2 season, continues in Jeddah where the Medium and Soft compounds are nominated, this is a step harder than the supersoft, which was the softest option last year. The soft tyre, will present a different challenge for drivers which add more options in terms of strategy and helping with any potential safety car restarts.

  • F2 Bahrain- Day 2&3

    F2 Bahrain- Day 2&3

    Day 2-

    Trident had only took their first F2 podium in the 2021 season, and hadn’t stood on the top step since 2016 GP2 campaign, but new recruit Verschoor had upped the chances by starting P2.

    Drugovich tumbled down the timesheets to sixth as Ralph Boschung but his Campos in P2 after starting P6. The action was brought to a half as a Safety Car come out due to Marcus Armstrong being tagged by Jake Hughes. The Van Amersfoort driver was handed a 10 second time penalty.

    Verschoor aced the restart as he pulled himself out of the DRS range, behind him Pourchaire didn’t have much luck as he was forced to enter the pits and retire from 5th.

    Daruvala had been waiting to make a move on Boschung for 2nd and managed to stick ahead before VSC came out, due to Hughes coming to a stop on the gravel. Clement Novalak had made contact with the British driver and the MP Motorsport driver was handed a 10s time penalty.

    PositionDriverTeamPoints
    1Richard VerschoorMP Motorsport10
    2Jehan DaruvalaPREMA Racing8
    3Liam LawsonCarlin6
    4Ralph BoschungCampos Racing5
    5Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport4
    Top 5 finishers

    Day 3-

    Vips took the chance to take the lead of the race, as the front row had horrible starts with Boschung added in there as well. THe ones on the alternate strategy all benefited off the line with Williams, Armstrong, Caldwell and Iwasa gaining multiple positions.

    The first safety car arrived three laps in as Frederick Vesti was spun to a stop. The pit stops then started, and Vips luck turned as he had a slow pit stop and put him down to 12th. This meant that Doohan basically got handed the lead- although he got through the pit stop unscathed he got tangled up with Pourchaire on his return to the track and suffered damage to his front wing meaning he had to pit again.

    A five car tussle for 10th resulted in another Safety car, as Enzo Fittipaldi tagged Richard Verschoor making him stop. A flurry of activity in the pit lane led to two further retirements as Hauger and Williams both lost a tyre during their teams attempt to get them back out on track.

    PositionDriverTeamPoints
    1Theo PourchaireART Grand Prix25
    2Liam LawsonCarlin18
    3Juri VipsHiTech Grand Prix15
    4Ralph BoschungCampos Racing12
    5Marcus ArmstrongHiTech Grand Prix10
    Top 5 finishers

    F2 hasn’t got long to wait till more action on track, they will be returning next weekend for the second round of the season in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia!

  • F2 Bahrain- Day 1

    F2 Bahrain- Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Novalak had initially set the first laptime of the new Formula 2 season, with the Frenchman setting a 1:48.044. He then improved with his second tour of the track but it was Jake Hughes who jumped up to take P1 and setting a 1:45.294.

    Lawson’s first attempt at a flying lap put him second- half a second of Hughes, Marcus Armstrong briefly jumped ahead of him but the Carlin driver’s second attempt put him in first.

    PREMA’s Daruvala pushed Lawson down to second before Armstrong jumped ahead of him too, slotting into 2nd. MP Motorsport then bumped Daruvala down to third as Drugovich went first ahead of Novalak. With less than three minutes left, DAMS were able to break the MP pair up.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptime
    1Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport1:44.484
    2Ayumu IwasaDAMS1:44.679
    3Roy NissanyDAMS1:44.754
    4Clement NovalakMP Motorsport1:44.769
    5Marcus ArmstrongHiTech Grand Prix1:44.833
    Top 5 Free Practice

    Qualifying-

    All 22 cars took to the track when the lights went green but the session was red-flagged due to Iwasa’s DAMS came to a halt. Once the car was off the track, the session then resumed, Jake Hughes and Amaury Cordeel the Van Amersfoort pair led the session.

    Hughes was sat in P1 after the first flying laps ended with a 1:41.469. The British driver kept on to the position as his second fast lap was enough to beat Felipe Drugovich to the top spot.

    But it was Jack Doohan who put himself on pole position for Sunday’s feature race, with Theo Pourchaire in P2 and Juri Vips in P3. Felipe Drugovich will start Saturday’s Sprint race in P1, with Verschoor lining up next to him and Jake Hughes in P3.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptime
    1Jack DoohanVirtuosi Racing1:40.542
    2Theo PourchaireART Grand Prix1:40.683
    3Juri VipsHiTech Grand Prix1:40.755
    4Logan SargeantCarlin1:40.760
    5Ralph BoschungCampos Racing1:41.000
    6Liam LawsonCarlin1:41.100
    7Jehan DaruvalaPREMA Racing1:41.115
    8Jake HughesVan Amersfoort Racing1:41.121
    9Richard VerschoorTrident1:41.178
    10Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport1:41.210
    Top 10 Qualifying

  • HiTech terminates sponsorship

    HiTech Grand Prix who race in FIA F2 and FIA F3 have terminated their Uralkali sponsorship deal with immediate effect.

    The Silverstone based team, had been sponsored by the company since 2016. It’s CEO being Nikita Mazepins dad, Dmitry Mazepin.

    HiTech ran without the branding during pre-season testing last week as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued.

    The team took to social media today, to announce its agreement with Uralkali as well as adding that it was “shocked and saddened” by the war and wished for a “swift and peaceful end” to the conflict.

    In a statement, the team said: “Hitech Grand Prix has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the sponsorship agreement of Uralkali. As with the rest of the motorsport community, the team are shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wish for a swift and peaceful end to the ongoing conflict.”

    Uralkali became a major team partner when Mazepin signed with the team in 2016 for the FIA European Formula 3 Championship remaining with the team the following year. He then returned to HiTech in 2020 for the F2 Championship.

  • F2 Testing Bahrain

    F2 Testing Bahrain

    Formula 2 cars are back on track, as they had their pre-season test in Bahrain before the season starts in two weeks.

    Day 1-

    AM:

    Ayumu Iwasa, lead the field out of the pits but it was Logan Sargaent who emerged in first leading, Marino Sato and Marcus Armstrong. There were three delays during the session as Juri Vips stopped on track twice, with Olli Caldwell also coming to a stop too.

    Lawson took control of the session setting a 1:44.522, ahead of Drugovich. Rookie’s Iwasa and Cem Bolukbasi posted the most laps with 26 each.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptimeLaps
    1Liam LawsonCarlin1:44.52222
    2Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport1:44.91025
    3Logan SargeantCarlin1:45.01022
    4Jehan DaruvalaPREMA Racing1:45.10323
    5Jack DoohanVirtuosi Racing1:45.18221
    Top 5 Morning Session

    PM:

    Drugovich returned to the front of the order at the beginning of the afternoon session setting a 1:43.831. After two red flags, one each for Vips and Bolukbasi, Lawson returned to the top.

    The timesheet got a reshuffle as PREMA went on a set of fast laps, with Daruvala lapped a 1:42.074, but it was Williams who split the two PREMA’s. Ralph Boschung set the most laps in the afternoon with 38 to his name.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptimeLaps
    1Jehan DaruvalaPREMA Racing1:42.07425
    2Calan WilliamsTrident1:42.59031
    3Dennis HaugerPREMA Racing1:42.59025
    4Liam LawsonCarlin1:43.47831
    5Logan SargeantCarlin1:43.48331
    Top 5 Afternoon Session

    Day 2-

    AM:

    After Vips had a stop start opening day, he took to track on the second and led a long-run focused morning. He was the only driver to break the 1m 47s barrier ending with a healthy 0.526s over second place.

    The order remained consistent throughout the morning with six drivers totting up more than 40 laps each, including Fittipaldi, Williams, Sargeant and Vesi who all made the top 10.

    There were 3 red flag during the session Amaury Cordeel came to a stop twice on track, as well as Ayumu Iwasa at turn 2.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptimeLaps
    1Juri VipsHiTech Grand Prix1:46.70523
    2Richard VerschoorTrident1:47.23122
    3Cem BolukbasiCharouz Racing System1:47.68833
    4Enzo FittipaldiCharouz Racing System1:48.88941
    5 Jake HughesVan Amersfoort Racing1:48.90934
    Top 5 Morning Session

    PM:

    The afternoon was aimed to lay down some fast times but the session was interrupted early on as Marcus Armstrong clipped the barriers at Turn 8. Once the session resumed, Drugovich posted the fastest time of the day with a 1:42.907.

    Carlin’s new line up, took further chunks out of the quickest time as Sargeant put a 1:42.144 on the board. Boschung then replaced them at the top but Lawson didn’t let him stay there long.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptimeLaps
    1Liam LawsonCarlin1:41.62320
    2Ralph BoschungCampos Racing1:42.09620
    3Theo PourchaireART Grand Prix1:42.09625
    4Logan SargeantCarlin1:42.13326
    5Jack DoohanVirtuosi Racing1:42.14422
    Top 5 Afternoon Session

    Day 3-

    AM:

    The morning session saw teams performing long runs to get their final preparations before the opening race. Two of the three drivers to post fewer than 30 laps were at the top of the leaderboard, being the MP pair. Theo Pourchaire was the driver who set the most laps, racking up 56 in total.

    PositionDriverTeamLaptimeLaps
    1Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport1:44.91124
    2Clement NovalakMP Motorsport1:45.88322
    3Juri VipsHiTech Grand Prix1:45.97850
    4Liam LawsonCarlin1:46.11446
    5Logan SargeantCarlin1:46.76145
    Top 5 Morning Session

    The afternoon session, was cancelled due to a sandstorm which made the visibility low. But Formula 2 is back in two weeks for the season opener in Bahrain

  • F2 2022 Drivers

    Formula 2 has now had all their drivers confirmed for this year. The 2022 season will see a 14 round calendar, and 28 races across the year.

    Half of the grid are rookies this year, with reigning Formula 3 Champion, Dennis Hauger making the step up into F2. As well as many different drivers from all different F1 team juniors, but 2022 their will be no Ferrari Driver Academy drivers, with the most recent drivers graduating to other roles…

    Which drivers should we look out for this season?

    Definitley both PREMA drivers, they will be want to go for both the drivers and teams championship for a third year running.

    Liam Lawson moving to Carlin, is definitely one to watch, he had a few reliability issues last year, so if he doesn’t have those this year hopefully he can be a title contender.

    ART Grand Prix, have a very strong line-up this year, Pourchaire will be wanting to go for the drivers championship, and Vesti will be wanting to help as the team and possibly fight for the team championship.

    Jack Doohan, Olli Caldwell, Jake Hughes and Clement Novalak all stepped into F2 seats last year with some scoring points rather quickly. These 4 are ones to look out for, with scoring points consistently.

    Formula 2 is back next Wednesday the 2nd of March in Sakhir, Bahrain for pre-season testing, then 2 weeks later is the first race of the season!

    TeamsDrivers
    PREMA RacingDennis Hauger (R)
    Jehan Daruvala
    VirtuosiJack Doohan (R)
    Marino Sato
    CarlinLogan Sargeant (R)
    Liam Lawson
    HiTech GPJuri Vips
    Marcus Armstrong
    ART Grand PrixThéo Pourchaire
    Frederik Vesti (R)
    MP MotorsportClément Novalak (R)
    Felipe Drugovich
    Charouz Racing SystemCem Bölükbasi (R)
    Enzo Fittipaldi (R)
    DAMSRoy Nissany
    Ayumu Iwasa (R)
    TridentCalan Williams (R)
    Richard Verschoor
    Campos RacingRalph Boschung
    Olli Caldwell (R)
    Van Amersfoort RacingJake Hughes
    Amaury Cordeel (R)
    (R)- Rookie

  • Verschoor joins Trident

    With a little over a week to go until pre-season testing in Sakhir, Richard Verschoor has claimed the last seat on the grid as he signs for Trident for 2022.

    Verschoor competed in seven out of eight rounds in 2021 and finished 11th in the standings including his first victory with MP Motorsport in Sprint Race 2 at Silverstone.

    The racer left the team before round 7 in Jeddah, but returned to the gird for the finale at Yas Marina with Charouz Racing System, where he finished 10th in the Feature Race.

    In his first season of single-seaters in 2016, Verschoor won both the SMP and Spanish Formula 4 Championships. He then gained experience in ADAC F4, Italian F4, Formula Renault Eurocup and the Toyota Racing Series.

    Verschoor then spent two seasons in Formula 3 with MP Motorsport and won the 2019 Macau Grand Prix with the dutch team.

    “I’m extremely proud and motivated to join a highly-professional and winning team like Trident Motorsport for the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship,” said Verschoor. “I think we have all conditions needed to achieve important goals and experience a positive season. I cannot wait to get on track. I will give my best to take full advantage of this great opportunity.”

    Trident Team Manager Giacomo Ricci added: “We are proud to welcome a driver of undisputed value like Verschoor to our team. We are motivated by the prospect of working with such a talented and experienced racer, who already proved capable to achieve outstanding goals. I think Verschoor and Williams will be an extremely solid and promising combination, and they will keep pushing each other to the next level, laying the conditions for a successful season. We cannot wait to be back on track for the 2022 season with our new lineup.”

    My Opinion-

    Finally! I’m glad the last seat has gone to Verschoor, as I feel like he has got a lot more to give. Hopefully him going into a new team will give him the opportunities to show what his got.

  • Fittipaldi returns!

    Enzo Fittipaldi will remain with Charouz Racing System for his first full campaign of Formula 2, he will be partnering up alongside Cem Bolukbasi.

    The Brazilian made his F2 debut with Charouz in Monza last year before scoring his first points in the penultimate round at Saudi Arabia. An injury suffered in Jeddah ruled Fittipaldi out of the finale in Abu Dhabi, but he is now set to return to action next month.

    As well as making his F2 debut last year, he was also an F3 podium finisher in Race 2 at Budapest.

    He first made his car racing debut in the 2016 Ginetta Junior Championship, Fittipaldi moved into single-seaters the following season before taking his first title in 2018, running a dual campaign where he won the Italian F4 and came third in ADAC F4.

    The 20 year old then went to join the Formula Regional European Championship for 2019, he finished as runner-up to Federik Vesti, the following year he went on to F3 with HWA Racelab before his switch to Charouz the year after.

    “For me, it’s a pleasure and an honour to be able to continue my adventure in Formula 2 with Charouz Racing System,” said Fittipaldi. “Last season they gave me the opportunity to debut in this category after a good first part of the season in Formula 3 and this will allow me and the team to work immediately on the performance as from the first test sessions. It will be a long and demanding championship and the level of competitiveness has never been as high as this year, so it’s a great advantage not to have to spend the first testing days to get familiar with the car. We definitely aim to be a regular presence in the top 10 positions, and we’ll certainly try to seize every opportunity to get some podium finishes and maybe some wins.”

    Team Owner Antonín Charouz added: “The team and I are delighted to be able to work again with Enzo for this coming season. Last year, he proved that he deserved the chance to step up from Formula 3 to Formula 2, despite the bad luck that hit him at Jeddah. Now that he’s back in shape I’m sure this will only motivate him further to show what he’s capable of. Starting the season in an environment with which he is already familiar is certainly an advantage for both the team and the driver, and we will try in every way to take advantage of this condition to find the speed and be in the top 10 right away.”