Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: DAMs

  • F2 – Saudi Arabia – Day 1

    Practice-

    Victor Martins made a positive start to Round 3, ending up fastest for ART Grand Prix in Free Practice. A 1:45.671 was the time to beat in a session that got quicker with every lap completed.

    Roman Stanek started positively too for Invicta Racing, finishing second ahead of Dino Beganovic, who made a late improvement to go third for Hitech TGR.

    After the tyre preparation laps, Joshua Duerksen set an early benchmark with a 1:49.034 for AIX Racing.

    The times fell with every subsequent lap as Martins put ART on top with 10 minutes run on a 1:47.735, until Kush Maini pipped him by 0.012s.
    Stanek was next to go quickest, a 1:47.689 by the Invicta driver meant the top three was separated by just 0.046s.

    The trio improved once again but this time it was Maini who led the way, 1:46.437 for the DAMS Lucas Oil driver leaving his 0.3s clear ahead of Stanek and F2’s latest Feature Race winner, Alexander Dunne.

    Jak Crawford put in an improved to cut the deficit to teammate Maini to just 0.013s, but Martins went back to the top shortly afterwards.

    Duerksen returned to P1 with 15 minutes to go of the session as the Paraguayan set a 1:46.387, leaving the top five separated by less than a tenth of a second.

    Stanek then restored Invicta to the top of the pile as he moved onto a 1:46.217. Crawford cut the gap to 0.031s as he improved to second as Martins then went third and 0.087s off the top.

    Gabriele Mini took P1 for PREMA Racing, but only briefly, as a storming lap by Stanek resulted in a 1:45.820 and the fastest time once again.

    Into the final five minutes, and times continued to fall, Martins laid down the marker of a 1:45.671 to go back ahead of Stanek.
    A last minute improvement from Beganovic put him third ahead of Duerksen.

    Qualifying-

    DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford left it to his last lap of the day to take pole position in Jeddah, beating ART Grand Prix rival Victor Martins for the top spot by just 0.022s in a fascinating qualifying session.

    Martins had looked set for pole after completing his first flying lap, but Crawford’s 1:43.579 was enough to take the top spot, as Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli rounded out the top three.

    Martins set the early pace after the first set of laps, the Frenchman completing a 1:44.559 to lead Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne by 0.323s.

    The drivers though were able to push on for a second attempt on their Supersoft tyres, and on this occasion, it was Arvid Lindblad on top thanks to a 1:44.250.
    Martins kept his place in the top two though, albeit 0.073s off the Campos Racing rookie.

    Several drivers, including Lindblad, then set off for a third flying lap. However, they aborted those attempts to head into the pit lane for a new set of tyres.

    With just over 11 minutes to go in the session, the drivers came back out on the track on their new sets of tyres.

    Gabriele Mini used that fresh rubber to rocket up to the top of the timesheets, only for Luke Browning to quickly drop him down in P2.

    As the rest of the field looked to complete their laps though, the red flags were waved following John Bennett’s crash into the barrier at Turn 17.

    Once the car was cleared from the track the session resumed with 5 minutes remaining, which led to a flurry of activity with only enough time for one flying lap.

    Crawford rose to the top with a 1:43.579, beating Martins by just 0.022s to give DAMS their first pole since Melbourne in 2023.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Crawford, P2: Martins, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Browning, P5: Lindblad, P6: Dunne, P7: Marti, P8: Mini, P9: Verschoor and P10: Stanek.

  • Zagazeta becomes first DAMS driver for 2025

    DAMS Lucas Oil have confirmed that Matias Zagazeta will drive for the team in what will be the team’s maiden campaign in the FIA Formula 3 Championship.

    The Peruvian driver completed his rookie season in F3 this year, achieving a best result of P3 in the Silverstone Sprint Race.

    Prior to his step up to F3, Zagazeta competed in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine and the British F4 Championship in 2021, where he finished as runner-up in the Standings.

    Speaking about his move for 2025, Zagazeta said that he was excited to join a team with so much success for the new era of F3.

    I’m very happy to join a team with such a rich history in motorsport, which has been a leading outfit in Formula 2 for several years. It’s a new environment for everyone in the series with the updated car, but I hope that my knowledge will help us to achieve great results together.
    Zagazeta on his news.

    After the testing days in Spain earlier this month we’re thrilled to confirm Matías for the 2025 season. It was always important for us to have a driver with experience in the Championship. We’re hopeful that Matías can provide us with a great insight along with our team’s proven methods that have served us well in recent years, helping us to start our F3 journey as best we can.
    DAMS Team Owner, Charles Pic.

  • Crawford stays with DAMS for 2025

    DAMS Lucas Oil have retained Jak Crawford for the 2025 Formula 2 season, announcing that their partnership with the American driver is set to continue for a second consecutive campaign.

    Crawford switched to DAMS for 2024, achieving five podiums including a Feature Race victory in Barcelona and with two rounds remaining the 19 year old is currently fifth in the Drivers’ Championship.

    The American driver left the Red Bull junior team at the end of 2023 and has now joined Aston Martin, where he carried out his first Formula 1 test with the team back in June.
    He is expecting further opportunities with the team before the end of this year and an expanded role in 2025.

    I’m really happy to be continuing with DAMS Lucas Oil for 2025 following on from a positive campaign so far in 2024. We’ve still got two rounds of this season to go as we’re pushing for a top five finish, and I hope that we can take a further step forward next year, to be challenging more regularly at the front. I can see how determined everyone in the team is to compete further up the grid, which is why I’ve decided to stay for a second year. Motor racing is a team sport and not an individual one, so we’ll improve together and hopefully next year we can see the rewards on track.
    Crawford on the news.

    We’re thrilled to retain Jak for the 2025 season after a year that has produced both high and low points. Throughout the campaign, Jak has kept his head down and worked hard, which shows his great attitude. It’s a pleasure to continue with Jak for a second season, and our objective is to consistently compete at the front of the grid. Jak has shown his ability this year, appearing on the podium five times and putting in several strong performances.
    Charles Pic, Team Owner.

  • F2 – RND 6 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Maini suffered wheelspin off the line from pole and dropped to fourth while Martins profited to take the lead on the run to the first corner.
    Ritomo Miyata swept around the outside at Turn 1 to go from fourth to second, ahead of Correa and Maini.

    On lap 2 and Maini made a late dive to the inside of Correa at the opening corner to recover one position. Teammate Gabriel Bortoleto followed him through at Turn 4.

    In the battle for seventh, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar fought hard early on, though the Campos Racing driver was unable to find a route through on the PREMA Racing talent.

    By lap 10, Martins was able to escape from DRS range of Miyata behind and led by 1.5s, while the Japanese driver held a 1.1s advantage over Maini in the podium places.

    Antonelli had dropped out of DRS range to Paul Aron ahead and after a long time of trying, Hadjar finally cleared the PREMA driver into Turn 1 on lap 12.

    With 10 laps to go, track limits became a problem for Miyata, and the Rodin driver was assigned a five-second penalty for one too many breaches.
    He earned a second time penalty in his struggle to remain ahead of Maini to bring that total up to 10 second with five laps remaining.

    Further back, Hadjar lost seventh to Crawford as both DAMS cars looked to be taking better care of the tyres than those ahead. Correa was pressuring Bortoleto for the final podium place, but the Brazilian was able to fend him off to maintain position.

    Onto the penultimate lap and a sizeable lock-up into Turn 5 was evidence of how hard Bortoleto was pushing to keep Correa behind. However, it gave the American a run into Turn 10 and after diving to the inside, he claimed fourth on the road.

    Aron was next to clear Bortoleto, rounding the Invicta driver at Turn 3 on the final lap to take P5, as two corners later Crawford followed through to take sixth from him.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Martins, P2: Maini, P3: Aron, P4: Crawford, P5: Bortoleto, P6: Hadjar, P7: Miyata, P8: Correa, P9: O’Sullivan and P10: Durksen.

    Day 3-

    Pole sitter Paul Aron got the perfect launch to lead into Turn 1 ahead of Crawford and Colapinto.
    Further back, contact sent Victor Martins and Dennis Hauger spinning into the gravel at Turn 2 leaving both out of the race.

    Isack Hadjar was the biggest winner, moving up from 11th to fifth in the opening half lap prior to the Safety Car deployed for Hauger and Martins’.

    Racing resumed on lap 4 and Aron retained the lead, escaping over a second clear to move out of DRS range to Crawford behind.

    Lap 8 and the hard compound runners began to benefit over those on softs, with Joshua Duersken taking fifth from Hadjar into Turn 1.
    Crawford was in from second at the end of the lap, with Ritomo Miyata and Zak O’Sullivan following the DAMS driver in from inside the top 10.

    Gabriel Bortoleto pitted on lap 11 for Invicta Racing, filtering back out in P14 behind Crawford but with warm tyres, O’Sullivan was able to pass him on the outlap to take the position.

    Leader Aron was called into the pits and Colapinto followed him in on lap 12. The Hitech rejoined ahead of Crawford but with the DAMS driver on his rear wing.
    Through turn 3, the American driver took ninth from Aron, while Colapinto retained position over Bortoleto.

    Duerksen had been the leader and yet to pit on the alternative strategy but on lap 18, he slowed to a half in the middle sector to bring out another Virtual Safety Car.
    His stoppage handed the lead over to Juan Manuel Correa, who was also yet to pit.

    Racing resumed on lap 20, and Colapinto put Bortoleto under immediate pressure, with the Invicta driver getting his elbows out to keep the place.
    Just behind them, Aron got the slipstream to take 10th from O’Sullivan at Turn 2. One lap later and Hadjar eased by the ART driver at Turn 1.

    With 10 laps to go, Correa pitted from the race lead for the soft compound, filtering back out onto the track in P9 just as Aron made a brave dive on Bortoleto into Turn 1 to take fifth.

    As Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Amaury Cordeel pitted, Crawford retook the lead with Colapinto his closest rival for the win 3.6s behind in P2.

    Onto lap 34, and Hadjar desposed Bortoelto for fifth while Invicta teammate Kush Maini gained seventh at the expense of Maloney on the run into Turn 1.

    The Invicta teammate were nose to tail on the final lap and going wheel-to-wheel into the first corner collided with one another, leaving Bortoleto with front wing damage and Maini ahead in sixth.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Crawford, P2: Colapinto, P3: Correa, P4: Aron, P5: Hadjar, P6: Maini, P7: Maloney, P8: Cordeel, P9: Marti and P10: Bortoleto.

  • DAMS complete 2024 line-up

    DAMS have finalised their driver pairing for the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season, announcing that Juan Manuel Correa will be joining the French team, partnering up with compatriot Jak Crawford.

    The American driver made his full time return to the Championship this year with Van Amersfoort Racing, achieving six points-scoring finishes and a best result of fourth in the Spielberg Sprint Race.

    Correa brings with him an abundance of single seater and sports car experience since his debut in ADAC and Italian Formula 4 in 2016.
    He then graduated to GP3 full time in 2018, finishing 12th overall.

    A promotion to Formula 2 the following year, where he scored two second place finishes before sustaining major injuries in the tragic event at Spa-Francorchamps.

    Proving his resilience and determination in the face of extensive rehabilitation, Correa made a hard-earned comeback to racing in 2021 to compete in Formula 3.
    His sophomore campaign last year was capped off with a podium finish in the Zandvoort Sprint Race before he made his return to the second tier with a one-off appearance at the 2022 Yas Marina season finale ahead of his 2023 campaign.

    Additionally, the 24 year old claimed a European Le Mans Series victory last year and contested the 2023 World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

    I’m delighted to be a part of DAMS for the 2024 season. I feel that it is the best place for me to continue to rebuild my career and push towards my long-term objectives. I’m eager to begin working with the team and to show what I can do on track.

    Correa on the news.

    We are excited to see Juan Manuel join us for 2024, he has potential and is a great team player. We’ve already seen encouraging signs that he’s forming a strong working relationship with Jak and the rest of the crew. He has shown his resilient mentality with his desire to return to racing after a very difficult period out of the sport. His ability to provide useful feedback to our engineers and his willingness to absorb new information leaves us confident that we can achieve strong results together in the coming year.

    Charles Pic, DAMS Team Owner.

  • Jak Crawford switches to DAMS

    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.

    Team Owner, Charles Pic.

  • Iwasa sticks with DAMS

    Ayumu Iwasa has re-signed with DAMS for a second Formula 2 season, with the French team confirming that the Japanese racer will be competing for them alongside, Arthur Leclerc for the 2023 campaign.

    The Red Bull junior and Honda Formula Dream Project driver sticks with the squad off the back of an impressive rookie season that saw the 21 year old net two wins, a further four podium finishes and two pole positions on his way to finishing fifth in the championship.

    He’ll be hoping to use the benefit of a familiar environment to continue his momentum towards a potential title fight next year, after he closed out 2022 with the final Feature Race win at Yas Marina.

    I’m really happy with my first F2 season, I learned a lot during the year, and we were able to improve at each race. It’s a great feeling to continue with DAMS for another year, I feel at home in the team, and we work well together. Everyone was on the same page and that helped us secure plenty of strong results. It’s going to be helpful to come into the new campaign in a familiar environment, along with my experience of several tracks that were new to me in 2022. My target is to challenge for the F2 title in 2023. We know we have the potential to achieve it, but we’re not looking too far ahead yet, instead concentrating on being ready for the start of the season. Thanks to DAMS for their faith and support and I can’t wait to get started in 2023!

    Iwasa on the news.

    We were all impressed with Ayumu’s performances in 2022, especially with the victories at Paul Ricard and Yas Marina, so we were very keen to keep him for 2023. It’s great for us to continue our relationships with Red Bull and Honda, they trust in our methods, and we’ll do our best to succeed together. Ayumu proved that he has the potential to fight for the title, he was a major competitor in the second half of the season, and we hope he can use this experience to kick on in 2023. We’ve got a strong lineup with Ayumu and Arthur, so we’re hoping they can push each other to improve throughout the year.

    Charles Pic, DAMS Team Owner.

  • Leclerc graduates to F2

    DAMS have announced that Ferrari junior, Arthur Leclerc will be joining the French team for his debut Formula 2 season in 2023.

    Leclerc steps up off the back of two solid Formula 3 campaigns with PREMA Racing, where he scored victories in his rookie season at Le Castellet and Zandvoort.

    Returning for a second campaign this year, the 22 year old finished sixth in the Drivers’ Championship with one win in the Silverstone feature race and further feature race podium in Sakhir.

    He got his first taste of F2 machinery with DAMS during the post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit this week.

    The Monegasque driver has been steadily rising through the ranks across the past five seasons. His debut year in single-seaters came in 2018 French F4 Champuonship where he finished fifth, before switching over to the ADAC Formula 4 Championship the following year, finishing third.

    In 2020, Leclerc scored six victories, 12 podiums and eight pole positions on his way to claiming second in the Formula Regional European Championship Standings with PREMA and continued with the team on his move up to F3. At the start of 2022, he also took third in the Formula Regional Asian Championship.

    I’m delighted to be making the step up to Formula 2 with DAMS in 2023. They’re a very successful team that has achieved great results in the championship, and I hope I can be a part of that and continue the team’s success. Charles Pic has done an amazing job to help the team back to winning ways throughout the season and I’m aiming to keep that going next year. We’ve a lot of work to do before the start of the new campaign in Bahrain in March, and I’m really looking forward to getting started in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi!

    Leclerc on his move.

    It’s great to have Arthur join DAMS for 2023. We’ve seen his talent and skill throughout his career so far, and he’s shown in the last two years in F3 that he’s capable of challenging for victories. We’re excited to have him in the car for the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, preparing for next season. The team is aiming for a strong campaign in 2023, and we’ve no doubt that the addition of Arthur will help us towards our goals.

    DAMS Team Owner, Charles Pic.

  • F2 Abu Dhabi- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    It was a frenetic start to the final sprint race of the 2022 season, but not for Verschoor who calmly kept his rivals behind him to retain the lead off the line.

    Jehan Daruvala and Enzo Fittipaldi collided and hit the barriers at Turn 3 and bringing out the Red Flag as the end of the opening lap. Slotting back into position for the rolling restart on Lap 3, Verschoor got a good getaway to hold the lead.

    The cooler early evening conditions left the field struggling to light up their tyres. After being passed by Frederol Vesti for P11, Ayumu Iwasa attempted to go round the outside of the Dane at Turn 9.

    Out front, Verschoor was unable to pull out of Lawson’s DRS window. It wouldn’t take long for Lawson to pounce on Lap 10 – going late on the brakes to catch the Trident driver by surprise and snatch the lead.

    A lock up for VAR driver Cordeel, allowed Drugovich to slot his way through into third and left Cordeel at the mercy of Hauger, who made his own move on the Belgian into Turn 6. Missing the corner, Hauger tactically gave the place back into Turn 10, in order to avoid losing out to Sargeant and Doohan behind.

    Lawson, had extended his advantage lap-by-lap and drove off into the distance to claim victory by a whopping 7.9s ahead of Verschoor and Drugovich.

    Day 3-

    Iwasa moved to cover off his teammate immediately at the start bu Roy Nissany had the momentum. The duo remained side-by-side into Turn 2 until the Red Bull junior claimed the lead heading down the hill into the hairpin.

    Drugovich made the move for P3 immediately as Theo Pourchaire went wide in the first corner and fell back to fifth as a result.

    At Turn 6, the Carlin teammates were fighting for position, with Lawson overtaking Sargeant out of the chicane for sixth. Into Turn 9, Ralph Boschung spun and couldn’t get going again, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car.

    There was a close call for Drugovich on Lap 13, into the Turn 6 braking zone, the MP driver thought about a late dive but had to bail on the move. He narrowly avoided running into the back of the DAMS driver and dropped to over a second behind Iwasa.

    Doohan finally pitted on Lap 26 after running further than everyone else barring Enzo Fittipaldi. He looked to be re-joining fifth on the road but after filtering back out on track, lost his front left tyre, forcing him out of the race.

    Onto the final lap and the gap for the win stood at just 0.5s. Drugovich, forced Iwasa to go on the defensive into Turn 6 and had DRS once again into Turn 9. Iwasa just about held Drugovich at bay to take his second win in F2. Lawson closed up at the end to make it two podiums from two in the final weekend.

  • F2 Abu Dhabi- Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Ayumu Iwasa, hit the ground running at Yas Marina ending Free Practice being quickest of all, 0.055s ahead of Theo Pourchaire. The DAMS driver strung together his best time early on and nobody could usurp him fro the top spot in the remainging time.

    Perfect conditions were presented to the drivers as the first session of the final weekend in 2022 got underway. Following plenty of installation laps, the times tumbled as the track ramped up and Marcus Armstrong put in the early benchmark with a 1:38.987.

    Juri Vips had been running in the top three but had a lucky escape, avoiding the barriers at Turn 14 after a snap of oversteer almost led him into the barriers.

    A red flag was thrown as the clock ticked underneath 10 minutes to go as Ralph Boschung spun into the barriers between Turns 13 and 14. The session got underway with 3 minutes to go, but nobody could improve over Iwasa’s 1:38.168.

    Qualifying-

    DAMS proved that its never over until the chequered flag in Formula 2, as Ayumu Iwasa stormed to his second pole position of the 2022 season. With his teammate Roy Nissany putting together an unbelievable lap, only 0.036s down on his teammate to bring home his first front row Feature Race. Theo Pourchaire will be starting 3rd.

    Unlike previous visits to the Yas Marina Circuit, the 30 minute session got underway in the blistering mid-afternoon sunshine rather than under the flood lights.

    Seven minutes into qualifying and with only half of the field having put a lap on the board, running came to a brief hault. Virtuosi’s Marino Sato suffered a spin underneath the hotel section between Turns 13 and 14 bringing out the red flag and forcing several drivers to abandon their laps.

    As predicted pre-session, Sector 3 would prove to e the undoing for several attempts.

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

  • F2 Le Castellet – Day 2 & 3

    F2 Le Castellet – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Daruvala got a great start from pole position but Lawson lagged behind him, the Carlin driver fell down the order into Turn 1, losing second to Armstrong and third to Drugovich momentarily, but a wide moment on corner exit left the MP Motorsport driver in the hands of Pourchaire.

    Lawson kept in touch with Armstrong ahead and made a late lunge into Turn 1 on lap 4. The pair battle through the first sector and somehow avoided contact, just millimetres apart at Turn 4. After making the move, the gap to race leader Daruvala stood at 2.2s but Lawson set about hunting him down, to cut it down by 1.6s by Lap 6 and by Lap 8 the Carlin driver broke into DRS range.

    The Safety Car offered a brief pause in action, deployed on Lap 9 following contact between Robert Merhi and the recovering Enzo Fittipaldi. The pair had been fighting for 15th position but a slide and spin in the North Chicane on the Mistral Straight left the Charouz in the middle of the track. Amaury Cordeel behind couldn’t avoid him and made contact, putting both out of the race.

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

    Pourchaire, Vips, Armstrong and Fittipaldi have all been penalised, Pourchaire originally crossed the line in P3.

    Day 3-

    After warmer temperatures played havoc earlier on in weekend, the field would have been thankful to have been greeted by cooler morning conditions in Le Castellet – allowing the grid to split their strategies.

    The top five opted to get things underway on the softer compound, but that didn’t help Logan Sargeant, who suffered wheel spin off the line and dropped down to third. There were contrasting fortunes at the front of the pack, as Doohan got a blistering start to streak into the lead in the opening two corners. However, the Australian driver had company in the form of Iwasa, who immediately put him under pressure.

    The Safety Car was swiftly deployed as the marshals picked up both Armstrong, and the stricken Marino Sato, who’s race ended early in the run-off section. Firing up his tyres early, Iwasa streaked ahead of Doohan on the restart, as Lawson boldly dived to the inside of Drugovich to take seventh.

    The pit stop was the undoing of Sargeant’s day as well on Lap 13. The Carlin driver was unable to pull away from his pit box and was forced to retire, having looked solidly in the fight for a podium spot.

    But it was Ayumu Iwasa who took the win and his first Formula 2 win! Theo Pouchaire cmae home to finish 2nd, and his teammate Frederick Vesti rounded out the podium in P3, a double podium for the ART GP team.

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

    We are back next weekend and we are in Hungary for Round 10, our last before summer break!

  • 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
  • Iwasa makes the move to F2

    Iwasa makes the move to F2

    Red Bull junior, Ayumu Iwasa has joined DAMS for the 2022 season making the move from F3 to F2.

    He made his debut with the team at post-season testing, he will be partnering up with Roy Nissany for the season ahead.

    Iwasa, competed in Formula 3 last year for HiTech GP where he finished 12th overall with a podium and one win! In his first season of European racing in 2020 he took the French Formula 4 title with nine wins and 15 podiums.

    “I’m very excited to take on my first year of F2 with DAMS,” said Iwasa. “We worked together at the test in December, and I learnt a lot about the car and the team. We collected plenty of data, which will be useful ahead of the pre-season test. I’ll be taking on some new tracks this year, which will be a challenge but I’m looking forward to developing my skills throughout the season. I used to live in Le Mans when I was racing in French F4 so it’s great to be competing in F2 with a team based in the area. I can’t wait to arrive in Bahrain and get back on track with DAMS for testing on 2-4 March.”

    “We are extremely happy to welcome Ayumu to the team,” said Co-Team Owners Grégory and Olivier Driot. “Ayumu started his single-seater career in Europe very successfully by winning the Formula 4 French Championship which is an impressive feat. He also had a strong first season in F3, managing to take victory in Hungary in front of some very experienced competitors last July. This year is going to be a whole new challenge for him in F2, but Ayumu showed during the Abu Dhabi test that he has the potential to perform at this level. For DAMS it’s also very exciting to work with Red Bull, with who we have had some great success in the past, and we are proud to be starting a new partnership with Honda.”

    My Opinion-

    I’m a bit mixed feelings on this one, one part of me says he should do another year in F3 considering he only finished 12th, but then the other part of me says he clearly is talented as he won a championship in his first year in European racing but either way it will be interesting to see how he does.

  • Nissany confirmed 2022

    Dams are the next team to confirm one of their drivers for the 2022 season, and they are retaining Roy Nissany for a second season.

    The Williams Formula 1 Test driver scored his first podium with Dams in the second round of the season this year at Monte Carlo in Sprint Race 1.

    The 27 year old then took two further top 10 finishes in the Monaco and Monza feature races, to secure his best finish to date in Formula 2, ending the season in 16th in the Drivers Championship.

    Nissany just doesnt have experience in F2, his made an appearance in F1 during FP1 sessions for Williams, his also raced in several junior categories including ADAC Formel Masters, European Formula 3 and Formula Renault 3.5

    “I’m extremely happy to continue with DAMS, we have become a family which has made me feel very confident and comfortable,” said Nissany. “I’m sure we will carry on with the amazing progress we have achieved so far, constantly pushing ourselves upwards. I’m really focused on continuing my development within the team throughout the new season and getting some solid results next year.”

    DAMS Co-Team Owners, Gregory and Oliver Driot added: “We’re very happy to confirm Roy as part as our F2 line-up for next year, we have been able to build a strong relationship in our first year together. Both Roy and the team have their goals for the season to come, as we showed some very strong performances throughout 2021 but sometimes failed to materialise them into proper results.

    With two races per week instead of three, the new format will make it less unpredictable and it should help us transform our pace into consistent results. The three-day post-season test held in Abu Dhabi in the forthcoming days will be the kick-off for the preparation for next year and we are looking forward to it.”

    My Opinion-

    I was quite surprised to see the announcement come through, as his already done 3 years in Formula 2 so this could be his last. It does make sense however for him to stay with Dams as his now built up that relationship with the team.