Not only does Formula 1 return this weekend but its two top junior categories, Formula 2 and Formula 3, also begin their seasons at the Bahrain International Circuit.
In the five years since it was rebranded from GP2 into its current identity, F2 has been through some disruptions.The introduction of a new chassis in 2018 was beset by technical problems which briefly led the series to abandon using standing starts. That was followed by the trauma of 2019, when Anthoine Hubert was killed at Spa-Francorchamps.
Following the further Covid-induced disruptions of the last two seasons, 2022 offers a chance for F2 and its teams to get back on an even keel. After introducing 18-inch wheels in 2020 and then a new, triple-header format in 2021, the series has a feeling of a return to normality this year.
The F2 teams sometimes struggled last year to handle the demands of running three races per weekend, which was also problematic for the series organisers from a logistics point of view. Unlike F3, F2 has pit stops and greater engineering demands, and so a technical problem in practice could potentially ruin an entire weekend, meaning the loss of a vast haul of championship points.
While the technical regulations remain stable, F2 will not quite return to its familiar, feature-followed-by-sprint-race format which it carried over from the GP2 days. The sprint race will take place on Saturday, with the starting grid set by the previous day’s qualifying session with the top 10 reversed. The feature race will continue as normal on Sunday.
In theory, this is being done to maintain the prestige of the feature race by putting it alongside F1’s race. It will also alleviate the pressure on the race organisers as there were also scheduling problems for F2 last year. Trying to fit two races in Saturdays proved a challenge with the limited daylight hours available at some tracks.
The calendar has returned to something more consistent than last year’s, when multiple-month gaps between street races made it look more as though F2 had been repurposed to prepare drivers exclusively for Formula E. Following the loss of the planned round in Sochi as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the calendar is currently set to 13 events, but a replacement 14th round is expected to be confirmed in due course. All will be double-headers.
Round | Location | Date |
---|---|---|
1 | Bahrain International Circuit | 19-20 March |
2 | Jeddah Corniche Circuit | 26-27 March |
3 | Imola Circuit | 23-24 April |
4 | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | 21-22 May |
5 | Circuit de Monaco | 28-29 May |
6 | Baku City Circuit | 11-12 June |
7 | Silverstone Circuit | 2-3 July |
8 | Red Bull Ring | 9-10 July |
9 | Hungaroring | 30-31 July |
10 | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 27-28 August |
11 | Circuit Zandvoort | 3-4 September |
12 | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | 10-11 September |
13 | TBC | TBC |
14 | Yas Marina | 19-20 November |
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On the grid there’s a healthy mix of returning drivers and rookies. Frederik Vesti, Çem Bolukbasi, Ayumu Iwasa, Dennis Hauger, Calan Williams and Amaury Cordeel are completely new to the series, while Richard Verschoor, Olli Caldwell, Enzo Fittipaldi, Logan Sargeant, Clement Novalak and Jack Doohan are also embarking on what should be their first full seasons.
Teams will be hoping the funding problems that plagued the grid last year will not return. Among those who hit trouble were Verschoor, who had to step down despite winning a race.
The series produced a rookie champion last year in Oscar Piastri, whose inability to graduate immediately to F1 probably said more about the latter than F2. Nonetheless it’s not a desirable looked for a championship which is intended to funnel drivers into grand prix racing. Of its three most recent champions, only Mick Schumacher has moved into F1.
Many of this year’s competitors have good cause to expect they won’t face the same situation if they win the title. That especially goes for Red Bull’s juniors, of which there are no fewer than five in F2 this year. Illustrating how cyclical these things can be, Ferrari had five juniors just two years ago, but have none for the upcoming season.
New F2’s first champions
Year | Driver | Next year |
---|---|---|
2017 | Charles Leclerc | F1 with Sauber |
2018 | George Russell | F1 with Williams |
2019 | Nyck de Vries | Formula E with Mercedes |
2020 | Mick Schumacher | F1 with Haas |
2021 | Oscar Piastri | F1 testing with Alpine |
Among the Red Bull quintet, experienced F2 racers Juri Vips, Liam Lawson and Jehan Daruvala find themselves joined by two more Red Bull junior drivers in Iwasa and reigning F3 champion Hauger. The possibility of an AlphaTauri F1 seat in 2023 beckons for whoever comes out on top.
It’s an unusually talent-stacked grid compared to previous years. In addition to the five Red Bull-backed drivers, Frederik Vesti will be hoping to continue to impress Mercedes, Olli Caldwell and Jack Doohan are Alpine juniors and Logan Sargeant represents Williams’ rebooted academy. F2’s youngest-ever race winner Théo Pourchaire, who was a title contender last year despite being injured in Baku, is backed by Sauber, which runs Alfa Romeo.
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While it’s no bad thing to have ‘journeymen’ F2 drivers like Ralph Boschung alongside up-and-coming talent as a benchmark, there have been other, clearly underqualified drivers making the grid in recent years and raising questions about whether skilled drivers were simply being priced out of the ladder. This year, however, even the less hotly-tipped drivers have, for the most part, a credible claim to a seat and that’s reflected in how many of them are backed by F1 team driver academies.
During F2’s pre-season testing it seemed experience was paying off in terms of outright fastest laps; Daruvala topped day one, Lawson day two and Felipe Drugovich day three. However, what was also clear was that to get the absolute fastest times drivers were running overall fewer laps, in order to save their tyres for performance runs, so those further down the order shouldn’t be discounted for having focussed on race mileage.
Potential talent, as Marcus Armstrong’s record in the past two seasons (and on day two of the test) can attest, is unfortunately not enough to mitigate reliability problems or seemingly random acts of racing fate in Formula 2. However, with a much-improved calendar, format and stability in the regulations, 2022 surely represents the best opportunity for all 22 competitors.
2022 Formula 2 driver line-up
Team | Driver | Driver |
---|---|---|
ART | Theo Pourchaire | Frederik Vesti |
Campos | Ralph Boschung | Olli Caldwell |
Carlin | Logan Sargeant | Liam Lawson |
Charouz | Cem Bolukbasi | Enzo Fittipaldi |
DAMS | Roy Nissany | Ayumu Iwasa |
Hitech | Juri Vips | Marcus Armstrong |
MP | Felipe Drugovich | Clement Novalak |
Prema | Jehan Daruvala | Dennis Hauger |
Trident | Calan Williams | Richard Verschoor |
Van Amersfoort | Jake Hughes | Amaury Cordeel |
Virtuosi | Jack Doohan | Marino Sato |
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Formula 2
- Bortoleto clinches F2 title as Hadjar stalls and Duerksen wins finale
- Aron hit with double penalty for team’s illegal DRS modification, Hadjar gains a point
- Marti wins sprint race as Bortoleto extends points lead ahead of finale
- Martins beats title rivals Bortoleto, Aron and Hadjar to Yas Marina pole
- Bortoleto’s lead down to half a point as penalty hands win to Aron in Losail
Ajayrious (@ajayrious)
14th March 2022, 13:48
@HazelSouthwell You meant weekend here right?
Hazel Southwell (@hazelsouthwell)
14th March 2022, 13:53
@ajayrious I did, yes, although at times the gaps felt like that…
Ajayrious (@ajayrious)
14th March 2022, 13:56
Yes. I’m so glad we’re back to an almost “normal” calendar this year. Last time out i really stuggled to follow the flow of the championship. Each weekend felt like a standalone event like the Macau GP.
Hopefully we will have a few less of the “reliability problems or seemingly random acts of racing fate” this season. It really isnt good that a high level spec series is having so many mechanical failures. The amount of times a fire extinguisher has gone off in a drivers face in this car for example is ridiculous.
Jockey Ewing
14th March 2022, 19:18
Will all RB juniors have a Red Bull-like livery?
János
14th March 2022, 22:45
“as 22 drivers take each other on for a place in Formula 1”
Except if there happens to be no place for them in F1, they just have to wait or fade into oblivion…
#nickdevries
Hazel Southwell (@hazelsouthwell)
15th March 2022, 8:14
Not sure being a factory Mercedes world champion counts as “oblivion” even if you didn’t watch it
RandomMallard
14th March 2022, 23:12
Happy to see them return to more frequent, 2 race per weekend format, because last year felt both disjointed and over-reliant on street circuits (I expect because they felt the 30 car F3 field wouldn’t really work on a street circuit). Getting back to more “traditional” circuits is a good move in my mind.
I’m not sure whether they’ll replace the Russian round to be honest. I think it depends on where the F1 replacement is held. If it’s somewhere like Turkey that may be possible, but if it’s a long, long way away then it’ll be a struggle. I’m slightly worried we could end up with the same situation F2 had at the end of 2019 (and 2020, but to a lesser extent) and through all of 2021, where there’s an enormous gap between the final two rounds. Assuming Russia doesn’t gey replaced, then it’s over two months between Monza and Abu Dhabi. I know its very much wishful thinking and probably unrealistic, but O would love to see F2 at COTA. I think that would be awesome. But the logistics would be a nightmare and probably way to expensive unfortunately.
RandomMallard
14th March 2022, 23:13
That should be “but I would love to see F2 at COTA”
Fat fingers on my phone screen.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
15th March 2022, 1:35
Lots of unknowns this year I am really looking forward to Hauger’s season. I wonder if he will beat his teammate, he’s been great last year, go Dennis!
Jon
15th March 2022, 3:30
I agree Hauger could be the to replace Checo in the future. All eyes on him.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
15th March 2022, 9:02
@spoutnik He had a quiet first season in F3 so I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes a bit of time to get up to speed. On the other hand, if Hauger does beat his teammate then Daruvala is surely finished.
drmouse (@drmouse)
15th March 2022, 10:19
No shortage of potential F1 stars in F2, but a severe shortage of F1 seats… Whoever wins is more likely to have to move sideways into another series than to get a drive in F1.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
15th March 2022, 22:00
You’d be better off not winning so you can still race F2 the next year, unless you’re already lined up with a guaranteed F1 seat if you do win…