The 2024 Formula 2 season will have a bright new look thanks to a larger than usual intake of new drivers and a change of chassis.
Dallara’s striking F2 2024 design, with its eye-catching and steeply curved rear wing, was shown off for the first time at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix last year. Since then all 11 teams had the chance to shake down a single chassis each at the Circuit de Catalunya.The full field assembled for the first time in Bahrain over the last two days. However to widespread surprise the first day of running was disrupted by the one thing seldom seen at the desert track: Rain.
That presented challenges for teams seeking to suss out the new car before the season-opening round at the same circuit at the beginning of next month.
“We can see that maybe the main difference between [the] cars could be the aero,” said Campos team principal Adrian Campos during the last day of running yesterday. “But for the race, we still don’t know, it’s too early.
“Yesterday was raining, Barcelona was only to check everything was working properly, only with one car.”
However Campos admitted the teams were encouraged by the early signs from the performance of the new car, which is designed to match the styling of Formula 1 cars more closely.
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“The first thing that we have been surprised, let’s say, on the first feeling, was in Barcelona when we had the few laps with dry it was that it was very stable on quick corners, even more than the last car.”
Those stepping up directly from the category beneath include last year’s F3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, now backed by McLaren. The four drivers who completed last year’s F3 top five have also moved up: Zak O’Sullivan, Paul Aron, Franco Colapinto and Pepe Marti, as have Taylor Barnard and Rafael Villagomez.
The field’s other new entrants include a couple of eye-catching and surprising names. Rodin’s Ritomo Miyata beat Liam Lawson to the Japanese Super Formula crown last year. Paraguay’s Joshua Duerksen is a surprising arrival in the series having finished 19th in Formula Regional Europe last year.
But the driver who won the same championship – long-time Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli – has long been tipped as a star of the future. The team’s decision not to bother putting him through F3 set tongues wagging to begin with. Then when Lewis Hamilton announced his plans to join Ferrari, opening a vacancy a Mercedes next year, the rumour mill went into overdrive.
F2’s bright new look for 2024 is much more than just skin-deep, with plenty of enticing storylines ready to unfold when the new season begins.
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Pictures: The F2 teams of 2024
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Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
13th February 2024, 8:28
That rear wing looks like a parachute
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th February 2024, 8:41
@fer-no65 Yeah that’s going to take a lot of getting used to. It makes me think of Super Formula’s over-designed look in the early 2010s.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
13th February 2024, 10:45
I liked that era of Super Formula cars, this F2 is actually much more similar to the current SF design.
PacificPR (@streydt)
13th February 2024, 8:51
Ah well never mind the aesthetics – as long as your DRS activates.. (is this what the FIA have in mind for F1 26’ ?)
notagrumpyfan
13th February 2024, 9:50
Liberty might think about offer parasailing for the fans at races; still so many monetising opportunities.
Asd
13th February 2024, 8:30
OMG, those rear wings look so silly! They remind my of parashoots, or even more funnily – girls running with their scarfs held up high against the wind:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/scarf-in-wind-joana-kruse.html
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
13th February 2024, 8:32
Are we sure the designer didn’t accidentally bump the table as he was drawing a straight line for the rear wing and forgot to correct the error?
PacificPR (@streydt)
13th February 2024, 8:47
Haha. Last job before the weekend. Oops.
PacificPR (@streydt)
13th February 2024, 9:03
It’s all nice and well that the FIA is using F2 as some sort of DRS Guinea pig and completely ignore aesthetics – however how on earth is this gonna attract any sponsors – I mean it doesn’t really scream I am sponsoring a super cool – super fast, racing car – does it now.
ChrisJ (@chriju0411)
13th February 2024, 19:22
Those new rear wings are so much more attractive for sponsors since visibility and thus screen time from the usual TV angles are a whole lot better. I’d even suggest this played a role in the car design process all along.
GeeMac (@geemac)
13th February 2024, 9:04
Can’t say I like the look of the new rear wing, but this year’s F2 season is going to be fascinating. The field is actually quite strong and a lot of drivers have something to prove. Bearman v Antonelli will be the pick of the battles but there is a lot of talent up and down the grid.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
13th February 2024, 10:07
Somebody at Dallara really enjoyed the Napoleon movie… maybe those rear wings are just waiting for the right logo, Papa John’s or something.
Good to see that even the F1 team-liveried cars are a bit brighter than F1 cars.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
13th February 2024, 16:33
Heard a few people suggest that the new rear wing design means that DRS is now significantly more powerful.
I always felt it was a shame that F2 took on things like DRS & even the high degredation tire philosophy as i always felt it was a category that never needed gimmicks.
You look back at the days when it was GP2 and didn’t have DRS and ran the Bridgestone tires that were very durable and allowed drivers to pretty much run flat out all race you always saw some fantastic pure racing and some brilliant overtaking that came more down to the skill and race craft of the driver.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th February 2024, 23:36
I couldn’t agree more. The first generation of GP2 cars raced brilliantly on their Bridgestones, even more so once they got rid of the grooved tyres.