Formula 1’s leading feeder series delivered on-track excitement and championship intrigue last weekend.
The Formula 3 title was decided in style by a final-corner pass (or so it seemed at the time), while the Formula 2 points battle unexpectedly closed up.But the same weekend prompted more questions over the value of the two titles being chased by the 52 drivers racing in F2 and F3.
Though the circumstances of Gabriel Bortoleto’s last-to-first F2 win owed much to luck, the title-deciding F3 race which preceded it was a proper barnstormer. Gabriele Mini and Leonardo Fornaroli scrapped until the final corner of the race, where the latter thrust past Christian Mansell to deny his rival the crown.
The day before the F3 title was decided, Mercedes announced its junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli would be promoted to its F1 team next year. Antonelli has had little time to distinguish himself in F1’s preferred championships, having skipped the FIA F3 series entirely and being two-thirds of the way through his first season in F2.
Those who look upon the two series billed as the natural routes into F1 would be forgiven for wondering how a driver can win promotion after spending so little time in them. Antonelli’s experience contrasts sharply with his predecessor on Mercedes’ junior programme, George Russell, who won both titles in consecutive seasons before getting his F1 chance. Charles Leclerc did the same – as too did Oscar Piastri.
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Antonelli isn’t the only driver with little to show from his 2024 F2 campaign who will nonetheless be on the F1 grid next year. Like him, Prema team mate Oliver Bearman announced his coming graduation to F1 at his home round of the championship, two months ago. Bearman lies just 14th in the F2 standings, though without his enforced absence from the Jeddah round, where he substituted for Carlos Sainz Jnr at Ferrari, he would likely be comfortably within the top 10.
To an extent, this has always been the case. Under its former guise, GP2, several champions never got the chance to race in F1: Fabio Leimer, Davide Valsecchi and Giorgio Pantano (whose F1 debut preceded his 2008 GP2 title win).
Mercedes clearly believe Antonelli is a special case. He has impressed them more through his performances in a Formula 1 car, almost all of which has taken place out of the public eye, with the exception of his six laps at Monza which ended in a crash. His rivals do not doubt he has the ability to race in F1.
“I think Kimi deserves to be in Formula 1, to be honest,” said Bortoleto in response to a question from RaceFans. “He’s a very young guy, just turned 18, with so much pressure on his shoulders. So many people making hype around him and everything, it’s not easy to perform in the circumstances.
“But F1 teams have so much more ability to analyse data and analyse performances from their drivers than fans, because obviously fans don’t have our data.”
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Those who succeeded in F2 but failed to find a place in F1 were largely victims of unfortunate timing, Bortoleto believes. “They were champions, they deserve a Formula 1 seat but the opportunity never came to them,” he said.
This points to the problem with viewing F1’s two junior series as steps on a ladder which inevitably lead to the championship. Teams are looking for the drivers who can drive an F1 car quickest, and these series don’t necessarily reveal that.
Bearman’s performances for Haas in practice last year strengthened his cause in the eyes of that team and Ferrari. Mercedes saw Antonelli’s potential in his karting days. F2 and F3 are necessary more because they give drivers the best opportunity to tally up superlicence points in order to ensure they can graduate to F1. But their championship points tally matters less in a series where the cars handle differently to F1 machines, where the set-up options are more limited, where reliability continues to make too much of a difference and where reverse grids races mean single-lap pace isn’t rewarded as highly as it is in F1. Change those things, and the correlation between the top F2 drivers and those who reach F1 may improve.
However it will likely always be the case that F2 produces more F1-capable drivers than there are places to fill on the grand prix grid – especially as long as Formula One Management continues to bar new entrants like Andretti.
“There are so many good drivers at the moment in F2 and there’s only 20 F1 seats, so it’s not possible for those teams to put everyone in that’s good,” said Richard Verschoor, now in his fourth season of F2. “So sometimes people have to wait, like Oscar [Piastri], like Jack [Doohan], who now gets a chance.
“So I do think it’s a good that promoting more young drivers into F1 and I hope they make the best of it.”
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Formula 2
- Six Formula 2 drivers handed double 10-place penalties for teams’ testing violations
- Formula 2 driver announces shock exit 10 days before new season starts
- “Formula 2 The Glory Years, 1967-84” reviewed
- 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
KaIIe (@kaiie)
7th September 2024, 13:26
“Teams are looking for the drivers who can drive an F1 car quickest, and these series don’t necessarily reveal that.”
Hear hear. Way back when Pantano won his championship, it felt like maybe something was slightly wrong. In my opinion, feeder series are something that should, well, feed the main series with fresh drivers. If the lower championships are full of drivers in their third, fourth, or fifth seasons they have sort of lost their point. A “veteran of feeder series” sounds very oxymoron-y, or at least something that should not exist (unless the feeder series is something like the old F2 in the 60s/70s, being a proper championship in it’s own right).
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
7th September 2024, 15:51
I don’t understand the rush for either driver if I’m honest. Both look F1 calibre to me, but I’d struggle to justify them as immediate upgrades for 80% of the grid. I think that they should have another season in F2 to fight for the title.
Race wins and championships are vital to a driver’s mentality. Anyone can have incredible one lap pace but consistency over a stint, performance under pressure, racecraft, strategic thinking are all developed by winning at a lower level. F1 is not a finishing school. Mercedes in particular will find out the hard way if Antonelli succumbs to the pressure as their expectation must be both titles next year.
If I look at McLaren this season Lando clearly has the edge over Oscar, handsomely outqualifying him. Yet Lando has made a number of errors under pressure and has made poor strategic calls. He’s not been helped by the team – but he should be a lot closer to Max than he is. In F2, he had 1 win which was from pole all season. Oscar, who has looked much calmer and less error prone had 6 wins, 5 other podiums and 5 poles (from 8 rounds). I’m not saying Oscar is the better driver, clearly he’s being beaten, but I think that decisiveness under pressure can only be taught from a position of strength. Lando will need another few wins to build that up, which I think is a strange ask given he’s in his 6th season. The greats of the last 30 years were all the finished article after 4 seasons for me – Michael, Fernando, Kimi, Lewis, Seb.
Fundamentally, my view is that you should only get into F1 with a minimum number of wins/championships. That might sound draconian to some, but I’m against this culture of promoting half baked drivers with good simulator data and expecting them to develop on the world stage. There are too many races, too little testing for them to improve organically. We need feeder series to nurture the talent; and we need a rule to help the young drivers maximise their potential. Most of the top guys are backed by F1 programmes anyway, so the cost of another season should be no obstacle.
falken (@falken)
7th September 2024, 19:40
Their. Better (or as good) and cheaper. Why not switch.
See also Williams recent change of heart.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
8th September 2024, 7:59
I’m yet to be convinced they are better to be honest. Both have had a poor Prema this year but I’ve been more impressed by Aron and particularly Bortoleto who aren’t getting a look in.
Williams had to change because Sargeant was under prepared for F1 and came 4th in F2. Had he had another season perhaps he’d have been in contention for the title in 2023 – after all he should probably have won Piastri’s F3 season. I think promoting these guys prematurely is to their detriment.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
7th September 2024, 23:51
In general I agree, but when it comes to your list of recent greats, I fail to see how raikkonen makes the list and hakkinen doesn’t.
Nick T.
8th September 2024, 0:27
Neither is a tier 1 (elite of the elite). Mika is one of my favorite drivers, but he’d have never won a WDC had he not had a huge car advantage of Michael. There’s nobody that doesn’t love Kimi, but for me he’s more of a Montoya. An exciting fan favorite, but possessed of some critical flaws.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
8th September 2024, 8:43
I think Raikkonen between 2003 and 2007 was an all time great. His raw speed over a lap was incredible certainly the best in the sport in that era. As late as 2013, I thought he was in the top 4 drivers on the grid. With better reliability Kimi could have been a 3 time Champion for his first 7 seasons.
I loved Mika growing up, he was my favourite driver. But on reflection he had one lap speed and made many mistakes under pressure. A lot is made of Estoril, but Senna passed him early on then won the next 2 races. In 94 and 95 he had a selection of really poor team-mates. In 1996 I think he was better than DC (in his second full season) but Coulthard was ahead on points with 5 rounds to go and then had 3 consecutive retirements.
In 1997, both had horrendous unreliablity. Hakkinen suffered this when leading, albeit the first lap, in Austria. McLaren were 1-2 at Nürburgring when Mika was robbed of his first win due to unreliability that DC also suffered. DC already had 2 wins going into Jerez where team orders swapped the McLarens and Mika inherited a lucky win – one he was due, but not an outright victory. In 1998, Mika was outstanding, a thoroughly worthy Champion. But 1999 was a turgid affair at times, mistakes in Imola and Monza and an anonymous race in Nurburgring with 3 races to go felt like limping over the line. Michael’s Sepang weekend suggest to me that he’d have won the title that year. In 2000, Mika’s move at Spa was incredible but he was beaten by the better man over the piece. I think Mika’s 2001 is underrated – he should have won in Spain, did win 2 others and he outqualified DC more often than not.
I find 2001 representative of Mika’s career, outqualifies DC in 4 of the first 5 races, then is outqualified 4 in a row once it’s clear the title is out of reach, mainly due to unreliability. For me, Mika was great but his mistakes under pressure, and how close DC was to him over the course of his career when the car wasn’t 10/10 limits his legacy – particularly since the greats after him have prided themselves on consistency. I also remember Brundle’s mid season analysis in 1997 rating Mika as “a lacklustre performance, could be looking for alternative employment” which could also be levelled at Kimi from 2014 onwards.
Nick T.
8th September 2024, 0:21
In Kimi’s defense, just like Max and OG Kimi, he skipped most of the feeder series altogether. So, I’m excited about him and think he’ll do great. What we see with Lando is just the different between a driver fast enough to win a WDC and GOATs like you listed. Though, Seb falls a tiny bit short for me in terms of making the GOAT candidates list.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
8th September 2024, 8:50
Yeah I’m a bit more concerned for Antonelli. I think there’s a massive difference between joining Sauber in 2001 with endless testing or Toro Rosso with a view to being promoted after a few seasons to joining the Mercedes works team replacing Lewis. Without wanting to sound negative, the crash at Monza was a bit amateur – and I fear the media expectation will put him under much greater pressure than Max or Kimi R. We’ve seen how young drivers in Gasly and Albon handled that pressure and I’m yet to be convinced Kimi A has that mental fortitude. That’s not to say he doesn’t.
Regarding Seb – I think his career until 2018 is legendary. I don’t think he was better than Alonso or Hamilton but peak Vettel, particularly at Red Bull was unbeatable. A lot of that can be attributed to the car but if you win 9 races in a row, you’re in with a shout of a GOAT list for me.
Ambrogio Isgro
9th September 2024, 0:06
Alonso arrived in F1 when he was really young and had just won one race in F3000, instead Bouillion was a crowned champion in that category. Bouillion crumbled against Frentzen in Sauber while Alonso, well every f1 fan knows the story.
Jan Magnussen, Stoffel Vandoorne, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Roberto Moreno are all Champions that faded quite soon in F1, while Kimi Raikkonen jumped in F1 from F.Renault and Damon Hill never won a title in F3 or F3000.
There is not an exact rule on how to prepare a driver to F1. The only way to discover if a driver Is champion material is to put him in a F1 car.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
9th September 2024, 6:47
I don’t think that winning a junior title guarantees success, but I think it affords better preparation. Alonso started with a back marker, at a time when they were seconds off the pace, with very limited expectation. He then moved to a test driving role for a year where he could learn the team and pump out endless mileage. His preparation was built on experience in the car mixed with a generational talent, I don’t think that should be used as a standard for comparison.
Damon likewise was test driver and threw away many races under pressure in his career too.
Raikkonen is an exception to this rule but a lot of his career was built on incredible one lap speed. He also threw away France 2002 under pressure for example. Would Raikkonen have performed better in 2008 or from 2014 onwards with a different junior career? I doubt it, but it’s worth considering given how much or an outlier his early career was from the norm.
Tunde
10th September 2024, 7:41
Good analysis… I love it…
Asd
7th September 2024, 16:03
I detest the very concept of a feeder series, which I think is a lie and a hoax.
And the problem that is never named is that in Europe there’s bascially 134 open-wheel junior series and only 1 single open wheel senior series – Formula 1. Everything apart from F1 are series for children and teens, which is an absurd situation.
Most countries have their own national F3 and/or F4 series, but none of them have their own national F1 series, nor even just their national F2 series.
And even worldwide, they are basically 2 aspirational senior racing series: F1 and IndyCar.
Japan have their Super Formula and Australia have their S5000 and that’s it, both series being regional since being located in very distinct ares of the globe.
Senior open-wheel series don’t exist because of the overgrown, nonsensical junior system created by FIA, which works like a vacuum sucking all resources (entrepreneurs, manufacturers and teams) into them, and most significantly, because FIA is pathologically obsessed with its main cash cow that is F1 treats everything else in the realm of openwheel racing as a sideshow.
Jere (@jerejj)
7th September 2024, 16:27
IndyCar is also a regional series to be fair, but I couldn’t agree more with you as a whole.
MichaelN
7th September 2024, 16:56
Indeed, compare to the FIA WEC which is the World Championship, but you have regional sportscar championships at high level in North-America, Europe and Asia. In the North-American case, it’s even with the top level LMDh category in it – and the best teams from these series can (for now) participate in the big Le Mans 24h race with the world championship also present.
Arguably there’s Indycar and Super Formula, but these don’t have anywhere close to the amount of seats available as sportscars do (and not just because you need two or three drivers per car in those series).
Yaru (@yaru)
7th September 2024, 20:21
Uh, Formula E exists. It’s an F1 sanctioned senior open wheel series.
Dex
8th September 2024, 3:18
Formula E is… Well, technically you’re right. But other than that, it’s kind of a joke no one even considers; like you can see here.
Lars
8th September 2024, 3:51
We all know why: Bear man is British, that is all that matters. How many Brits in F1?
AlanD
7th September 2024, 19:53
Really good points that hadn’t occured to me before.
Nick T.
8th September 2024, 0:33
For another aspirational series to exist, it must have a large enough fan base to able to support itself and not just be a destination for rich kids or the rare talent fortunate enough to find a patron. I’d love to see a series founded with some patient investors and the wider support of the motorsport community. There’s room enough for another international series that primarily races in Europe. A series that used a car most F1 fans would like to see (NA V8s or V10s) that actually races in the rain and doesn’t throw safety cars for gravel on the track would be immediately popular.
Dex
8th September 2024, 3:13
Indy is regional as well. Well, more national than regional.
Daniel
7th September 2024, 16:30
Bortoleto is on course to repeat Russell and Piastri (F-3 champion as a rookie and F-2 championship contender as a rookie) and yet, if Audi doesn’t hire him, he’ll be out of a drive in 2025.
Past feeder series champions who were overlooked by F-1 usually took too long in junior levels, and impressing as a rookie seemed to be the safest way to the top series. Not anymore
Rafa
11th September 2024, 2:09
I’m going to bring hard truths, which people in Europe try hard not to understand. The driver’s nationality is a key factor in his entry into F1. Aron, a pilot from Estonia, is never mentioned. New Zealand’s Lawson has so far been on the sidelines at RB. Drugovich, who was mega-dominant champion (over Lawson, included) with more than 100 points for second in F2, is forgotten. Pourchaire would come in easily, but there are already 2 French, so no. And Zhou and Sargeant? Commercial issues by their nationalities, only. And Bortoleto then, two incredible years as a rookie, and if he gets a place, it will be in the Sauber wagon. Tsunoda, many years to become an “ok” rider, but Honda needs him there. Bearman has been crushed by more than half of the F2 grid all year, many of them average, but he will get his opportunity anyway. Antonelli, an Italian, is talented, but his opportunity came early, such was the desire to put a promising Italian on the grid. He already showed at Monza that he is not ready, that another year of F2 would be necessary, as he is nowhere near the top of the season. He has talent, but he is very hype. Mick only doesn’t enter F1 again because no one trusts him, but because he is German, his name is systematically in 10 out of 10 rumors of entering F1. Colapinto is getting an opportunity that is not normal, and that only happened because he is much better and more prepared than the other juniors of Williams, but even so, his validity on the grid has a date to end. Historically, in times when the commercial part was not fundamental, drivers from several less “important” countries were champions in F1, and some were dominant. Currently, many of them, even though they are much better, are left aside, under the excuse of “few seats”. The seats exist, but those who enter need to have the right nationality. This is disgusting.
Addme (@dontme)
7th September 2024, 16:44
I think F3 and F2 do what they are supposed to do. It gives drivers a chance to showcase their skills under lots of circumstances. They deal with weather, grip, different starting positions and all kinds of circuits. I wouldn’t say the winner is always the best driver of the pack. Or that the ones who don’t win can’t develop into a top driver.
F1 has blocked the road after the feeder series. You used to be able to buy your way into F1 (for better or worse) but F1 has a stranglehold on the number of teams and the teams themselves seem to be fine with the way it is. They scout talent and put them through the series and if they have room they might put them in a seat.
Even Reb bull, with a specific team for talent and who seems to hire and discard drivers from their development program every weekend, rarely gives new drivers a chance in F1. It’s crazy.
How can a feeder series feed if F1 isn’t hungry?
Yaru (@yaru)
7th September 2024, 20:19
I would have agreed with you if F1 never hires young driver that become part of the grid but they do. Max made it, Lando made it, Leclerc made it, Piastri made it, Russell made it, Albon made it. These are young drivers who made it into the series the last five years or so (longer in Max’s case but he was super young) and remained as fixtures. And these doesn’t include the three rookies that are confirmed for next season.
And then there are others who were given chances but did not take it to remain. Mick, Sargeant, Zhou, De Vries.
A feeder series doesn’t mean everyone gets a seat but the best of those would and could still get it. Piastri was tired of Alpine dawdling on giving him a seat and went to a team that would. Feeder just means you would get an opportunity to showcase your talent for F1 if they fancy you and failing that, what you learn will help you in a motorsport career outside of F1.
Miane
7th September 2024, 17:26
Half of the F2 grid would do well in F2. One or two each season would perform in a top level or above average. The main problem that Antonelli and Bearman showcases is that F1 teams are looking for the next Max, they are looking for very young drivers performing better than their older counterparts, that’s supposed to be a sign of a future star. But they fail to identify those drivers ceiling. Drivers like Pourchaire proved that you can learn and develop fast but have a lower ceiling. Drivers like Drugovich showed that some guys take more time but can reach higher levels.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
7th September 2024, 17:30
Not really an easy fix. You could stipulate that you can only be promoted to F1 if you finish in the top three in the championship in F2, but that’s not the real issue. The issue is lack of seats in F1.
There’s 20 seats but realistically it’s rare that more than 3 are available each season, especially to rookies. Williams usually takes questionable rookies, the top four generally go for established drivers, RB should be using its own junior system but doesn’t, Aston has the chosen son blocking a seat.
So Haas, Sauber and Alpine left.
Sauber have big changes coming so will want stable drivers, Haas gets leaned on by Ferrari, and Alpine don’t even know if they’re sticking around.
So yeah, how do rookies get a drive again?
The only reason Mercedes are promoting Kimi is so he doesn’t get stolen by another team, likely the same with Bearman as well. They do look good, but is it a season too soon?
Nick T.
8th September 2024, 0:40
Exactly why another top pro series in Europe would be so useful. If you made the cars fast enough to be within a few seconds of the F1 cars, which can be done cheaply if you’re not using regulations that intentionally make it difficult to go fast. You could also easily make it something fans want to watch. Then F2 champs and other prospects don’t get stuck if they’re not quickly picked up by an F1 team. And it can be a showcase for drivers, including F1 drivers who lose their seat, but unlike F2, it won’t just exist as a group of drivers hoping to make F1 in junior cars.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
8th September 2024, 10:06
I’d also be inclined to remove the rule where if you win you have to leave. It’s a bit unfair to say you’re too good for F2, but no one in F1 wants to give you a drive.
If they want to weed out the numbers it would be better to limit them to 50 races or something, so those who sit in the series with average or worse results (but lots of funding) eventually have to move on.
Neil (@neilosjames)
7th September 2024, 21:08
I think F2 and F3 do exactly what they’ve been shaped by F1 to do. That being, provide a tightly controlled and entirely F1-owned place for F1 teams to try out their young drivers against each other. And against a load of wealthy kids whose families think it’d be nice for them to hang around the F1 paddock for a few years, and whose parents are handy additions to many a network.
They don’t do what a lot of fans would like them to do – provide a meaningful, progressive, results-based pathway to F1. But they’re not there to make fans happy, so it doesn’t really matter.
t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
7th September 2024, 22:50
I think the main problems are:
a) Lack of space on the grid in F1 with only 20 cars, limiting opportunities for new drivers
b) Tendancy from F1 teams in recent years to be happy to persist with mediocre drivers for years on end, and not give chances to promising new talent from the lower formula.
Maisch (@maisch)
8th September 2024, 9:39
I wish F2 was more established as a racing series in itself, rather than just a thing everybody wants to rush through to get to F1(which most don’t anyway), so we could have a mix of young talent and older drivers/series winners racing together, it would also make it possible to judge the talent better. At least as long as there is such a limited set of seats available in F1, theres no need to push through so many kids that ends up sitting on the reserve driver bench for years at best.