Formula 2: Season Preview – Everything you need to know

A new season of the FIA Formula 2 Championship is set to begin this weekend with new drivers, new partnerships but the same old exciting action coming your way over 12 rounds and 24 races in 2019.

The top three drivers from 2018 were all promoted to Formula 1 (Alexander Albon, Lando Norris and the champion George Russell) so the field is wide open this year and there is a big opportunity to impress and get a seat on the F1 grid next year.

If you are new to F2 then the key thing to note is that all competitors race with an identical Dallara F2 chassis with a V6 turbo engine developed by Mecachrome.

The Driver Line-up

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A Lower Quality Field?

It would be easy to say that this year’s grid is very weak compared to last year, but I do not think it is as bad as some think. Certainly, it is no weaker than the grids that GP2 produced just a few years ago (2012-2016 era) it is just a sidestep from the 2018 field which was arguably the most talented grid F2/GP2 had seen.

As mentioned a talent drain will be obvious after seeing three drivers promoted to F1 and another half a dozen move on to new grounds, though top talents not getting top drives can also be a major factor.

GP3’s final season had minimal hype around its title fight, especially compared to F2 and Euro F3, so it’s easy to forget that champion Antoine Hubert joins BWT Arden. A team that has picked up just two wins in six seasons. He’s not the only one, the returning Jordan King joins MP and fellow Brit Jack Aitken moves to the F2-winless Campos for his sophomore season. To add, drivers like the winless Sean Galael and the perennial Nicholas Latifi continue to take up spaces at the top teams.

More importantly though, there will still be amazing racing and a great scrap for the title which is what we all want to see.

The Calendar

1. Sakhir – 30-31 March
2. Baku – 27-28 April
3. Barcelona – 11-12 May
4. Monte Carlo – 24-25 May
5. Paul Ricard – 22-23 June
6. Red Bull Ring – 29-30 June
7. Silverstone – 13-14 July
8. Hungaroring – 3-4 August
9. Spa – 31 August – 1 September
10. Monza – 7-8 September
11. Sochi – 28-29 September
12. Yas Marina – 30 November – 1 December

The Favourites and Who to Watch Out For

Picking out the favourites for F2 is very hard each year, this season more so with nobody standing out. A lot of the attention will be on Mick Schumacher who stunned Dan Ticktum to win the European Formula 3 title last year. The German took eight wins, including five consecutive victories in the latter part of the season. There is no doubt that he is talented but there is so much pressure on the 20-year-old and if he can ignore that then he can challenge for the championship in his inaugural season. His greatest problem might be that has he has zero prior experience with Pirelli rubber, but if Prema can help Schumacher with the driving style he will need to master the Pirelli tyres than good results should come.

For me, my championship tip is Sergio Sette Camara. DAMS are a very good team and although Camara has only won once in F2, he has shown speed at times. This will be his third season on F2 and he has flown under the radar a little (a bit like Alexander Albon) but he will have learnt a lot from being Lando Norris’s teammate last year and he has got a teammate who will push him on in Nicholas Latifi. It is a make or break year for Camara so he has to show something.

Nyck De Vries is in a similar position to Camara and after a lot of hype around the Belgian when he was in Formula Renault, he has not been able to show consistency despite his very good natural speed. If he can string some good results together, he could be a dark horse.

Nikita Mazepin is a promising young talent who finished 2nd in GP3 last year. The Russian generally got better and better as the season went on so if he can carry on that form in F2, he could win a few races and could even prove a challenge to his teammate, De Vries.

Giuliano Alesi might be the surprise of the season. He could only finish 7th in GP3 in 2018 and was very hit and miss. But, he did show signs of speed and he might be someone to look out for in the Sunday reverse grid races.

The GP3 champion, Anthoine Hubert was excellent last year by taking 11 podiums across the year. But, he may struggle with the Arden team who were disappointing last year. Without a competitive car, Hubert may have to get used to racing towards the back and if he can have a handful of outstanding drives (getting a poor car up the order) then that will keep his momentum going and his status shining.

Tatiana Calderon is Hubert’s teammate and will need to justify her promotion after an unimpressive campaign in GP3 last year. The positive was that she did improve in the final races but with all due respect, does she deserve a place on the F2 grid? I hope she does well but will have a tough time against Hubert but if she can at least match him, that will do her a lot of good. Calderon has also said that the F2 cars suit her driving style which is a big positive.

Motorsport Radio’s F2 Championship Predictions

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Final thoughts

One thing for sure is that the racing always delivers in F2 and these young drivers properly go for it. Quite often the racing is significantly better than the “main show” the F1 that follows so excitement is guaranteed and drama inevitable. It will be a mega fight to become champion and with a new generation emerging in F1, the drivers in this year’s F2 field will not want to miss the party and will look to join the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and George Russell at the pinnacle of motorsport.