The new Formula 2 cars will have a style closer to Formula 1 single-seaters

After seven years of good and loyal service, the single-seaters used in the Formula 1 feeder series will be replaced by a new generation of cars. The 2018 season will see the introduction of single-seaters with styles closer to current F1 cars, while reusing some elements from the current F2 single-seaters.

Bruno Michel, director of the Formula 2 championship, explains: “We are trying to keep as many common parts of this car to save money for the teams. Costs are very important right now. But the car will look completely different, it will have the same type of look as the F1 cars.”

On the engine side, it will still be the company Mecachrome that will continue to provide engines to the series, the engines that will be adopted in 2018 will be six-cylinders, like those used in GP3. The engine architecture will also be built around the same base but will develop more power. However, there is no question of introducing hybrid technology like in Formula 1 because this would lead to costs that are far too high for the teams.

« Now that it has been completely designed, we are in the process of manufacturing prototype parts with the aim of assembling the car for the first time in June and starting to test it in mid-July. The engine is now undergoing a lot of endurance tests on the test bench and we are on schedule. »

Bruno Michel adds that the series will keep using high-degradation Pirelli tires in order to continue offering the most captivating show possible to the spectators. According to the CEO of the discipline, this allows for lively races with numerous overtakings: “We ask Pirelli for a certain level of degradation to ensure that we provide very entertaining races. The F2 sprint race in Bahrain was absolutely incredible and that’s exactly what we want to achieve. This level of degradation ranges between two and a half to three seconds per lap from the beginning of the race to the end. If possible, as we had in Bahrain, the degradation will be slow at first, before suddenly experiencing a sharp drop.”

The boss of the series supported by the FIA believes that this degradation is not unfair to the drivers who must learn the art of tire management: « It makes fantastic races and also allows drivers to learn how to work with tires, so this is ideally what we want. I don’t think it’s unfair, it’s a learning curve, they have to learn to race with the equipment they have.”

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