Formula 2 – Season 2022 guide! Part 2

Out of the 22 titular drivers for this season, 10 of them will be rookies! Let’s discover a few drivers to keep an eye on (or almost)…

The repeaters:

Théo Pourchaire

Who else to start with? Théo Pourchaire is the highest ranked among all the repeaters in F2 last year (fifth in the championship in 2021). Just this alone should make us believe in his chances of winning the title. Despite his very good first season (youngest poleman and winner in F2), the Sauber Academy driver has all the cards in hand to fight for the title. He is staying with the French team ART GP, which has complete confidence in him. This year, he remains the youngest driver on the grid. The possibility of winning the championship may be motivating…

Liam Lawson

Unlucky driver for his first season in 2021, the New Zealander experienced some issues with his Hitech. He was disqualified during Sprint Race 2 in Monaco, even though he had won, due to a engine mapping problem that spoiled his joy. He had 6 retirements throughout the season (being the driver with the most retirements in the season after Armstrong). The Kiwi, who achieved pole position in Baku, only managed to secure one victory (during the first Sprint Race of the season in Bahrain) and missed opportunities on several occasions. The Red Bull driver, part of the Carlin team, must be able to show better performance in order to aim for a seat at AlphaTauri and why not contend for the championship?

Juri Vips

Estonian finished just behind Théo Pourchaire in the 2021 standings and he is also going into a second year with the same team (Hitech GP). He also had some bad luck with 4 retirements in the last 9 races. But he also had some brilliant moments, especially in Baku where he became the first driver in 2021 to win two races in the same weekend. With six podium finishes, the Red Bull Junior Team driver also needs to perform better in order to be in contention for a vacant seat at AlphaTauri.

Richard Verschoor

We are obligated to talk about the Dutchman, in 2021 he managed to finish in eleventh place in the championship despite missing the round in Saudi Arabia and having to urgently join Charouz (to replace the injured Enzo Fittipaldi). Richard Verschoor still managed to secure a victory in the second Sprint race at Silverstone with his modest MP Motorsport. Due to lack of budget, the threat of being benched loomed over him after each race weekend. Often in the top 10, the Dutchman still had a great season in 2021! This year, he was able to gather the budget to race with Trident… Hoping that his race car can match his talent.

The rookies:

Dennis Hauger

Just like with Théo, we have to start with one of the favorites for the title, the reigning F3 champion! This Norwegian, also a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, is staying with Prema this season, but in Formula 2! Dennis and Théo know each other well, they started their careers together in karting. In 2019, the Norwegian became the champion of the Italian F4 and the runner-up in the ADAC F4 (German F4) behind a certain Théo Pourchaire! His first year in Formula 3 in 2020 was tough, finishing 17th with his Hitech GP team. However, as a repeater in 2021, he became the champion, dominating the season with three pole positions and four impressive victories. The Norwegian already has some fans on social media, and he will be closely watched this season!

Jack Doohan is the same in both French and English.

The new driver of the Alpine Academy is the vice champion of F3. He is the son of the famous five-time Moto World Champion Mick Doohan. Somewhat unnoticed in Europe, the Australian is making a name for himself in Asia by being twice vice champion of F3 Asia (in 2019 and 2020). In 2020, he finished 28th in Formula 3 with a score of zero points… It is in 2021 that Jack Doohan shows us his full potential by achieving two pole positions, four victories, and seven podium finishes. He has joined the Virtuosi Racing team, hoping to make a statement this season!

Clément Novalak

Clément will compete in his first full season in Formula 2 this year (he participated in the last two races last year in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi). The Frenchman has completed two seasons in F3. In 2021, he finished third in the championship and he and his team Trident were crowned team champions! He has been racing under the French license since 2021, previously holding a British license as he started his career on the other side of the English Channel. At MP Motorsport, he will have alongside him Brazilian Felipe Drugovich, who will be competing in his third season in the Formula 1 feeder series. Here’s what the Frenchman shared with us about his goals before the start of the season: « Before starting the tests, it’s difficult to set concrete goals, so first and foremost, I want to work as hard as possible to give myself the best chances this year to achieve good results. »

Logan Sargeant.

The American will probably be an outsider for the title, but he shouldn’t be “written off” too quickly. In 2020, he finished in third place in the F3 championship (albeit with Prema) just behind Oscar Piastri and Théo Pourchaire. Unfortunately, Logan Sargeant couldn’t make the “step” to move up to Formula 2, so he had to do a third season in Formula 3 with the modest Charouz team, where he finished a very impressive seventh in the final championship standings, with four podium finishes including a victory! He was able to compete in the last round in Abu Dhabi in 2021 with HWA Racelab. This season, he will be alongside Liam Lawson at Carlin.

Frédérik Vesti translates to Frederik Vesti.

The Danish member of the Mercedes program finished his two seasons in Formula 3 (2020 and 2021) in fourth place in the championship, with four wins and nine podiums over these two seasons. This season, he will be the teammate of Théo Pourchaire in the prestigious ART GP team. With the support of Mercedes, he will be able to find confidence and maybe even aim for something interesting in his first year!

Cem Bolukbasi

It is likely to be challenging for the Turkish driver this season with Charouz (alongside Enzo Fittipaldi), but we have to mention him for the great story. Cem Bolukbasi was a Sim Racing driver before diving into the GT4 scene in 2019.

From Sim Racing to F2!

Four drivers should not be forgotten this season!

Ralph Boschung on Campos, the Swiss driver will be competing in his second full season this year. The Swiss driver ended 2021 in style by achieving his first two podium finishes!

Jehan Daruvala will still be with Prema alongside the reigning F3 champion… he will be present when victory or a podium finish is within his reach. His two years of experience in Formula 2 should make him one of the favorites for the title… wait and see.

Ayumu Iwasa, French F4 champion in 2020, is moving directly to F3. The Japanese driver even obtained a victory with his Hitech team in 2021. For this season, he will be with Dams alongside the veteran of the sport, Roy Nissany. With Honda’s support, he is also part of the Red Bull Junior Team.

Felipe Drugovich will begin his third season in F2, and the Brazilian is returning to the team in which he excelled in 2020 during his first season. He appeared confident during the winter testing last week in Bahrain.

All these drivers will often be at the forefront, some more than others, but we will have to count on these drivers to make us experience a great Formula 2 season!

Give us your predictions!