Formula 2 – A review of the first two races
The Formula 2 cars followed the Formula 1 on the tracks of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Let's look back on these two races before starting the third one in Imola this weekend!
The French viewpoint
Mixed results for our two tricolors Théo Pourchaire and Clément Novalak in these first two meetings.
There is still some positive for our two French drivers. Especially with a very nice victory in the main race. This means that the ART GP driver left Bahrain leading the championship.
Unfortunately, in Jeddah, he will leave with zero points, with an accident during free practice, an engine problem in qualifying (which will force him to start last in both races), and another issue in the sprint race… three engine problems in two meetings…
He talks to us about his problems here.
For Clément, it’s a little more complicated despite the positive aspects and the increasing experience. A mechanical breakdown deprived him of valuable points and even a podium finish in the main race in Bahrain. There was improvement in Saudi Arabia for the MP Motorsport driver, despite some “frustration”. In fact, he set the exact same time down to the thousandth of a second as Denis Hauger in qualifying… for tenth place! He could have started in pole position for the Saturday sprint race… He will also leave with zero points, but with more confidence in himself!
The forces at play or The forces involved.
Felipe Drugovich: The Brazilian is currently leading the championship! Four races, four times big points, including an almost perfect weekend in Jeddah with a pole position, a third place in the sprint race, and a victory in the main race. There’s no doubt that we can count on Clement Novalak’s teammate this weekend!
Liam Lawson: Same for him, two meetings, three podiums out of four races competed. The Kiwi seems to be in very good shape at the beginning of this season…
Pilots like Richard Verschoor (winner of the sprint race in Bahrain and second in the main race in Jeddah) and Jack Doohan (pole position in Bahrain and third in Jeddah but later disqualified) are in great shape at the start of the season!
A little more complicated for them.
Prema: Overall, the Italian team has not been up to the mark in these first two meetings. Denis Hauger, the reigning F3 champion, secured a pole position in the sprint race, but unfortunately, a misunderstanding with his team cost him a probable victory. Fortunately for the team, Jehan Daruvala managed to secure a well-deserved podium in Saudi Arabia. The Italian team is currently fifth in the team championship.
Ayumu Iwasa: A spin right out of the pits during qualifying in Bahrain put him at the back of the grid… And yet, during both races, he was the fastest driver of all! There was progress in Saudi Arabia… We hope for even better results for the Honda-supported driver.
Marino Sato (1 point) and Frédérik Vesti (0 points) are in two good teams: Virtuosi for the Japanese driver and ART GP for the latter… yet their points tally in the championship reflects their weekends… Will there be improvements in Imola? Find out starting tomorrow…
