F2 is a great feeder series for F1. Many of F2’s graduates are now very successful in F1. However, does doing well in F2 even matter?
Charles Leclerc and George Russell are two of Formula 2’s most famous graduates. The pair both won the series in their debut year, in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The pair are now both driving for a top team: Ferrari and Mercedes.
This is a great example of how Formula 2 can do wonders for a young driver’s career. Formula 2 has also been a great training ground for 2018 runner’s up, Lando Norris and Alex Albon. Sometimes, you don’t even have to finish in the top 3 to graduate to F1 (*cough cough Mazepin finishing 5th in 2020’s F2).
This brief look back takes us perfectly to what made me ask this question: Does F2 matter anymore?
For the upcoming 2022 season, Alfa Romeo has signed Guanyu Zhou. Zhou is F2’s most recent success. However, many argue that his colleague Oscar Piastri should have been given a seat.
Zhou has spent 3 seasons in F2 and had his most successful year in 2021 finishing 3rd. Piastri on the other hand won F2 in his rookie season. Oscar Piastri also won F3 on his debut the year earlier. That’s quite impressive.
This is nothing against Zhou. He’s shown many moments of brilliance and has clearly shown he can drive against top-tier drivers. However, I do think it is disgusting that the F2 Champion (not even mentioning it was his debut) isn’t guaranteed a seat.
The same happened in 2019. Nyck de Vries won in a very dominant fashion, yet, he did not get a seat in formula 1. In fact, he is still waiting.
He has also shown his top driving skills winning Formula E in the 2020-2021 season. De Vries has clearly shown how good he is, yet he has still no guaranteed seat. That’s two year since winning F2 without a seat in F1.
Similar has happened to Callum Illot. Although Illot did not win, he did finish second to Mick Schumacher in 2020. Illot’s future seems to be in the USA.
This coming season, Illot will compete in IndyCar. Due to this career move, Illot has been dropped from the Ferrari Driver Academy as they believed they didn’t have the resources to support his career in IndyCar this year.
Obviously, Formula 1 is not all based on talent. Otherwise these F2 winners would be moving straight to F1. Money is a bif factor in F1. With the Zhou vs Piastri case, it was reported that Zhou had around £30 million in sponsor backing. That money will carry a lot of weight in the decision making proccess.
Despite all the doubt, there is hope for the likes of Piastri and De Vries. De Vries has started this year’s Formula E off with a bang, winning the first race of the season.
Piastri has been given a special role within Alpine for the coming season. In this role Piastri will work closely with the team. In return, the team hope that this will prepare Piastri so when a seat comes up- he’s more than ready.
What F1 all comes down to is money. I get it, F1 wouldn’t survive without money and that’s why”pay drivers” are hired. This helps the sport live, but, I do think it’s a kick in the teeth to those who really deserve to be in F1 based on talent alone.
Feature Image: SkySports.com