FIA Formula 2 is back for 2024 with a sleek new car and an extraordinarily talented grid. The top four drivers from last year’s championship standings have all moved on, leaving a void to be filled at the front of the field. Will a returning driver grab the opportunity, or will one of the rookies reign supreme? In this guide, Feeder Series tells you everything you need to know about the 2024 Formula 2 season.

By Martin Lloyd and Steven Walton

F2 has delivered enthralling championships since its 2017 rebrand, and the ingredients are in place for more in 2024. Not only will this season feature a new car, but the assembled field is a melting pot of talent.

The top two rookies from 2023, Victor Martins and Ollie Bearman, return with their respective front-running teams, ART Grand Prix and Prema Racing. Both should be championship challengers, but they will have to be wary of other major players, including Japanese Super Formula champion Ritomo Miyata; Formula Regional European champion and Mercedes Junior Team member Kimi Antonelli; and reigning FIA Formula 3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto. Additionally, Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney has already fired a warning shot by setting the quickest times in pre-season testing.

This season, F2 has a new car: the Dallara F2 2024. This is the first new chassis for the series since 2018. It features revamped aerodynamics, including a distinctive new rear wing, and, overall, it has more downforce. Some drivers have said the new car feels similar to the old one at low speeds, but it has much more grip through fast corners. It remains to be seen whether this car will jumble up the typical pecking order.

The calendar

The 2024 calendar consists of 14 rounds, which is technically one more than last season. 14 rounds were planned for 2023, but only 13 were held because the Imola weekend was cancelled due to bad weather.

2024 sees the introduction of the first-ever round in Qatar to be held at the Lusail International Circuit in the final week of November. It is the penultimate round and will be held a week before the season finale in Abu Dhabi. This means that, unlike last year, there won’t be a gap of nearly two months between the penultimate round and the season finale.

Meanwhile, Zandvoort, which first joined the F2 calendar in 2022, has been dropped for 2024.

• Round 1: Bahrain International Circuit (29-01 February/March)
• Round 2: Jeddah Corniche Circuit (7-9 March)
• Round 3: Albert Park Circuit (22-24 March)
• Round 4: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (17-19 May)
• Round 5: Circuit de Monaco (23-26 May)
• Round 6: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (21-23 June)
• Round 7: Red Bull Ring (28-30 June)
• Round 8: Silverstone Circuit (5-7 July)
• Round 9: Hungaroring (19-21 July)
• Round 10: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (July 26-28)
• Round 11: Autodromo Nazionale Monza (30-1 August/September)
• Round 12: Baku City Circuit (13-15 September)
• Round 13: Lusail International Circuit (29-1 November/December)
• Round 14: Yas Marina Circuit (6-8 December)

The format

F2’s format is unchanged from 2023. Each weekend features a 45-minute practice session followed by a 30-minute qualifying session, both of which take place on the first day. The second day features a sprint race in which the top ten drivers from qualifying are reversed on the grid, meaning whoever qualifies 10th will start from pole position. The feature race is held on the third day, and the results from qualifying set the grid.

The rounds take place over Friday, Saturday and Sunday except for Bahrain and Jeddah, which take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The feature race uses the standard FIA system of 25 for first place down to one point for tenth place. In the sprint, only the top eight finishers get points, and fewer points are awarded. Additionally, two points are awarded for earning pole position, and one point is given out for setting the fastest lap in each race.

Where to watch

Coverage of F2 is dependent on your region. This page on the F2 website outlines which networks will broadcast coverage in each country. Additionally, in some countries, coverage of F2 will be available on F1TV. Details of F1TV’s availability in each country can be found on this page.

Teams and drivers

ART Grand Prix

ART enter 2024 with two further F2 championships in their collection, following the success of Théo Pourchaire and Victor Martins in 2023. The most successful team in GP2 and F2 history will look to build on this in the new season with a strong lineup.

While Pourchaire won the title, Martins (#1) picked up one win and nine podiums and will continue with ART for 2024. The 2022 F3 champion showed promise in his debut year, finishing fifth in the drivers’ championship, and is a favourite for the title with a year of experience under his belt.

The new car may level the playing field for rookies, and the 2024 field is undoubtedly strong with numerous returning race winners and exciting rookies. Nonetheless, Martins has already proven himself as good enough to fight at the front in F2. With ART behind him, it would be unwise to bet against a season in championship contention for the Frenchman. 

Partnering Martins will be a rookie, 2023 F3 runner-up, Zak O’Sullivan (#2). The young Briton won the Autosport BRDC Award following his domination of GB3 in 2021 and continued his progress in two years of F3 as a member of the Williams Academy. This included an impressive 11th in the drivers’ standings in 2022 with the struggling Carlin team, followed by second place with Prema in 2023.

Driving for the reigning champions, O’Sullivan will be expected to fight at the front immediately, especially given his pedigree. As a rookie, a slow start is to be anticipated. However, the evidently-quick O’Sullivan is likely to be more than just a support act for Martins.

Prema Racing

Prema are one of the most famous names in junior single-seaters, and they compete in an ever-growing selection of categories. Ollie Bearman remains in red for the new season, alongside a very exciting Italian rookie. 

Combining F2 with a new role as Ferrari reserve driver, Bearman (#3) will expect success in his second season in the series. After a very impressive rookie year, including a vanishingly rare double-win in Baku, Bearman finished sixth in the championship. His campaign ran alongside two Formula 1 practice appearances with Haas, in which he impressed by finishing just three-tenths away from teammate Nico Hulkenberg in his first session.

Bearman also participated in the young drivers’ test in Abu Dhabi and is the new reserve driver for Ferrari. Alongside a continuing programme of F1 commitments, Bearman will be under pressure to deliver with Prema in F2. A title challenge will be expected, but it will be by no means an easy task. This is especially true when considering the expected quality of his teammate. 

One of the most widely discussed moves for 2024 has been the move from Mercedes to place their junior, Andrea Kimi Antonelli (#4) with Prema in F2. Of course, the Silver Arrows did this just last year with Frederik Vesti but the circumstances are wildly different. While Vesti had raced in F3 for two years and completed his debut season in F2 before a Prema move, Antonelli has not yet turned a wheel in either championship.

Instead, the FRECA champion is moving straight to F2, showing just how much faith Mercedes have in him. Because of this, expectations for Antonelli are sky-high. It is important to emphasise that Antonelli is still only 17, and so, predictions should be tempered. Antonelli will need to settle into the new series as much as any other rookie. Nevertheless, the unconventional move to skip F3 has thrust the limelight on the young Italian. After a period of adjustment, he will be expected to fight alongside his teammate at the front. 

Rodin Motorsport

Since the close of the 2023 season, the former Carlin team has undergone a transformation and is now Rodin Motorsport. You can read more about these changes here. The change is fundamental, but the team continues in F2 with a strong pairing. 

Zane Maloney (#5) continues with the team which brought him to a respectable 10th-place finish in his debut season. Flashes of pace were shown, including a podium in the first feature race in Bahrain. However, consistency was the main issue for the Barbadian, who has now left the Red Bull Junior Team (RBJT) and joined the Sauber Academy.

He achieved three further podiums, but 10 finishes outside of the top 10 thwarted any hopes of a higher position in the final standings. Certainly, Maloney has shown in other championships such as British F4 and F3 that he can be deadly if his best form is found. The question now is whether he can do the same in F2; if so, a much better season could be in the offing. 

Partnering Maloney will be the Super Formula champion, Ritomo Miyata (#6). Although the path from F2 to Japan is a well-trodden route, it has been 10 years since the last switch was made in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, Miyata enters the championship with one of the strongest records of all, with the 2023 Super GT title adding to his single-seater success.

The 24-year-old may also have an advantage with the new car compared to other drivers; the new Super Formula machine is strikingly similar to F2’s new design. Of course, it will be a challenge to adjust to a new series, calendar and culture for Miyata. However, if he can hit the ground running in F2, then Miyata has shown that he could be tough to beat in 2024.

DAMS

One of the most recognisable names in F2 is DAMS, and the French squad boasts an all-new driver lineup for 2024.

Having switched from the RBJT to become a junior Aston Martin driver, Jak Crawford (#7) is looking to improve on a mixed debut season in F2 by moving to DAMS. Racing with Hitech GP in his first year, Crawford scored one win and five podiums and eventually finished 13th.

He hopes that the switch to Aston Martin can boost his chances and recently spoke to Feeder Series about his departure from Red Bull. The American said that leaving the squad “definitely relieved a lot of the pressure”, with the RBJT known to be an intense environment. A switch to Aston Martin could also prove more fruitful with a greater individual focus on him, as there are no other F2 drivers in their stable. 

Crawford’s teammate at DAMS will be Juan Manuel Correa (#8). Correa is looking to build on the progress made following his horrific crash in 2019, after a return to F2 last year alongside a WEC programme with Prema. Having worked his way back to a full-time seat with Van Amersfoort in 2023, the Ecuadorian-American moves to Charles Pic’s team for 2024. In his third full F2 season, Correa will hope to rediscover the form that saw him sign for the Sauber Academy before his accident.

Invicta Racing

The former Virtuosi team is another to have rebranded for 2024. Their former title sponsor, the watchmaker Invicta, has taken full naming rights, and the British team fields a youthful lineup. 

Kush Maini (#9) made an impressive start to life in F2 in 2023, scoring the most points of any Campos Racing driver since Jack Aitken in 2019. With 25 more points than his veteran teammate Ralph Boschung, F1 academies were alerted, and the Indian prospect was quickly snapped up by the Alpine Academy. Meanwhile, he is also being mentored by twice-F1 champion Mika Hakkinen.

Maini is clearly talented, and the question is whether he can show his evident speed more consistently with a team that expects to be challenging for regular race wins. If he can do so, then the Bangalore racer could form one-half of a formidable Invicta team.

Since the end of the F3 season, Gabriel Bortoleto (#10) has signed with the McLaren Driver Development Programme and the Invicta F2 team. The Brazilian’s championship-winning 2023 featured six podiums and two wins, eventually beating Zak O’Sullivan to the title by 45 points.

This feat was all the more impressive given that Bortoleto was in his debut season, and he finished 68 points clear of the next-best rookie. As the first debutant to become F3 champion since Oscar Piastri, it would not be unthinkable for the Invicta man to follow in the Australian’s footsteps. Bortoleto could be a dark horse in the championship battle. 

MP Motorsport

Having followed their 2022 title win with sixth place in 2023, MP will look to return to the podium more regularly in 2024. They do so armed with a strong pairing, as another South American joins a serial podium-finisher. 

Dennis Hauger (#11) had a solid if unspectacular second year in F2 following his move to MP. Improving on his opening year placing of tenth to eighth, the Norwegian scored four podiums and had two wins. Regularly scoring minor points, Hauger enjoyed a solid year outside of his podiums but this was not enough for the RBJT to retain him for a seventh season. Nonetheless, his performances for MP earned an F2 retention and a chance to lead the team alongside a promising rookie. 

Franco Colapinto (#12) made his F2 debut with MP in the final round of 2023, the prologue to a full-time seat this season. Last season’s main focus was a full-time F3 campaign with MP, in which the Argentinian placed fourth with two wins and five podiums.

The Williams Academy driver showed promise in his two years in F3 but was never able to sustain a championship challenge, eventually finishing 54 points behind Bortoleto. However, the 20-year-old only finished outside of the top 10 four times in that season. If he can maintain that consistency with the same team, albeit at a higher level, a fruitful debut season could follow.

Van Amersfoort Racing

2023 was a solid sophomore F2 season for Van Amersfoort Racing and most impressively, Richard Verschoor delivered their maiden victory in the series in Spielberg. For 2024, the team has two new drivers: one with heaps of experience and another with a lot to prove.

Brazilian driver Enzo Fittipaldi (#14) will be the team leader this year. He is something of a F2 veteran. 2024 is his third full-time season in the series. His F2 record boasts 10 podiums and one win, which he earned last year in the sprint race at Spa. Fittipaldi has a good history with underdog F2 teams. In 2022, he drove for Charouz, the team that finished second to bottom in the 2021 standings, and he surprised many by earning six podiums and finishing eighth in the standings. 

Alongside Fittipaldi for 2024 will be Mexican driver Rafael Villagómez (#15), who steps up after three seasons of F3. Villagómez never experienced success in F3, finishing 29th in 2021, 25th in 2022, and 25th in 2023. Still, he has raced with Van Amersfoort for the past three years, meaning he is familiar with the team. Additionally, new teammate Fittipaldi could prove to be a useful mentor.

Hitech GP

Hitech GP ran rookies Isack Hadjar and Jak Crawford in 2023, and they both finished outside the top ten in the championship, Hitech’s worst F2 result since joining in 2020. This year, the team has a completely new lineup.

Firstly, Belgian driver Amaury Cordeel (#16) will join for his third F2 season, in which he will be looking to rescue his career. Last season, Cordeel avoided many of the misdemeanours which landed him with a race ban in 2022, but the Dutchman only recorded points twice, in Zandvoort and Monza. He finished 20th in the standings while his teammate Jack Doohan challenged for the championship and finished third.

Hitech GP’s second driver is rookie Paul Aron (#17), who steps up to F2 after hitting the ground in his maiden year in F3. Aron finished third in last year’s F3 championship, behind Gabriel Bortoleto and Zak O’Sullivan, who are also joining the F2 field. Aron was previously a Mercedes junior, but he confirmed in November last year that the relationship had ended. Aron already had a taste of F2 in last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi when he raced for Trident.

Campos Racing

Campos won a race last year thanks to Ralph Boschung, and rookie Kush Maini often qualified inside the top ten. Still, the team ultimately struggled to score consistent points, and this held them back. For 2024, Campos looks different, with two RBJT drivers, and thus two Red Bull-liveried cars.

Frenchman Isack Hadjar (#20) will lead the team. He drove for Hitech GP last year but struggled, finishing 14th in the standings. Hadjar’s absence from the front was a surprise given how incredible he was just a year earlier when he finished fourth in F3. That season showed his talent, and his aim in 2024 will undoubtedly be to show it again.

Alongside Hadjar at Campos will be 18-year-old Spanish driver Pepe Martí (#21). He is graduating from Campos’ F3 team. He finished fifth in F3 last season, the best result for a Campos F3 driver since the modern era of F3 began in 2019. Martí should already be settled at Campos given this is his fourth season racing with the Spanish team.

Trident

Trident were not regular points-scorers in 2023 but still took a couple of shock results, most notably a win with Clément Novalak in the rain-affected feature race in Zandvoort. Novalak nearly scored a podium in Austria, too, but was disqualified due to low tyre pressures. 

Novalak will not race in F2 this season, and replacing him is Richard Verschoor (#22), who is the most experienced driver in the F2 field, with 74 previous starts. Verschoor is familiar with Trident, as he raced for the team in 2022. In that season, he finished 12th in the standings and gave Trident their first victory in the modern F2 era. Verschoor makes his return this season after a year away at Van Amersfoort Racing, in which he finished ninth in the standings, his best championship result in F2.

Trident has retained Roman Staněk (#23) for 2024. This will be his third season with the team, having raced for them in F3 in 2022 and in F2 last season. While Staněk officially finished the 2023 F2 championship behind teammate Novalak, he was the more consistent of the pair, recording points six times, while Novalak only did so twice. His best result was fifth in the Austria sprint race. 

PHM Racing

PHM Racing was the only team that failed to score points in last year’s F2 season. This year, the team has a new look livery, with bright green being added to their bronze car. They also have new drivers and will be the only team on the grid with two rookies.

Their first driver is Paraguay’s Joshua Dürksen (#24). He is making the same career jump as Prema Racing’s Kimi Antonelli, bypassing F3 and going straight into F2 from FRECA. Dürksen has raced in FRECA with Arden Motorsport for two years, finishing 14th in 2022 and 19th in 2023, decent results given the team has never won in the series. Last year, Dürksen outscored both of his teammates.

The team’s second 2024 rookie is British driver Taylor Barnard (#25), who will step up to F2 after a sensational maiden year in F3 with Jenzer Motorsport, in which he finished 10th in the standings. He outscored both his teammates and took an awesome wet weather win in Spa.

His 72 points were largely responsible for Jenzer getting their best championship finish in the modern F3 era. Barnard is well known to PHM already, having raced for the team in F4 in 2022 and the Formula Regional Middle East Championship in 2023 and 2024.

Header image credit: Dutch Photo Agency