The 2024 Formula 2 season passed its halfway point on Sunday, with the seventh of 14 rounds completed in Austria. Ollie Bearman dominated the sprint race, while Gabriel Bortoleto impressively won the feature to take his first victory of the season.

By Martin Lloyd

Bortoleto’s day

Gabriel Bortoleto has been made to wait for his first win in F2. The reigning Formula 3 champion has shown pace since the beginning of the season, securing pole position at both the opening round in Bahrain and Imola. The Invicta Racing driver qualified third for Sunday’s feature race but was promoted to second when poleman Dennis Hauger stalled on the formation lap.

Following this stroke of luck, Bortoleto followed Joshua Dürksen in the opening laps before passing the AIX Racing driver for the lead on Lap 4. From this point, Bortoleto looked in control of the race, although his task was far from simple. When Zane Maloney pulled over with mechanical issues on Lap 6, yellow flags were waved, and Campos’ Pepe Martí tried to pre-empt an intervention from race control by pitting. While the Spaniard would later be penalised as the virtual safety car was called before he reached the first safety car line in the pit lane, Bortoleto had to catch and pass Martí to be sure of emerging in the net race lead.

Bortoleto accomplished this on Lap 18, and never looked like relinquishing his position, eventually leading Franco Colapinto and Isack Hadjar over the line. On occasions in 2024, Bortoleto has shown exceptional qualifying pace. At other times, his impressive racecraft has helped him to a good result. In Austria, for the first time, Bortoleto perfectly combined both qualities in an F2 race, while he also stayed out of the incidents that plagued the start of his debut season in the series. If the Brazilian can perform this way in upcoming events, he could become part of the championship conversation. 

Hadjar and Martí argue

Campos have been quick all year, with Isack Hadjar now handsomely placed in the championship battle, nine points behind leader Paul Aron. Pepe Martí has also shown pace at various events throughout the season, with Austria being one of his best events. Martí was unlucky to be handed a 30-second time penalty but was running in the net second place when third-placed Hadjar began to agitate for a switch of positions. 

Hadjar grew tense over team radio, requesting an opportunity to close down Bortoleto. Eventually, Hadjar passed Martí on Lap 24, but he could not catch or pass Bortoleto. Indeed, both drivers lost a position in the closing stages, as the hard-charging Colapinto passed both by the penultimate lap. Further drama ensued on the final lap when Hadjar did not return his position to Martí – the latter felt that, as his teammate was unable to make an impression on Bortoleto, the drivers needed to return to their original placings. 

Both were unhappy at points during the race, expressing their concerns over the radio, with Hadjar especially displeased. The fiery Frenchman will need to avoid any tension boiling over in the second half of the season, as he aims to take the title fight to Aron.

Relief for Prema – before normal service resumes

The 2024 season has undoubtedly proved to be one of Prema’s most difficult in the modern era. The Italian squad have not finished outside the top four in the teams’ championship since a ninth-placed finish in 2019, but they currently sit in a lowly seventh position.

Prema’s woes were briefly halted in Saturday’s sprint race. Ollie Bearman started on the reverse-grid front row, dominating after he overtook Kush Maini at the race start. Bearman’s win was an important one, both for him and his team. Before the race, Prema stood out as the only team without a podium in F2. The duck was broken with Bearman’s win, but many more points are won on a Sunday.

Unfortunately for Prema, they could not convert a strong opening stint for Bearman into another good result. An engine issue caused a power loss for the Briton, resulting in an early retirement. Meanwhile, Andrea Kimi Antonelli stalled in the pits and could only manage 14^th place. The results continue a sorry season for Prema, in which they have rarely been in positions to score the large points hauls that they have become so accustomed to in the F2 era.

The engine problems continue

Throughout the season, drivers throughout the field have suffered from mechanical problems. Hadjar retired from both races in Saudi Arabia with engine issues, and Bortoleto had suffered on multiple occasions before his eventual win on Sunday. Richard Verschoor was forced to retire from the lead in Monaco due to a driveshaft problem, and both AIX Racing machines retired from strong positions in the Barcelona feature race.

Most recently, Bearman and Maloney fell victim to power problems in the feature race, after Hadjar’s issues in qualifying. These problems create an unfair playing field. Given the substantial sums drivers pay to partake in the championship, they at least deserve a chance to race without such regular mechanical problems. It is accepted that there will be issues – the machinery will never be perfect.

However, when drivers have been suffering on so many occasions, affecting the championship and even drivers’ futures, the recurrence of such issues cannot be excused.

A gripping first half of the season

While faulty mechanicals have played a role, the opening seven races of the 2024 season have proved unpredictable. 12 different drivers have won at least one of the 14 races, with only Maloney and Hadjar having taken multiple victories. Even more improbable is that the championship leader, Paul Aron, has not yet won a race himself – but his streak of a podium in every round sees him lead Hadjar by nine points.

The championship battle has yet to ignite, as no driver has consistently dominated and pulled ahead of the competition. As the season heads to Silverstone to begin the second half, Aron leads Hadjar, who is 21 points clear of Bortoleto. Maloney and Colapinto are level on 75 points, rounding out the top five. 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency