While the Formula 2 season nears its conclusion, three of its 2024 drivers have been confirmed as drivers in Formula One and Formula E. One, Franco Colapinto, will drive for Williams for the remainder of 2024. On the eve of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Joshua Dürksen and Ritomo Miyata discussed the movement so far with Feeder Series, alongside selected media at a press conference.

By Martin Lloyd

Dürksen has performed impressively with the unfancied AIX Racing squad in 2024, most notably taking a podium in the feature race at Imola. His teammate, Taylor Barnard, has been confirmed as a McLaren Formula E driver for 2024-25, replacing Jake Hughes after a number of impressive substitute appearances earlier this year. Dürksen was pleased to see his fellow F2 drivers making the step up to world championship competition. 

“It motivates us because you can see that people are watching Formula 2 and they’re paying attention,” said Dürksen. “[I’m] really happy for them to make the step. It’s always crazy to think that we’ve raced with these guys when we were younger and now they’re in F1, in Formula E or in other categories.”

In addition to Colapinto, Prema’s Ollie Bearman has been confirmed as a Haas driver for 2025, while Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli is strongly rumoured to be joining the Silver Arrows. Dürksen feels that their advances can only strengthen the cases of the drivers who remain in F2. 

“If these guys do well in F1 we can also say, ‘look, we’ve driven against these guys’”, added Dürksen. “Maybe there were some races where we were in front of them, maybe some behind them but this weekend we can be proud.”

“We can say that we’ve raced against these guys, we also have this level, and this also shows the level that Formula 2 has, which is extremely high.”

Meanwhile, Miyata was quick to compare his own experiences to those of the newly-elevated drivers. Last season, Miyata made an appearance in the LMGTE Am class of WEC in the 6 Hours of Fuji, alongside his Super Formula and Super GT campaigns. 

“For me, it’s good for drivers because drivers want to get good opportunities in their careers. I had this experience in Japan last year; I was driving in Super Formula and Super GT but I could drive in WEC at Fuji. That was a very good opportunity, and it is the next step up. I think this is a good opportunity for them.”

Miyata and Dürksen lie 18th and 19th in the drivers’ standings respectively. With four rounds remaining, Isack Hadjar leads the championship from Gabriel Bortoleto. Longtime championship leader Paul Aron is third, with Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford rounding out the top five.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency