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The 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship was a
motor racing
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...
championship for
Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name re ...
cars that was sanctioned by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA). The championship was the fifty-fifth season of Formula 2 racing and the fifth season run under the
FIA Formula 2 Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the l ...
moniker. It was an
open-wheel racing
Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single- ...
category that served as the second tier of
formula racing
Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single ...
in the
FIA Global Pathway. The category was run in support of selected rounds of the
2021 FIA Formula One World Championship. As the championship was a
spec series, all teams and drivers competing in the championship ran the same car, the
Dallara F2 2018
The Dallara F2 2018 (originally known as the Dallara F2/18) is an open-wheel racing car developed by Italian manufacturer Dallara for use in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, a feeder-series for Formula One. The F2 2018 is the second car used by ...
.
The championship was contested over twenty-four races at eight circuits. It began in March 2021 with a round in support of the
Bahrain Grand Prix, and ended in December where it supported the
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ( ar, سباق جائزة أبوظبي الكبرى) is a Formula One motor racing event. It was announced in early 2007 at the Abu Dhabi F1 Festival in the United Arab Emirates. The first race took place on 1 November ...
.
A new chassis package was due to be introduced for the 2021 season, but in a bid to cut costs in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the lifespan of the Dallara F2 2018 chassis package was extended until 2023.
Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian racing driver who previously served as the reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team, having previously been in the team's driver academy. He won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, and wo ...
secured the Drivers’ Championship in Race 1 at
Yas Marina, the season finale. Piastri became F2's first rookie champion since
George Russell in 2018. He took five consecutive pole positions, from
Silverstone to Yas Marina, and won all four feature races in the second half of the season in addition to sprint race victories in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
and
Jeddah. The strong results of Piastri and team-mate
Robert Shwartzman
Robert Mikhailovich Shwartzman ( rus, Ро́берт Миха́йлович Шва́рцман, p=ˈrobʲɪrt mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ˈʂvartsmɐn, he, רוברט מיכאילוביץ' שוורצמן; born 16 September 1999) is a Russian-Israeli ...
, the championship runner-up, allowed
Prema Racing
Prema Powerteam (competing as Prema Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship and European Le Mans Series and as Prema Orlen Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship) is a motorsport team from Italy. It mainly ...
to secure the Teams’ Championship with a round to spare.
Piastri's dominance after the summer break quickly dented the title hopes of early title favourites like Shwartzman and
Guanyu Zhou. Shwartzman faced trouble in the early rounds, suffering collisions at both Bahrain and
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, but he finished in the top six in all but one race from
Baku until the end of the season. Zhou took four wins, including the feature races at Bahrain and Silverstone, but his campaign fizzled out after difficult weekends at
Sochi and Jeddah.
Dan Ticktum
Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship.
Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...
,
Théo Pourchaire
Théo Jérôme Julien Pourchaire (born 20 August 2003) is a French racing driver, who most recently competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for the ART Grand Prix team and the reigining Formula 2 vice-champion. He is currently a member of the ...
,
Jüri Vips
Jüri Vips (born 10 August 2000) is an Estonian professional racing driver, currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix. He is the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 champion, and formerly a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. ...
, and
Jehan Daruvala
Jehan Daruvala (born 1 October 1998) is an Indian racing driver currently serving as a reserve driver for the Mahindra Racing Formula E team. He was a protégé of the Force India F1 team, after being one of three winners of a 'One in a Billio ...
took two wins each—with Vips becoming the first F2 driver to take two wins in one weekend—but none of them were able to sustain a season-long championship challenge.
In an effort to cut costs during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, series organizers adopted a new format for both F2 and
FIA Formula 3
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship and organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 ...
for the 2021 season. Notably, each weekend comprised three races rather than two. The traditional feature race with the mandatory pit-stop was moved to Sunday morning, while on Saturday, there were two sprint races with reverse-grid formats based on the results of qualifying and Race 1 respectively. The extra race was made possible because F3 races were run on different weekends to F2, with the exception of the Sochi round, leaving more space in the timetable of each race weekend. But the large gaps between rounds—eight weeks between Rounds 1 and 2 and 4 and 5 and ten weeks between Rounds 6 and 7—made the format widely unpopular, and it has been changed for the 2022 season.
Entries
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2021 championship. As the championship was a
spec series, all competitors raced with an identical
Dallara F2 2018
The Dallara F2 2018 (originally known as the Dallara F2/18) is an open-wheel racing car developed by Italian manufacturer Dallara for use in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, a feeder-series for Formula One. The F2 2018 is the second car used by ...
chassis with a V6 turbo engine developed by
Mecachrome
Mecachrome SAS is a precision engineering company based in France that operates in the aerospace, motor racing, energy and defence sectors.
History
Mecachrome was founded in 1937 in Colombes, France. As a precision engineering company, Mecachrom ...
. Teams competed with tyres supplied by
Pirelli. The same eleven teams who competed during the
2020 season were retained for the next three-year cycle.
Driver changes
Prema Racing
Prema Powerteam (competing as Prema Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship and European Le Mans Series and as Prema Orlen Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship) is a motorsport team from Italy. It mainly ...
hired reigning
FIA Formula 3
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship and organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 ...
champion
Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian racing driver who previously served as the reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team, having previously been in the team's driver academy. He won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, and wo ...
to replace
Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher (; born 22 March 1999) is a German racing driver who is the current reserve driver for the Mercedes AMG Formula One Team.
Schumacher began his career in karting in 2008, progressing to the German ADAC Formula 4 by 2015. Afte ...
, who graduated to
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
with
Haas F1 Team
Haas Formula LLC, competing as Haas F1 Team, is an American-licensed Formula One racing team established by NASCAR Cup Series team co-owner Gene Haas in April 2014. The team originally intended to make its debut at the start of the season b ...
.
UNI-Virtuosi Racing signed former MP Motorsport driver
Felipe Drugovich to replace
Callum Ilott
Callum Benjamin Ilott ( ; born 11 November 1998) is a British racing driver competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Juncos Hollinger Racing. He was the official reserve driver for Alfa Romeo for the 2021 Formula One World Championship season an ...
, who left the championship to become a test driver for Formula One team
Scuderia Ferrari.
Carlin hired former DAMS driver
Dan Ticktum
Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship.
Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...
to replace
Yuki Tsunoda, who graduated to Formula One with
Scuderia AlphaTauri.
Hitech Grand Prix
Hitech Grand Prix (formerly known as Hitech Racing) is a British motor racing team. It was founded in 2002 by Dennis Rushen and David Hayle. The team started racing in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2003. The team also competed in the So ...
fielded a new driver line-up.
Nikita Mazepin
Nikita Dmitryevich Mazepin ( rus, Ники́та Дми́триевич Мазе́пин, p=nʲɪˈkʲitə ˈdmʲɪtrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ mɐˈzʲepʲɪn; born 2 March 1999) is a Russian professional racing driver who competes in rally raid.
A fo ...
graduated to Formula One with Haas F1 Team and
Luca Ghiotto
Luca Ghiotto (born 24 February 1995) is an Italian racing driver who most recently raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for DAMS.
Career
Karting
Born in Arzignano, Ghiotto entered karting in 2008, when he took the title in the KF3 class of ...
joined
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB- FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The s ...
. They were replaced with
Red Bull juniors Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson (born 11 February 2002) is a New Zealand motor racing driver set to compete in the 2023 Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen. Lawson, who is mentored by three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Ken Smith, previously competed f ...
, who graduated from Hitech's FIA Formula 3 outfit, and
Jüri Vips
Jüri Vips (born 10 August 2000) is an Estonian professional racing driver, currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix. He is the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 champion, and formerly a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. ...
, who temporarily raced for DAMS in 2020 as a replacement driver.
ART Grand Prix
ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. In 2012, it competed in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series as Lotus GP to reflect sponsorship from British sports and racing car manufacturer Lotus. The ...
signed FIA Formula 3 runner-up
Théo Pourchaire
Théo Jérôme Julien Pourchaire (born 20 August 2003) is a French racing driver, who most recently competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for the ART Grand Prix team and the reigining Formula 2 vice-champion. He is currently a member of the ...
, who briefly debuted in Formula 2 with HWA Racelab in the final rounds of 2020. He replaced
Marcus Armstrong, who left the team to join DAMS.
MP Motorsport
MP Motorsport (previously Marcel Peters Motorsport) is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The team has also participated in Auto GP, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern Europea ...
hired FIA Formula 3 graduates
Lirim Zendeli and
Richard Verschoor
Richard Verschoor (born 16 December 2000) is a Dutch racing driver set to compete for Van Amersfoort Racing in the Formula 2 Championship. Verschoor graduated to Formula 2 in 2021 with MP Motorsport before switching to Charouz Racing System, aft ...
.
Giuliano Alesi left the team and the series to join
Super Formula Lights
is a national formula racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses the same single seater chassis as the pan-European Euroformula Open Championship. The series will be the first with the new b ...
.
Charouz Racing System
Charouz Racing System (CHRS, also was known as Lotus in World Series Formula V8 3.5) is a racing team from Czech Republic, created in 1985 by .
History
In the 1980s, Charouz participated in the European Championship of Circuit Races' 1600&nbs ...
fielded a new line-up as
Pedro Piquet
Pedro Estácio Leão Piquet Souto Maior (born 3 July 1998) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He is the son of three-time Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet and younger half brother of Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr. He is known for ...
vacated his seat and left Formula 2 after one year in the series, citing financial reasons.
Louis Delétraz
Louis Delétraz (born 22 April 1997) is a Swiss racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series for Prema Orlen Team and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Tower Motorsport. He is the 2 ...
also left the team to join the
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...
. Charouz hired FIA Formula 3 graduate
David Beckmann and former Campos driver
Guilherme Samaia
Guilherme de Abreu Sampaio Samaia (born 2 October 1996 in São Paulo) is a retired Brazilian racing driver. He has competed in the 2021 Formula 2 Championship with Charouz, and in 2020 racing for Campos. In 2017 he won the Brazilian Formula 3 ...
.
DAMS
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
parted ways with
Sean Gelael
Muhammad Sean Ricardo Gelael (born 1 November 1996) is an Indonesian racing driver currently competing with WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He competed in GP2 Series from 2015 to 2016, and the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2017 ...
, who left Formula 2 after six years in the championship and its predecessor
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...
to join the
World Endurance Championship. The team hired former Trident driver
Roy Nissany
Roy Nissany ( he, רוי ניסני; born 30 November 1994) is an Israeli racing driver who is set to compete in the Formula 2 Championship with PHM Racing by Charouz. He is also currently a Formula 1 test driver with Williams Grand Prix Eng ...
to partner Marcus Armstrong.
Campos Racing
Campos Racing is a Spanish motor racing team, founded by former Formula One driver Adrián Campos. The team has been successful in Formula Three and the GP2 Series.
History
After retiring from racing, Campos formed his own team at the end of 1 ...
hired
Ralph Boschung
Ralph Boschung (born 23 September 1997) is a Swiss racing driver set to compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Campos Racing. He is a race winner in the GP3 Series and has previously competed in Formula 2 from to , for Campos, MP Mot ...
, who deputised for the team at the final round of the 2020 season and previously raced for them in .
Boschung was signed alongside reigning
Formula Regional European champion
Gianluca Petecof
Gianluca de Castro Petecof (born 14 November 2002) is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 101 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Sports. He was champion of the Formul ...
.
Jack Aitken
Jack Aitken (Korean: 한세용, ''Han Se-yong''; born 23 September 1995 in London) is a British- South Korean racing driver who currently competes for Racing Team Turkey in the European Le Mans Series and for Emil Frey Racing in the ADAC GT ...
left the team to compete in the
GT World Challenge Europe
GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's GT ...
series.
HWA Racelab entered a new driver line-up with FIA Formula 3 graduates
Matteo Nannini and
Alessio Deledda. Nannini will combine his Formula 2 campaign with a second season in FIA Formula 3.
Artem Markelov left the team and the series after seven years in Formula 2 and GP2.
Trident
A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm.
The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...
signed FIA Formula 3 graduate
Bent Viscaal to replace Roy Nissany.
Mid-season changes
Matteo Nannini left HWA Racelab and the championship after the first round, citing sponsorship reasons and his desire to focus on his FIA Formula 3 campaign. He was replaced by former Campos driver Jack Aitken for the following three rounds.
Nannini returned to the championship for the third round at the
Baku City Circuit
The Baku City Circuit ( az, Bakı Şəhər Halqası) is a motor racing street circuit located in Baku, Azerbaijan constructed near Baku Boulevard. A lap of the circuit is , making it the third-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar (after C ...
, replacing Campos driver Gianluca Petecof who left the team for budgetary reasons.
David Beckmann left Charouz Racing System prior to the fifth round at the
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, citing his financial situation.
Enzo Fittipaldi
Enzo Fittipaldi da Cruz (born 18 July 2001) is a Brazilian-American racing driver, who is set to compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Carlin. After signing with Carlin, he became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in November 2022, ...
was promoted from Charouz's FIA Formula 3 outfit to replace him. Beckmann was then hired by Campos to replace Matteo Nannini. The round also saw
Jake Hughes
Jake Hughes (born 30 May 1994) is a British racing driver and winner of the inaugural BRDC Formula 4 Championship. He has won multiple races at Formula 3 level, and is set to compete in the 2022–23 Formula E season with Neom McLaren.
Caree ...
join HWA Racelab in place of the injured
Jack Aitken
Jack Aitken (Korean: 한세용, ''Han Se-yong''; born 23 September 1995 in London) is a British- South Korean racing driver who currently competes for Racing Team Turkey in the European Le Mans Series and for Emil Frey Racing in the ADAC GT ...
.
The seventh round at
Jeddah Corniche Circuit
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit ( ar, حلبة كورنيش جدة) is a motor racing circuit built in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. The circuit staged the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 5 December 2021 as the penultimate ...
saw four drivers promoted from the
2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship
The 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula 3 cars that was sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was the twelfth season of Formula 3 racing and the third season ...
to make their Formula 2 debuts.
Williams Driver Academy
The Williams Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Williams to promote talent in different racing series by helping them with funds, with the hope of finding drivers who will race for the team in the future. Notable graduates of ...
member
Logan Sargeant
Logan Hunter Sargeant (born December 31, 2000) is an American racing driver, who most recently competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Carlin. He will compete for Williams Racing in the 2023 Formula One World Championship, having grad ...
replaced Jake Hughes at
HWA Racelab and
Olli Caldwell took David Beckmann's seat at Campos. MP Motorsport featured an all-new lineup, hiring FIA Formula 3 runner up
Jack Doohan and third-place finisher
Clément Novalak to replace Richard Verschoor and Lirim Zendeli, both of whom left the team for financial reasons.
Jake Hughes returned to HWA Racelab for the final round of the championship at
Yas Marina Circuit
The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Yas Marina w ...
, replacing Logan Sargeant. Charouz Racing System driver Enzo Fittipaldi was ruled out of the final round due to injuries suffered in a crash during the Jeddah feature race. Richard Verschoor returned to the championship to replace him.
Calendar
A provisional calendar was published in November 2020. An updated version due to the postponement of the
2021 Australian Grand Prix, which required several Grands Prix to change dates, was revealed in January 2021.
Calendar changes
As a consequence of cost-cutting measures, the Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships adopted a new format. The two championships alternated between Grands Prix meetings and didn't appear together on the support race bill. Although this reduced the number of rounds, both championships ran three races at a Grand Prix instead of two, keeping the overall number of races the same as in previous years. The format change was designed to cut costs for teams competing in both championships by allowing them to rotate staff between each championship.
As the
2020 championship was disrupted by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the 2021 calendar featured substantial revisions:
* The
Mugello
The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...
round and one of the rounds at the
Red Bull Ring, the
Silverstone Circuit and the
Bahrain International Circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Bahrain ...
were removed from the schedule as these rounds were run in support of one-off Grands Prix.
*The
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...
,
Hungaroring
The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone w ...
and the second Red Bull Ring rounds were removed from the schedule to make way for the new weekend format.
* The
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
,
Baku and
Yas Marina rounds returned after having been cancelled in 2020.
* The championship made its début at the
Jeddah Corniche Circuit
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit ( ar, حلبة كورنيش جدة) is a motor racing circuit built in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. The circuit staged the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 5 December 2021 as the penultimate ...
and running in support of the
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ( ar, جائزة السعودية الكبرى) is a Formula One motor racing event which took place for the first time in 2021. The inaugural edition of the race was held in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. It was the fift ...
, a brand-new event on the
Formula 1 calendar.
The
Circuit Zandvoort had been included on the 2020 calendar, but was removed from the schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was initially expected that the round would feature on the 2021 calendar, but it was not included on the provisional calendar. The circuit was included on the
Formula 3 calendar instead.
Regulation changes
Sporting changes
The weekend format was changed with two sprint races held on Saturday and the feature race with mandatory pit stop on Sunday. Qualifying determined the grid of the feature race and the first sprint race; the grid for the first sprint race was set by reversing the top ten qualifying positions.
The grid of the second race was formed by results of the first sprint race, with top ten finishers reversed. The addition of a third race to the weekend schedule saw teams provided with an extra set of tyres.
Season report
Round 1: Bahrain
Guanyu Zhou set the fastest time in qualifying at the
Bahrain International Circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Bahrain ...
, giving him
pole position for the feature race.
Théo Pourchaire
Théo Jérôme Julien Pourchaire (born 20 August 2003) is a French racing driver, who most recently competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for the ART Grand Prix team and the reigining Formula 2 vice-champion. He is currently a member of the ...
started the first sprint race from pole position by virtue of qualifying 10th, but he lost the lead to
Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson (born 11 February 2002) is a New Zealand motor racing driver set to compete in the 2023 Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen. Lawson, who is mentored by three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Ken Smith, previously competed f ...
at the first corner and later retired with mechanical issues. Lawson held the lead for the rest of the race to claim victory on his Formula 2 debut.
Jüri Vips
Jüri Vips (born 10 August 2000) is an Estonian professional racing driver, currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix. He is the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 champion, and formerly a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. ...
started the second
sprint race from pole position after finishing the first race in 10th place, but was overtaken by Zhou in the early laps. The
safety car was brought out after Lawson and
Felipe Drugovich collided, and a number of drivers elected to make a pit stop.
Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian racing driver who previously served as the reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team, having previously been in the team's driver academy. He won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, and wo ...
, who started the race in sixth place, took the lead on the final lap to achieve his first Formula 2 race win. Second-placed
Christian Lundgaard was demoted to ninth by a penalty for colliding with
Lirim Zendeli, but was later reinstated to the podium after it emerged he had served his penalty during his pit stop.
Lundgaard took the lead of the feature race at the first corner from pole-sitter Zhou, but was later overtaken by Piastri. A safety car caused by
Gianluca Petecof
Gianluca de Castro Petecof (born 14 November 2002) is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 101 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Sports. He was champion of the Formul ...
's fire extinguisher deploying allowed
Marcus Armstrong to take the lead after all drivers had completed their mandatory pit stops. The lead then passed between Piastri and
Richard Verschoor
Richard Verschoor (born 16 December 2000) is a Dutch racing driver set to compete for Van Amersfoort Racing in the Formula 2 Championship. Verschoor graduated to Formula 2 in 2021 with MP Motorsport before switching to Charouz Racing System, aft ...
before Zhou, who was in sixth place after the pit stop phase, reclaimed first position with four laps remaining. Piastri was then eliminated from the race after colliding with
Dan Ticktum
Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship.
Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...
. Zhou took the
chequered flag to claim his first feature race victory in Formula 2. Zhou led the championship after the first round by 11 points over second-placed Liam Lawson.
Round 2: Monaco
Théo Pourchaire was fastest in qualifying at the
Circuit de Monaco, with Guanyu Zhou starting the opening sprint race from pole position. Christian Lundgaard challenged for the lead until an engine failure halfway into the race forced his retirement, allowing Zhou to take his second consecutive race victory.
The second sprint race was run in wet track conditions. A pre-race engine issue forced pole-sitter Marcus Armstrong to start the race from the pit lane. Liam Lawson therefore started from the front, but lost the lead to Oscar Piastri at the first corner before retaking first place a few laps later. UNI-Virtuosi were the only team to change to dry-weather tyres, but Zhou and Felipe Drugovich lost large amounts of time before pitting again and returning to wet-weather tyres. Lawson crossed the finish line first, but was later disqualified for a technical infringement. Dan Ticktum, who had earlier passed Piastri for second place, was awarded the victory.
Pole-sitter Pourchaire controlled the feature race to become the youngest driver to win an FIA Formula 2 race.
Robert Shwartzman
Robert Mikhailovich Shwartzman ( rus, Ро́берт Миха́йлович Шва́рцман, p=ˈrobʲɪrt mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ˈʂvartsmɐn, he, רוברט מיכאילוביץ' שוורצמן; born 16 September 1999) is a Russian-Israeli ...
had qualified and ran in second place before a slow pit stop dropped him out of the podium positions. Ticktum was forced into retirement in the closing laps after coming to a halt whilst battling Piastri for third place. After the second round, Zhou had extended his lead in the championship to 16 points over second-placed Piastri.
Round 3: Azerbaijan
Liam Lawson set the fastest qualifying time at the
Baku City Circuit
The Baku City Circuit ( az, Bakı Şəhər Halqası) is a motor racing street circuit located in Baku, Azerbaijan constructed near Baku Boulevard. A lap of the circuit is , making it the third-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar (after C ...
and Robert Shwartzman started the first race from pole position. Shwartzman controlled the race to take his first podium and victory of the season, whilst Lawson and Oscar Piastri were eliminated on the first lap due to an accident caused by Felipe Drugovich. The podium was completed by Dan Ticktum, who had overtaken four cars throughout the race, including third-placed finisher Guanyu Zhou.
Bent Viscaal started the second race, the 100th FIA Formula 2 race, on pole position. Six drivers retired from the race, including championship leader Zhou after colliding with Ticktum at the first corner.
David Beckmann took the lead from Viscaal early on, but was later passed by Jüri Vips, who claimed his first Formula 2 race win. Lawson, Piastri and Ticktum all recovered to score points after being at the back of the grid on the opening lap.
Vips took the lead of the feature race from Lawson at the first corner. Vips' frontrunning rivals were unable to challenge him due to penalties and collisions; Lawson was issued a time penalty for an aggressive defence against Théo Pourchaire, and Ticktum was penalised after a collision that eliminated Marcus Armstrong and Pourchaire from the race. Pourchaire was later taken to hospital with a fractured arm. Second-placed Piastri was later handed a time penalty for an unsafe release in the pits. Vips took the chequered flag to claim his second consecutive victory. Despite failing to score in the feature or second sprint races, Zhou maintained the lead of the championship after the third round, albeit with his advantage over Piastri cut to five points.
Round 4: United Kingdom
Oscar Piastri topped qualifying at
Silverstone Circuit and Christian Lundgaard started on reverse-grid pole position for the first sprint race. Robert Shwartzman, who started the race in fourth place, took the lead before the first corner and held his position to take his second win of the season. Guanyu Zhou spun on the first lap and retired from the race, allowing Piastri to take the championship lead.
Richard Verschoor started on pole position for the second sprint race and controlled the race to claim his first Formula 2 victory. The race was interrupted by two safety car periods, the first coming after a heavy collision between
Alessio Deledda and
Ralph Boschung
Ralph Boschung (born 23 September 1997) is a Swiss racing driver set to compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Campos Racing. He is a race winner in the GP3 Series and has previously competed in Formula 2 from to , for Campos, MP Mot ...
. Marcus Armstrong finished second to claim his first podium finish of the season.
Zhou took the lead of the feature race from pole-sitter Piastri before the first corner. Dan Ticktum later passed Piastri during the pit stops, and Piastri successfully defended third place after battling Verschoor on the final lap. Piastri held the championship lead at the conclusion of the fourth round, five points ahead of Zhou.
Round 5: Italy
Oscar Piastri took a second pole position in qualifying at the
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, beating
Jehan Daruvala
Jehan Daruvala (born 1 October 1998) is an Indian racing driver currently serving as a reserve driver for the Mahindra Racing Formula E team. He was a protégé of the Force India F1 team, after being one of three winners of a 'One in a Billio ...
by 0.041 seconds. David Beckmann took reverse-grid pole position for the opening sprint race but lost the lead to Jüri Vips at the first corner. The race was interrupted by a safety car due to a collision between Dan Ticktum and Felipe Drugovich. Vips was later passed by Théo Pourchaire who took his second Formula 2 victory.
Beckmann again claimed reverse-grid pole position for the second sprint race, but was again passed at the first corner, this time by Daruvala. Daruvala controlled the race to take his first win of the season. The podium was completed by
Bent Viscaal, who claimed
Trident
A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm.
The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...
's first ever Formula 2 podium finish, and Robert Shwartzman.
Pole-sitter Piastri maintained his lead at the start of the feature race. The safety car was deployed after Vips stopped on track with a mechanical issue and Ticktum took the lead by electing not to make a pit stop. A second safety car period came later in the race when Liam Lawson broke down, allowing Piastri to regain the lead as Ticktum pitted. Ticktum moved from tenth place up to third in the closing laps with his fresh tyres, however his progress was halted as the race ended under the safety car due to a collision between Beckmann and Viscaal. This ensured Piastri would take his first Formula 2 feature race victory to extend his championship lead to 15 points over Guanyu Zhou.
Round 6: Russia
Oscar Piastri took yet another pole position beating Jehan Daruvala yet again. Sprint Race 1 was postponed to Sprint Race 2 timing and Sprint Race 2 was cancelled due to heavy rains. Dan Ticktum took reverse grid pole and controlled the race from start to finish, leading Juri Vips and Robert Shwartzman, while the top 2 in the championship did not score points at all.
Oscar Piastri took his second consecutive Feature Race to extend his championship lead. He led Pouchaire and Daruvala. Daruvala pressured Boschung into a lock-up taking the place. Championship contender Zhou only finished sixth.
Round 7: Saudi Arabia
Oscar Piastri took his 4th pole position in a row beating his teammate, Robert Shwartzman.
Round 8: Abu Dhabi
Results and standings
Season summary
Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top eight classified finishers in the Sprint races, and to the top ten classified finishers in the Feature race. The pole-sitter in the feature race also received four points, and two points were given to the driver who set the fastest lap in both the feature and sprint races if that driver finished inside the top ten. No point was awarded if the fastest lap time was achieved by a driver who was classified outside the top ten. No extra points were awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint races as the grid for the first sprint race was set by reversing the top ten qualifiers and the grid for the second sprint race was based on the results of the first race.
;Sprint race points
Points were awarded to the top eight classified finishers, excluding the fastest lap points which were given to the top ten classified finishers.
;Feature race points
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers. Bonus points were awarded to the pole-sitter and to the driver who set the fastest lap and finished in the top ten.
Drivers' championship
Notes:
* – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
* – Half points were awarded for the feature race, as less than 75% of the scheduled distance was completed.
Teams' championship
Notes:
* – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
* – Half points were awarded for the sprint race, as less than 75% of the scheduled distance was completed.
References
External links
FIA Formula 2 Championship official website
{{List of FIA Formula 2 rounds
FIA Formula 2 Championship seasons
FIA Formula 2